Thinkpads Forum

I have a w700 with 2 drives configures as a raid 0.

It came installed with vista. I created the vista recovery CDs and I'm able to reintall/recover from the vista recovery CDs all day long.

The machine can with xp recovery CDs. When I use those at the end of the first disk, when the please wait text changes in the Bly wallpaper for rescue and recovery, I get a bsod stop 7b error.

I had a friend who had a w700 that came with xp installed to create a rescue & recovery and got the same behavior.

Finally I tried a win xp sp2 clean install with the intel storage matrix drivers from the intel site. Same result.

I can get xp installed if I remove 1 drive and enable disk comparability mode and use the lenovo xp recovery disks. Then booting and running the ism prepare disk to install the sata ahci driver. Then I can reboot and change bios sata to achi.

However this process doesn't create an xp installation in raid 0.

Contacting lenovo support has been less than helpful. Comments such as this machine was designed for vista.

So has anyone successfully installed xp on the w700 on a raid partition sucessfully? I'm starting to wonder if this some subtle hardware error with so and the machine.

deforest wrote:Finally I tried a win xp sp2 clean install with the intel storage matrix drivers from the intel site. Same result.

deforest, I haven't tried it myself, but I assume you followed the below procedure (using version 8.2.4.1005 of the driver, dated September 12, 2008, for either Windows XP Home Edition, or Professional, I'm assuming 32-bit only):


from:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... im06ww.txt
(also see:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... ir03ww.txt)

[Windows XP] CLEAN INSTALL



Before installing the operating system, install Intel(R) Matrix

Storage Manager Driver, as follows:



Note: Be sure to install Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver before

installing the operating system. Otherwise your computer will

not respond; it will only display a blue screen.



1. Attach a diskette drive to your computer.

2. Download Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver from the Web site

and extract the driver to C:\DRIVERS\WIN\IMSM and copy the driver

to a diskette.

3. To make sure that SATA AHCI or RAID is enabled, start the BIOS Setup

Utility menu.

4. Select Config.

5. Select Serial ATA (SATA).

6. Select AHCI or RAID*.

*Applicable only in ThinkPad W700.

7. Change the startup sequence of your computer. Following the

instructions on the Startup menu in the BIOS Setup Utility, set

the CD-ROM drive to start first.

8. Insert the CD for Windows XP into the CD or DVD drive, and

restart the computer.

9. To install a third-party SCSI or RAID driver first, press F6.

10. When prompted, select S for Specify Additional Device.

11. When prompted, insert the diskette that you created in step 2,

and press Enter.

12. - If your system has Intel(R) 82801HEM/HBM SATA AHCI Controller,

select Intel(R) ICH8M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller, and press Enter.

- If your system has Intel(R) 82801GBM SATA AHCI Controller,

select Intel(R) ICH7M/MDH SATA AHCI Controller, and press Enter.

- If your system has Intel(R) ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller,

select Intel(R) ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller, and press Enter.

- If you selected RAID mode in ThinkPand W700, select Intel(R)

ICH8M-E/ICH9M-E SATA RAID Controller.

13. To continue the installation, press Enter again. Leave the

diskette in the drive until the next reboot; the software may

need to be copied from the diskette again when the files are

copied during setup.

14. Follow the instruction to complete the OS installation.



CAUTION: The above procedure is needed and the ONLY procedure

to successfully install Windows XP in RAID mode.

Yes I seen that posted by both Lenovo and Intel.

Funny thing now is I just retried that this morning, where them machine was left off all night, and now I'm in process of installing a standard ms xp sp2 pro version (non lenovo), disk is formatting as we speak using the IMS downloaded from intel.

Rather be installing the lenovo recovery but at least this is a start.

I also tried using the intel ims driver with the lenovo recovery disk, as it boots you press f6, select the driver from the floppy and there is warning that driver is loaded and that you want to use driver on the floppy. I select use the floppy and leave the floppy in, but it still bsods with the stop 7b error.

I'm suspecting that perhaps the driver on the lenovo recovery disk is bad, this corrupting the raid controller, and that the driver on the recovery disk is still being used regardless of the new driver that I'm selecting.

But this is only a theory. I have another set of xp recovery disks coming so I can see if this is error is also repeatable with the new set.

Okay update on my status.

The clean install of xp sp2 went okay. I did have an issue after reboot the machine and the machine starts preparing itself for the install. I got an error

The file 'Asms' on Windows XP Professional CD-ROM is needed. Type the path where the file is located, and then click OK.

Seems I was installing xp via a usb cd during the install. Switching to the atapi cd drive (in the ultrabay) corrected this error.

With this I have the machine booting via a clean install with xp sp2 and the intel ims drivers (downloaded from intel).

Embolden by this I tried with my lenovo rescue and recovery which I obtained from a w700 that had xp installed on it.

This installed although I did have a glitch in reading the 3 cd (recovery recovery disk #2). In that it gave me a read error. I took the cd and washed it to clean it up. Then I retried booting the machine using the cd by pressing f12 and selecting the atapi cd, but the machine kept giving me errors concerning files in x:/preboot missing. Finally I changed to the boot order in bios to boot first from the atapi cd then the hard drive. With this I was able to restart the lenovo rescue and recovery from disk #1.

It does seem odd that f12 boot device selection is somehow being ignored it this case.

In the end I have the w700 running with the lenovo rescue and recovery obtained from a r & r from a factory installed xp on a w700.

Now I'm trying to use Acronis True Image and when I boot using the cd, I get an error message to the effect that the partition is damaged and should I let it repair it, which I select no. I also tried this with Acronis Echo Workstation trial version.

I would like to use Acronis to save the disk image and be able to reinstall that in case of a drive failure. But these warnings, plus acronis doesn't see the raid array properly, rather it sees 2 disks with paritions on it make me wonder if Acronis can provide this feature.

I also see that i can create a bartPe, perhaps with the intel ism drivers and the acronis plug in that may let me accomplish this. However I have no experience in creating bartPe's.

So has anyone have experience in backing up and restoring raid partitions that can give me some pointers?

Another day, another update.

Found a solution to use acronis true image. Found that someone is selling a product called mustangePeBuilder which takes your installed copy of true image and disk director and uses the Windows Automated Install Kit (WAIK) which is available for free from MS.

Then you can include the intel disk drivers from intel storage matrix to create a bootable cd which will then run acronis true image. This will correctly see the raid device and it's partitions. I have successfully cloned from an ultrabay drive to the raid partition and back and verified that each drive, raid and the ultrabay, is capable of booting the system.

This allows me to be able to restore the system where the raid fails.

Now I'm off experimenting if I can migrate a t60 hard drive to the w700 raid.

One thing I did experience is that using my ms xp sp2, I was unable to run the recovery console with the system configured and booting from the raid, even though I f6 the intel raid drivers.

deforest wrote:I have a w700 with 2 drives configures as a raid 0... I'm trying to use Acronis True Image and when I boot using the cd, I get an error message to the effect that the partition is damaged and should I let it repair it, which I select no... plus acronis doesn't see the raid array properly, rather it sees 2 disks with paritions on it... Found a solution... someone is selling a product called mustangePeBuilder which takes your installed copy of true image and disk director and uses the Windows Automated Install Kit (WAIK) which is available for free from MS... Then you can include the intel disk drivers from intel storage matrix to create a bootable cd which will then run acronis true image. This will correctly see the raid device and it's partitions.

I'm just curious, deforest, were you using Acronis True Image 11 Home, or some other version?

Thanks!

I'm using acronis true image 2009.


Another way to boot is to create another sata disk, either thru restore and recovery or cloning your primary partition, and then using the ultrabay sata adapter to boot off the sata disk, thus seeing the raid partition. That way you have a more complete environment available and the appropriate drivers for the system will be available.