promise ATA\66 ide controller

WhiteWashMan

ok.
i have recently got one of these.
however, the only thing i got was the card and an ide cable.
now, when i went to install it, the bios just comes up with something about the bios not being installed, or neediung an update or something. i was in a rush last night and didnt get the exact error.
now i have looked up the promise website and it tells me that i ahve to install the updated drivers first. now i havent actually booted the system yet. if the bios version is incorrect, then will the device be detected in win2k? if this is the case, why do i have to install a driver first befoire making sure the device is correct in the bios?
just curious about that. doesnt make sense to me. (have you noticed i know bugger all about pci controllers yet )
if so then the directions say install drive, and then reboot and flash bios.
one other thing. there is a 4 prong connector for led. what the hell is that for?
what led do i connect to it, what does it do, is it nesseccary as i havent got one. could this indeed be what the problem is?

Supercell

Hi WWW used to use one of these ..so here goes

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">when i went to install it, the bios just comes up with something about the bios not being installed</font>

All this means is that the hardrive isnt being detected..given that you are using a standard ide cable as opposed to an 80 ultra 66 (available for a fiver in maplins)this isnt a big problem..its to be expected(are you sure it s an ide cabe?)otherwise check your jumpering,position on the cable martters too as far as i remember.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">there is a 4 prong connector for led. what the hell is that for</font>

The leds just show hdd activity ,the cable that would be used is two pin and would normally connect to a scsi led connector on your motherboard, top two pins correspond to channel a and so on. Thats all they do, they are not needed or operation of the device

You do not need to go flashing the bios etc,to see if it works if its all hooked up you will be able to access it in dos just fine normally as well as in windows 9x or w2lk if they are installed on another drive.
If you are attempting to install win9x to this drive just install and add in the drivers later as normal, if you are installing winnt or win2k, treat it as a scsi drive and "f6" it during to install the drivers during setup, or you will end up with the dreaded "inaccessible boot device" screen

WhiteWashMan

hmm, interesing
when i booted up i didnt have anything on it as i assumed that id have to go into the controller bios (like scsi) and set up something or other. ok, so that may have been the problem.
i already have 2 drives on the system, a dvd drive and an internal zip. i also have a cd-rw and another hard drive i want to add so tharts why i need the controller. i will try adding a hard drive tonight and see if its picked up. i did put the cd-rw on it, and it was only then picking up 3 devices from the main bios screen. cant recall if i actually let it continue to ide controller to see if it picked up the cd player. does this also show up like bios screen?
the one ide cable i have is ultra 66. says so on the side
even tells me where to put master and slave drives. really handy if you happen to be computer illeterate but still able to read

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Your Imps Demand Cable...

Supercell

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">i did put the cd-rw on it, and it was only then picking up 3 devices from the main bios screen</font>

I never put anyelse but on hard drives on mine, i doubt if the cd-rw is gonna work, more than likely you are going to have to do some rearranging of devices . The zip should work on the promise, but the other stuff..i dunno..i doubt it.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">when i booted up i didnt have anything on it as i assumed that id have to go into the controller bios (like scsi) and set up something or other. ok, so that may have been the problem</font>

Know where you're coming from, but there is no ctrl-c type combo for this card..its just plug and play to coin a phrase.

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">it was only then picking up 3 devices from the main bios screen. cant recall if i actually let it continue to ide controller to see if it picked up the cd player. does this also show up like bios screen</font>

Yep you will get a promise bios screen during the post, typically what happens when it doesnt recognise a devise it just shows the three spare slots and then hangs for ages before continuing.

I dont think there are any big problems here, but given the amout of stuff you are putting in there (you must have a huge psu!!)you may end up having to do some fancy stuff with the boot.ini..but if it comes to that just ask..

[This message has been edited by Longfield (edited 20-07-2001).]

SickBoy

I know the HighPoint ATA/66 controller on my old BP6 worked fine with my CDROM/RW. Its an IDE controller so nothing less should be expected to tell the truth.

WhiteWashMan

nice.
i'll probably post on monday when i get back to work and have nothing to do except try and figure out how to make my machine go bang