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only other PC I have is a laptop from 2005.. it's hooked up to a monitor in my garage because the backlighting burned out while I was in Iraq in 2010.. now it's my "play music while working on cars" stereo 
no floppy on it either though..
you might need to source a USB Floppy Drive then - try ebay
also try the USB Floppy Drive (when you have one) on your problem machine, maybe it can boot from USB
Last edited by Damnation (2012-12-04 20:10:32)
I might see if the IT guys at work have a USB floppy I can borrow.. I'd hate to waste money on something I'll use once.. I already blew $10 on a standard floppy drive today..
Do you happen to know what motherboard the problem machine has?
ASRock ALiveNF7G-HD720p Rev. 5
And I've got the original Support CD's... I think it was TechDud who commented above that he looked through the DriverPacks stuff and this RAID chipset was left out probably due to the nVidia chipsets being major PITAs..
Driver is here:
http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/ALiveNF … &os=XP
Should probably be added to massstorage pack.
I've burned 4 different dvds with the driver straight from the original support disc that came with the motherboard..
Windows install still wont see the array.
Windows XP install only looks for drivers on a floppy, and the XP CD, it won't look at the DVD if you disk swap.
edit:
did you mean DP Integrated XP CD?
If so, it seems the current mass-storage driverpack lacks your driver.
Last edited by Damnation (2012-12-05 03:47:47)
Sorry I didn't clarify.. was half asleep, one of my cats woke me up chasing the other across me..
First disc I slipstreamed all DriverPacks as well as used nLite to add all the drivers from the Support cd. Disc works fine but no HDD.
Second disc slipstreamed just the Mass Storage and Chipset Packs, and nLited the support cd. same results
Third disc, slipstreamed just Mass Storage and Chipset, no nLite. same results
Fourth disc, slipstreamed everything using Method 1 (previous attempts were method 2), no nLite. same results
"I slipstreamed all DriverPacks as well as used nLite to add all the drivers from the Support cd."
That's probably why your HDD(s) are not recognized. I would highly recommend starting with a single drive set up as "JBOD". It will ease the load on your P/S, at the very least; maybe even save some hair follicles.
"1) Never use nlite for drivers."
Quoted from: http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic. … 539#p48539
After solving that, it could be that some of the other "super-generics" already in DP's may interfere with the install. If only either floppy worked (symptom?), you would be out of the woods, now.
Another thought is to "clear" your QSC in DP_BASE.
"enable or disable QuickStream Cache (QSC), if not specified: yes
QSC = "yes""
Otherwise, i see power supply as a "one-in-three" possibility. The odds increase the older the P/S is and how "loaded" it has been. Sometimes you can see "burst" capacitors through the fan &/or rear (look closest to mobo power-harness - then by A/C input) with a flashlight. Power-Supplies in that condition do more to destabalize or even to damage anything connected (nor protected) to it than to simply power it. (google "capacitor plague")
Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors are limited in lifespan; although every 10°C decrease in temperature can result in a doubling of it's lifespan. The "solid polymer" caps are sensitive to high-heat as well, the life-span math differs somewhat though. Ripple-current is another limiting factor. Think of "ripple" as akin to audible noise output from an audio amp.
Dust, debris & detritus are also bad news for electronics. Beware anything "plated" in and around electronics & airflow. A power supply is usually a steel "firebox" for a reason. Avoid Power supplies with aluminum casings; aluminum has a rather low melting-point!
I've seen some nasty holes "gouged" into the steel casings.
I've also seen that "borderline or worse" P/S proper diagnosis are regularly missed in stores, at least the ones that rely upon their "LCD P/S testers" that only measure the 5V line under load (As Dee Schneider @ the House of Hair would possibly say - "They're Crap!!")
It's the 12V line that is most demanding on a P/S.
Caution: Capacitors can also store a charge, sometimes far longer than would be expected; sometimes even a fatal charge.
An incompatible revision of "MediaShield RAID BIOS" could be a "long-shot" possibility.
Please quote your MediaShield version number for future reference.
PS: You are not alone. Here's someone with the same mobo with a similar issue, yet differing MassStorage HWid's.
see http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic. … 591#p49591 and
http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?id=6266.
Last edited by TechDud (2012-12-05 18:42:58)
Aha, i was wrong. Your RAID driver is probably in
DP_MassStorage_wnt5_x86-32_1209\D\M\N5
Thanks, mr 'pants!
from MassStorage.ini:
[N5]
; From nForce 15.26 DriverVer=11/12/2008,10.3.0.46
ms_count=1
ms_1_deviceName="NVIDIA nForce 630 SATA/RAID"
ms_1_tag="nvgts6r"
ms_1_sysFile="nvgts6r.sys"
ms_1_hwids="PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0558,PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0559,PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_055A"
ms_1_isBusExtender=true
ms_1_exc_disableIfOS="w2k"
No dice so far for the other controller. 
Last edited by TechDud (2012-12-05 18:50:46)
tattoed_pariah wrote:"I slipstreamed all DriverPacks as well as used nLite to add all the drivers from the Support cd."
That's probably why your HDD(s) are not recognized. I would highly recommend starting with a single drive set up as "JBOD". It will ease the load on your P/S, at the very least; maybe even save some hair follicles.
mr_smartepants wrote:"1) Never use nlite for drivers."
Quoted from: http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic. … 539#p48539
After solving that, it could be that some of the other "super-generics" already in DP's may interfere with the install. If only either floppy worked (symptom?), you would be out of the woods, now.
Another thought is to "clear" your QSC in DP_BASE.
"enable or disable QuickStream Cache (QSC), if not specified: yes
QSC = "yes""Otherwise, i see power supply as a "one-in-three" possibility. The odds increase the older the P/S is and how "loaded" it has been. Sometimes you can see "burst" capacitors through the fan &/or rear (look closest to mobo power-harness - then by A/C input) with a flashlight. Power-Supplies in that condition do more to destabalize or even to damage anything connected (nor protected) to it than to simply power it. (google "capacitor plague")
Aluminum Electrolytic Capacitors are limited in lifespan; although every 10°C decrease in temperature can result in a doubling of it's lifespan. The "solid polymer" caps are sensitive to high-heat as well, the life-span math differs somewhat though. Ripple-current is another limiting factor. Think of "ripple" as akin to audible noise output from an audio amp.
Dust, debris & detritus are also bad news for electronics. Beware anything "plated" in and around electronics & airflow. A power supply is usually a steel "firebox" for a reason. Avoid Power supplies with aluminum casings; aluminum has a rather low melting-point!
I've seen some nasty holes "gouged" into the steel casings.
I've also seen that "borderline or worse" P/S proper diagnosis are regularly missed in stores, at least the ones that rely upon their "LCD P/S testers" that only measure the 5V line under load (As Dee Schneider @ the House of Hair would possibly say - "They're Crap!!")
It's the 12V line that is most demanding on a P/S.Caution: Capacitors can also store a charge, sometimes far longer than would be expected; sometimes even a fatal charge.
An incompatible revision of "MediaShield RAID BIOS" could be a "long-shot" possibility.
Please quote your MediaShield version number for future reference.PS: You are not alone. Here's someone with the same mobo with a similar issue, yet differing MassStorage HWid's.
see http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic. … 591#p49591 and
http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?id=6266.
K, I'll be honest... only some of this wasn't greek to me..
As far as the power supply is concerned, I still have the original packaging for it (just like the motherboard.. I'm kind of a packrat..), it is a model: BFGR1000WEXPSU or: BFG brand 1000W EX Series power supply (this one if I'm not mistaken.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … 817702021) So I don't think it's having an issue supply power..
If I boot up in Non-Raid mode, both drives show up fine as plain IDE 2tb drives, so I'm assuming that meets the JBOD requirements..
edit: NewEgg link doesn't go to the product.. searching the new egg site for item# N82E16817702021 should do the trick.. Sorry..
Last edited by tattooed_pariah (2012-12-06 02:25:14)
The driver from the manufacturers website has an nvrd32.sys file for this hwid PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0558
is nvrd32.sys important?
Changing the controller from AHCI to RAID would also change the HWID of the controller itself.
Changing the controller from AHCI to RAID would also change the HWID of the controller itself.
the HWID above is actually my IDE controller, not AHCI..
I might see if the IT guys at work have a USB floppy I can borrow.. I'd hate to waste money on something I'll use once.. I already blew $10 on a standard floppy drive today..
I doubt you had two bad new floppy's in a row, you were probably right in suspecting the ribbon cable.
Please use the connector at the END of the ribbon cable if there are two connectors, (last con. is "A" drive).
Please borrow a Floppy drive ribbon cable from the IT guys at work~
the F6 driver (floppy driver for txtmode) is on this page
http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/ALiveNF … &os=XP
listed as SATA RAID Driver (For system to read from floppy diskette during Windows installation)
Techdud is right about the PSU being an often over looked issue. I keep a known good test PSU on my bench.
HOWEVER floppy drives are not sensitive at all to poor power input . If there is any power at all it should blink and buzz 
.
The ribbon cable or the MB is the issue. (make sure you did not bend a pin over on the MB connector .)
best of luck sir.
tattooed_pariah wrote:I might see if the IT guys at work have a USB floppy I can borrow.. I'd hate to waste money on something I'll use once.. I already blew $10 on a standard floppy drive today..
I doubt you had two bad new floppy's in a row, you were probably right in suspecting the ribbon cable.
Please use the connector at the END of the ribbon cable if there are two connectors, (last con. is "A" drive).
Please borrow a Floppy drive ribbon cable from the IT guys at work~the F6 driver (floppy driver for txtmode) is on this page
http://www.asrock.com/mb/NVIDIA/ALiveNF … &os=XP
listed as SATA RAID Driver (For system to read from floppy diskette during Windows installation)Techdud is right about the PSU being an often over looked issue. I keep a known good test PSU on my bench.
HOWEVER floppy drives are not sensitive at all to poor power input
The ribbon cable or the MB is the issue. (make sure you did not bend a pin over on the MB connectorbest of luck sir.
All the pins are straight, this ribbon cable only has two connectors, one on either end. If I boot off the Support CD it will format a floppy for the F6 RAID drivers. Unfortunately I only have one power supply, but I'd like to think it's good since it's what I'm using right now and everything is functioning fine.
I'll try and get a new cable from work tomorrow.
Thanks again to everyone for all your help and patience! I really appreciate it!
I assume that both connector-ends are indeed polarized. That is to say, they only fit on one way, with pin1 matching the marked end.
"All the pins are straight, this ribbon cable only has two connectors, one on either end. If I boot off the Support CD it will format a floppy for the F6 RAID drivers."
That seems to imply that the floppy is at least powered; so much for me thinking that one end may be backwards. One thing about those cables; there are a few lines that are reversed close to one end. That is the end that should go to the floppy drive. What does ScanDisk make of the finished disk? Does it find bad sectors? Can you update it with files from D\M\N5?
You said that you have the latest BIOS update installed, if i remember correctly.
Beware as improperly applied BIOS updates can "brick" your board!
It could be that the drivers on the SupportCD are not compatible with the latest MediaShield RAID BIOS (should be included in the Motherboard's BIOS).
"I'd like to think it's good"
If the power supply has more than 2000 total hours on it shine a flashlight in to the case of the P/S to see if you can see any capacitors bulged on the top, especially closest to the mobo cables. The mobo though, if older than the P/S, would be more likely to have these.
For examples of what you are looking for, see: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5
I'm not saying that this is your issue, i only mention it as a possibility. If you had an audio amplifier with a malfunctioning power supply, you wouldn't expect it to sound well. Likewise, a computer powersupply can cause instabilities that can be difficult to predict.
It is all a process of elimination, including Sherlock Holmes' "deductive reasoning".
That is, using known good hardware to diagnose &/or debug unknown hardware.
Get that "Moriarty" Focker! You are a Pariah here, only in name.
Last edited by TechDud (2012-12-07 12:37:32)
I assume that both connector-ends are indeed polarized. That is to say, they only fit on one way, with pin1 matching the marked end.
tattooed_pariah wrote:"All the pins are straight, this ribbon cable only has two connectors, one on either end. If I boot off the Support CD it will format a floppy for the F6 RAID drivers."
That seems to imply that the floppy is at least powered; so much for me thinking that one end may be backwards. One thing about those cables; there are a few lines that are reversed close to one end. That is the end that should go to the floppy drive. What does ScanDisk make of the finished disk? Does it find bad sectors? Can you update it with files from D\M\N5?
You said that you have the latest BIOS update installed, if i remember correctly.
Beware as improperly applied BIOS updates can "brick" your board!
It could be that the drivers on the SupportCD are not compatible with the latest MediaShield RAID BIOS (should be included in the Motherboard's BIOS)."I'd like to think it's good"
If the power supply has more than 2000 total hours on it shine a flashlight in to the case of the P/S to see if you can see any capacitors bulged on the top, especially closest to the mobo cables. The mobo though, if older than the P/S, would be more likely to have these.
For examples of what you are looking for, see: http://www.badcaps.net/pages.php?vid=5
I'm not saying that this is your issue, i only mention it as a possibility. If you had an audio amplifier with a malfunctioning power supply, you wouldn't expect it to sound well. Likewise, a computer powersupply can cause instabilities that can be difficult to predict.It is all a process of elimination, including Sherlock Holmes' "deductive reasoning".
That is, using known good hardware to diagnose &/or debug unknown hardware.
Get that "Moriarty" Focker! You are a Pariah here, only in name.
well slap me for another bit of non-clarity...
The cable is notched, so yes, it only goes in one way.
there is a twist on one end, and while I did in fact have it on the end that plugged into the drive and not the motherboard, the idea that which end it goes on makes a difference makes no sense to me whatsoever.. but I've been known be be wrong about many things before..
What I meant by the support cd creating a floppy disk is now that it has done so in the past, but that it is designed with a Nero boot function that will prompt you for what drivers you want to install, and if you have a working floppy drive, it will format a disk for you. So far I have yet to have a working floppy drive..
The last time I updated the BIOS on the board was probably sometime in early 2009, if it was even that recent.. the worry of bricking the board is exactly why I never bothered to try and update them further, I figured, it works fine now, I don't want to break it..
I don't see any physical signs of damage in the PSU, but I can say relatively confidently that it ran 24/7 from November 2008 - May 2009, and then again from January 2010 - March 2010, then again from December 2010 - present.. When I am home I leave my system running at all times. so maybe that's an issue, but like I said, I've never had any indication of power problems at all in that entire time. No magic smoke has escaped, there is no physical damage, and nothing has ever given an indicator that it isn't getting enough power..
The only hardware that I've never used before are these FDD's.. I haven't used one of them in at least 5 years and I threw away all of my known good ones at least 4 years ago.. I did pick up a new cable from work today, but it's been a long couple of days so maybe i'll take a look and try it tomorrow night.
As I re-read this, some of it seems kinda snarky, and I'm not trying to sound like an ass, just tired and got a good buzz going 
I'm really thinking that my best bet will be to save up a hundred bucks, and hit pricewatch for a copy of 7 Ultimate, which as far as I understand, should be able to recognize RAID from the get go without a floppy..
I'm not even going to consider Vista, and I don't like what I'm hearing about 8, so for me 7 is a logical step from the stability I've come to know and love of XP Pro...
5-year warranty on P/S?
However; the motherboard could be the "weak link", as warranty is limited to 3 years. Probably easiest to check the mobo for any sign of leaking or bulged capacitors.
I calculate from your listed power-on usage, a total "ballpark" figure of 23400 hours.
Assuming that the capacitors were originally meant for 2000 hours @ 105°C, this would work out to approximately 32000 hours @ 65°C. If the power fluctuates in the building it is in, that figure would be reduced.
I would guess that you could have a year of usage left in it, yet i am uncertain. I lack much information specific to your computer's issues. The brand and series of capacitor will effect those calculations also. Bear in mind that electrolytic capacitors can fail without any outward sign, although nowhere nearly as common. Damaged components usually are found nearest the most significant thermal-zones. A non-contact infrared thermometer has been a guide to me for finding how bad a thermal zone can get. I do this during a "memtest" to evaluate a "close-to" worst-case scenario.
Back to BIOS; if the system exhibits "instabilities" or "failure", that is not a good circumstance to update the BIOS. Call it a "last-resort", perhaps, on a setup with a minimum of components?
Using SLI? If so, use a low-powered card of the same chipmaker (optional) for testing.
PS: Looking at the comments on newegg concerning that BFG (defunct?) P/S, of those whom have experienced failure, a large percentage have experienced catastrophic failure, at least according to their claims.
PPS: That "claim" of 1000 Watts could be another example of corporate "free-speech". Think of how HDD/SDD/etc. manufacturers henke with their math in defining a "Gigabyte", or a "Terabyte". 1000 Watts may have been a theoretical maximum, not a real-world maximum.
"Power supply internals are GARBAGE, may explode if pushed
Won't put out anywhere near 1000w
probably 1000 PEAK... and that is a stretch"
Quoted from: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a … llFullInfo
This does seem like an extreme opinion ordinarily disregarded. It would be interesting to see some high-res pictures of the internals on that puppy to confirm or deny.
Don't go opening it if you are not familliar with the risks and how to alleviate those risks.
To me, "modular" can equal "voltage drop". Avoid use of these connectors if the ends become discolored.
Last edited by TechDud (2012-12-07 17:50:25)
D'oh! BIOS battery is a distinct possibility, considering it's age.
Last edited by TechDud (2012-12-07 17:31:40)
Any progress? We have not forgotten about you. I vow to keep my replies short, if you want.
Sadly, i have been remiss in my duties, though. An updated link was posted for the "nV test pack".
"We should be pointing nvidia users to this thread and when they find a DriverPack MassStorage test pack that works on their system, use that instead of the main pack for that one system."
Beware, there are 18 of them. Start with #13 & #14. Those do contain your RAID's HWid's, unlike the others.
Please reply with your machine's preference. That might end up in the main pack.
Last edited by TechDud (2012-12-12 16:25:09)
regarding power supply and wattage an often overlooked stat is the duty rating...
i like the antec true power units for that reason. many power supplies have a duty rating of 80% some as low as 60%
what this means is a 1000 watt power supply with a 60% duty rating can only put out 1000 watts for a second or even a fraction of a second. it is only capable of supplying continuous power of 60% of 1000 watts continuously or 600 watts
so many decent 1000 watt power supplies are really only 600 to 800 watts.
UNLESS you get a unit with a 100% duty cycle rating (Like an Antec True Power). These are usually a lot more $$$.
In conclusion a 600 watt PS with a 100% Duty cycle is a better power supply than a 1000 watt unit with a 60% Duty cycle .
It is also truth in advertising... implies a reputable manufacturer.
No progress. I tried again with a new FDD tonight, it at least made clicking sounds, and the BIOS is set manually to 1.44mb FDD, but it still won't show up.
I really appreciate all the help everyone gave, but at this point I just gave up. Until I either upgrade my OS or my motherboard, I'm going to stick with non-raid.
I'm still completely confused about allt he talk regarding power supplies, power was never an issue (it was a bad FDD), I've never had any power issues whatsoever. So why we are getting into all the tech specs regarding power supplies I have no idea..
but that's a moot point, I'm up and running in a non-raid XP Pro install again. I still have my old one on a 500gb drive, and now I've got 8tb of space..
because we like to banter while we wait for you to come back
and techdud was not entirely wrong, it is often an overlooked problem.
I could have made the same argument for video cards... if a video card has an issue it can make anything happen, including cause your floppy to fail. A bad video card can make it "anything can happen day". I have fixed some VERY obscure issues by swapping out the video card... believe it or don't.
I think what we all agree on at this point is you do have a Hardware problem, the only mystery is which component...
PS no you did not have 3 bad floppy drives... odds of that happening are pretty slim
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