VIA Raid Card and how to access it

Ed Kummel · 11-07-2007, 04:13 PM

OK, so a friend of mine wants to get into RAID and purchased a cheapo PCI raid card.
This raid card comes with the VIA 6410 chipset and IDE cables....nothing else...no drivers, no software.

Now, I use RAID controllers at work all the time (I work for a major international ISP/Datacenter) and while the raid controllers we use are all high-end cards, I expected that even low end cards would act similarly.

I installed the card, Windows 2003 server found the new hardware and installed the drivers automatically...but I can't figure out how to get to the RAID setup menu.

I am used to a control key sequence during BIOS boot in order to get to the RAID configuration software on the RAID card (the cards we use at work all use CTRL-H)

I can find no hook to the bootup for the RAID card...

I can not find any windows software for this card either...anybody out there have experience with this chipset and how to get the bios to hook into the raid during the boot?
Thanks

Ed
web/gadget guru

**linderman** · 11-07-2007, 05:25 PM

Hello Ed:

make sure the raid card is enabled in the bios and you must assign it a boot device priority

then it will "call" on the raid card before the windows drive

right now I suspect the windows hard drive is called upon before the raid card gets its chance

there should be some raid accelerator software with that card you can use to set the raid config you want and bring your raid drives to life

have you tried the manufacturers website ?

with this type stuff you really do get what you pay for

that why I always look to promise brand controller cards for pci slot raid and sata controllers, they are easy to install, documentation is awesome and the driver & software cd come with it, simple raid cards start at around $40.00

Ed Kummel · 11-09-2007, 04:29 PM

Thanks for your reply...see my comments inside the quoted message

Quote:

Originally Posted by linderman

Hello Ed:

make sure the raid card is enabled in the bios and you must assign it a boot device priority
> There is no hook into the Mobo BIOS for this RAID. I don't see where in the Mobo BIOS to add any hooks since this is a PCI card and not part of the Mobo

then it will "call" on the raid card before the windows drive

right now I suspect the windows hard drive is called upon before the raid card gets its chance

there should be some raid accelerator software with that card you can use to set the raid config you want and bring your raid drives to life

have you tried the manufacturers website ?
> Yeah...the Via site is a mess and almost impossible to find any information on it what so ever...

with this type stuff you really do get what you pay for

that why I always look to promise brand controller cards for pci slot raid and sata controllers, they are easy to install, documentation is awesome and the driver & software cd come with it, simple raid cards start at around $40.00

>I think I'm screwed on this card...Oh well, at least he didn't spend a lot on it...I'm going to make the recommendation to scrap the card and get something better...

Ed
web/gadget guru

11-07-2007, 04:13 PM	#1 (permalink)
Ed Kummel Registered User Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4 OS: All Windows all the time	VIA Raid Card and how to access it OK, so a friend of mine wants to get into RAID and purchased a cheapo PCI raid card. This raid card comes with the VIA 6410 chipset and IDE cables....nothing else...no drivers, no software. Now, I use RAID controllers at work all the time (I work for a major international ISP/Datacenter) and while the raid controllers we use are all high-end cards, I expected that even low end cards would act similarly. I installed the card, Windows 2003 server found the new hardware and installed the drivers automatically...but I can't figure out how to get to the RAID setup menu. I am used to a control key sequence during BIOS boot in order to get to the RAID configuration software on the RAID card (the cards we use at work all use CTRL-H) I can find no hook to the bootup for the RAID card... I can not find any windows software for this card either...anybody out there have experience with this chipset and how to get the bios to hook into the raid during the boot? Thanks Ed web/gadget guru

11-07-2007, 05:25 PM	#2 (permalink)
linderman Moderator, Hardware Team Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 20,402 OS: win 2000 pro / Win XP pro My System	Re: VIA Raid Card and how to access it Hello Ed: make sure the raid card is enabled in the bios and you must assign it a boot device priority then it will "call" on the raid card before the windows drive right now I suspect the windows hard drive is called upon before the raid card gets its chance there should be some raid accelerator software with that card you can use to set the raid config you want and bring your raid drives to life have you tried the manufacturers website ? with this type stuff you really do get what you pay for that why I always look to promise brand controller cards for pci slot raid and sata controllers, they are easy to install, documentation is awesome and the driver & software cd come with it, simple raid cards start at around $40.00 __________________ Even a Broken Clock is Right Twice a Day ! Power Supply Selection LEARN TO BACK-UP YOUR DATA FREE & EASY YouTube - Runtime Software DriveImage XML tutorial Last edited by linderman; 11-07-2007 at 05:27 PM.