XP Pro 64bit SATA RAID help pls.

[Kelldor]

Hi folks!

Helping a friend build a nice new system including;
ASUS A8N32-SLI mainboard
Athlon 64 3800 dual core CPU
2x1gb Kingston RAM
2x120gb Seagate 7200rpm SATA HD's
XP Pro 64bit OS w/ SP2

Problem:
After setting up the striped raid array in the NVBIOS and configuring the BIOS, we start to install the 64bit OS. We hit "F6" and "S" to specify the drivers for the NVRAID SATA controller. We put in the floppy disk in that we made using the 64 bit version of the "Makedisk" program included on the driver disk, then it gives an error message that sais:

"Corrupt File. Cannot load NVRDX64.sys", or something very similar.

Attempted Solutions:
We have tried using different floppy disks, bought new ones, tried downloading the "Makedisk" program from ASUS's website and making the disk again. Also we have tried uysing the "Makedisk" program from MSI since thier K8N Diamond also uses the same Nvidia SATA RAID controller. I looked and compared the files, and the MSI disk has the same files that the ASUS disk does, plus a few more.

No matter what, the results are always the same "Corrupt File" error. If anyone has any advice I'd be very greatful for any help. Thank you for your time.

Kelldor

[nn_step]

two questions
1) is the SYSTEM COMPLETELY STOCK?
2) does the 32bit version install without any problem?

[Kelldor]

Thx for the reply :)

1) Yes, atm it is completly stock. Will OC later once the 64 bit OS install issue is worked out.
2) Yes, 32bit version is up and running right now, in RAID 0 with no problems at all.

I apreciate your time and help, thank you.

[nn_step]

My guess is the download is getting corrupted.. this happens if you are using active Armor..
So is active Armor on?
and do you know how to slipstream a cd or shall I tell you how?

[Kelldor]

I am unsure if Active Armor is enabled or not, but assuming it is enabled by default in the bios, then the answer is yes. I'm on my way back over to the system in question now and will check immediately upon arrival.

I have heard of "slipstreaming" before and am familiar with what it is, however I have not personally done it myself and am very interested in learning how. If I understand your logic then I think this solution might well do the trick :) Slipstream the NVRAID drivers into the 64 bit OS on a new disc and then it would no longer ask for them, negating the need to hit "F6" and "S" to specify, right?

Any info on slipstreaming would be great! We have 2 DVD drives in the system, and 1 is a burner too.

Thx alot for your help,

Kelldor

[nn_step]

ok if Active Armor is on, what you next is a PCI Lan card.. for the download (to prevent corruption
First, you need to find your Windows XP CD-ROM (any bootable and/or retail version; including Full and Upgrade versions; XP Home or Pro "gold" release) and copy the contents of the CD to your hard drive. Create a folder in the root of your C: drive called xp (C:\xp) and use My Computer to simply drag and drop the files between the two locations.
Then just simply add the file
Before we simply burn the resulting file set to a CD, we need to make sure we have a hidden file found on your XP CD-ROM that will make your new CD bootable. We can't grab this file with My Computer, but will instead use a shareware tool called ISOBuster, which you can find on the [url=http://www.smart-projects.net/]Smart Projects Web site[url]. After you download and install ISOBuster, choose to use only the product's free functionality, unless you decide to purchase it.
On the left-side tree view, make sure you have selected the node named Bootable CD. You should see a file called Microsoft Corporation.img (or similar; it will be named something.img) in the right side of ISOBuster. This is the file you need to extract. To do so, right-click and choose Extract Microsoft Corporation.img. When ISOBuster prompts you, choose to download it to the root of your C: drive. Now you can close ISOBuster.
and after all that it shouldn't be hard to burn as a bootable CD

[Kelldor]

There was no setting in the bios to disable active armor. The "Corrupt File" error occurs early in the setup though, before any downloading or internet connectivity. we have just been booting from CD and running the setup that way.

Thanks for the tips on slipstreaming. will try that later today. Late last night we finally did get 64 bit XP to load, but we had to delete the array and not use RAID to do it :/ If it works, or we find something else that will work, i'll post results, thx!

Kelldor

[Kelldor]

I found the following link on another forum and tried the variouse methods to slipstream the drivers in using a nice programm called Nlite, but I still get the same error: "Corrupt File. Cannot load NVRDX64.sys".

Integration of the nVRaid drivers into
Windows XP x64 or Windows Server 2003 x64 (http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=50659&st=0&p=352404&#entry352404)

Great info, but have so far made only frisbees, lol. any ideas? thx.

Kelldor