MSI Km4mv Manual

MS-6734 M-ATX Mainboard
4-2
This section gives a brief introduction on the RAID-related background knowledge
and a brief introduction on VIA SATA RAID Host Controller.  For users wishing to
install their VIA SATA RAID driver and RAID software, proceed to Driver and RAID
Software Installation section.
RAID Basics
RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a method of combining two or more
hard disk drives into one logical unit. The advantage of an Array is to provide better
performance or data fault...

VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction
4-3
BIOS Configuration
When the system powers on during the POST (Power-On Self Test) process, press
 key to enter the BIOS configuration.
The Serial ATA RAID volume may be configured using the VIA Tech. RAID BIOS.
Always use the arrow keys to navigate the main menu, use up and down arrow key
to select the each item and press  to call out the list of creation steps. The
main interface of BIOS configuration utility is as below: 

MS-6734 M-ATX Mainboard
4-4
Create Disk Array
Use the up and down arrow keys to select the Create Array command and press
.
Select Array Mode  and press , a list of array modes will appear.  Highlight
the target array mode that you want to create, and press  to confirm the
selection.  If RAID 1 or RAID 0/1 is selected, an option list will popup and enable the
users to select Create only or Create and duplicate.  Create only will allow BIOS
to only create an array.  The data on the mirroring drive may be...

VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction
4-5 If user selects a RAID 0 array in step 2, the block size of the array can also be
selected.  Use the arrow key to highlight Block Size and press , then select
a block size from the popup menu.  The block size can be 4KB to 64KB.  After array mode is selected, there are two methods to create a disk array.  One
method is “Auto Setup” and the other one is “Select Disk Drives”.   Auto Setup
allows BIOS to select the disk drives and create arrays automatically, but...

MS-6734 M-ATX Mainboard
4-6
Delete Disk Array
A RAID can be deleted after it has been created.  To delete a RAID, use the following
steps:
1. Select Delete Array in the main menu and press .  The channel
column will be activated.
2. Select the member of an array that is to be deleted and press .  A
warning message will show up, press Y to delete or press N to cancel.
Deleting a disk array will destroy all the data on the disk array except RAID 1 arrays.
When a RAID is deleted, the data on these two hard...

VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction
4-7
Create and Delete Spare Hard Drive
If a RAID 1 array is created and there are drives that do not belong to other arrays,
the one that has a capacity which is equal to or greater than the array capacity can
be selected  as a spare drive  for the RAID 1 array.  Select Create/Delete Spare
and  press , the channel column will then be activated.  Select the drive that
you want to use as a spare drive and press , the selected drive will be
marked as Spare.  The spare...

MS-6734 M-ATX Mainboard
4-8
Rebuild Broken RAID 1 Array
When booting up the system, BIOS will detect if any member disk drives of RAID has
failed or is absent. If BIOS detects any disk drive failures or missing disk drives, the
status of the array will be marked as broken.
If BIOS detects a broken RAID 1 array but there is a spare hard drive available for
rebuilding the broken array, the spare hard drive will automatically become the mir-
roring drive. BIOS will show a main interface just like a...

VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction
4-9 1. Power off and Check the Failed Drive:
This item turns off the computer and replaces the failed hard drive with a good one.
If your computer does not support APM, you must turn off your computer manually.
After replacing the hard drive, boot into BIOS and select Choose replacement
drive and rebuild to rebuild the broken array.
2. Destroy the Mirroring Relationship:
This item cancels the data mirroring relationship of the broken array.  For broken RAID
1...

MS-6734 M-ATX Mainboard
4-10
Install Driver in Windows OS
h  New Windows OS (2000/XP/NT4) Installation
     The following details the installation of the drivers while installing Windows XP.
1. Start the installation:
Boot from the CD-ROM. Press F6 when the message Press F6 if  you need
to install third party SCSI or RAID driver appears.
2. When the Windows Setup window is generated, press S to specify an
Additional Device(s).
3. Insert the driver diskette VIA VT6420/VT8237 Disk Driver into drive A: and...

VIA VT8237 Serial ATA RAID Introduction
4-11
Installation of VIA SATA RAID Utility
The VIA SATA RAID Utility is the software package that enables high-performance
RAID 0 arrays in the Windows* XP operating system. This version of VIA SATA RAID
Utility contains the following key features:
h Serial ATA RAID driver for Windows XP
h VIA SATA RAID utility
h RAID0 and RAID1 functions
Insert the MSI CD and click on the VIA SATA RAID Utility to install the software.
The InstallShield Wizard will begin...