Raid Option ROM

pritamkd · Mar 22, 2005

Hi,

I am doing some coding here on the RAID option rom. I am planning to put an option where the user can select the drive to boot from (in the option rom UI) (after breaking the RAID1 Volume) and then we should directly boot from that drive without going into the BIOS SETUP.

So the problem here is, the BIOS decides the BOOT PRIORITY and we can modify it by going inside the BIOS SETUP. But how do i boot from a drive without going into the BIOS SETUP SCREEN. I don't want to change any BIOS CODE. The Option ROM will basically report BCV's (one BCV for each SATA HDD it finds connected to the system) and the BIOS adds them to the BOOT PRIORITY. Can any one of you suggest a method by which i can do this?

Thanks,
Vicky

crazijoe · Mar 22, 2005

This might be tough because not all RAID controllers are the same and each will have it's own BIOS. Say for instance a MB that has an Intel ICH5R SATA controller and a Silicon Image 3114R controller. The BIOS for the SI controller is a separate BIOS and will POST after the MB BIOS. However the Intel ICH5R controller will also have its own BIOS too. You would have to have a ROM for each different controller.
I believe Dell has a similar setup to what you are describing with their PERC (PowerEdge Expandable RAID Controller) setups for their PowerEdge and PowerVault systems. You can configure, add, remove, and modifiy the RAID array with their OpenArray Manager software. But this is a dedicated software for their PERC SCSI controllers.

Raid Option ROM

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