Quote Originally Posted by iadstudio View Post
SO the drives don't need to be plugged in for the install, right? I just have to make sure RAID mode is enabled in bios when I install the single drive OS.
The intel RAID/AHCI needs to be enable to be seen by BIOS and Windows. However, the iostar driver is not there so it can't load, and yet you can't add it to the OS if you can't get it to boot. This is why stil to this day, us S2K3 and XP users need the f6 install, because it needs to be enabled and directed to the floppy during initial install.

Now it can be added but you need to have/or borrow "2" other SATA HDD's (nothing will be written to them). And a 3rd party legasy SATA controller.

Connnect the 2 extra HDD's to the Intel ICH9R port 1&2 with RAID Enabled and delay to 35sec. Connect your existing OS to the SATA drop in card (MAXIMUS has no J-Micron SATA like P5E). If this card needs drivers, make sure they were installed when OS was on Intel IDE as before so they are ready. You will need to have the "2" HDD's cause Intel ICH9 is not active if NO or only 1 HDD is connected, so Windows will not see it and of corse you wont be ably to run Matrix app. This is why we trick the BIOS and the Intel RAID booot ROM to think it has a set of RAID disc ready to set up.

You will now be able to boot into Windows and run Intel RAID app to install the iostar driver and the rest of the Matrix Storage Manager as would have bean done in the first place.

You can now boot to XP and go to Device manager to confirm you see Intel SATA RAID Controller in SCSI and RAID Controllers. Now you can shut down, rearrange your HDD's as before or with the RAID Ready 2nd HDD to port 2 of ICH9R next to your existing OS you're done w/ SATA drop in card and other HDD's if borrowed).

Congrats, you ae now Intel RAID Ready and can follow the set up in Matrix app to migrate RAID in a Windows inviorment. It will even run in background if you still wanna' work.

Good Luck!