In order to set up a system with matrix RAID, you will need to perform the following steps:

• Enable RAID in the System BIOS
• Create a RAID Volume
• Install the Operating System on the RAID Volume Using the F6 Installation Method
• Install the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager from within Windows*
• Create the Second RAID Volume

Note: When setting up a matrix RAID configuration, it is recommended that you first create a redundant RAID volume (RAID 1/5/10) and that you install your operating system onto this volume. This will ensure more immediate access to your operating system and files in the event of a single hard drive crash. You can then create a RAID 0 volume or another redundant RAID volume in the remaining space.

Enable RAID in the System BIOS

Perform the following steps to enable the RAID option in the system BIOS:

Note: These instructions are specific to motherboards manufactured by Intel with a supported Intel® chipset. Always follow the instructions that are provided with your motherboard, as the specific BIOS settings on non-Intel manufactured motherboards may differ.

1. Enter the BIOS Setup program by pressing the F2 key after the Power-On-Self-Test (POST) memory test begins.
2. Select the Advanced menu, and then the Drive Configuration menu.
3. Switch the Drive Mode option from Legacy to Enhanced.
4. Enable Intel® RAID Technology.
5. Press the F10 key to save the BIOS settings and exit the BIOS Setup program.

Create a RAID Volume

Perform the following steps to create a RAID volume:

1. When the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager option ROM status screen appears during POST, press the Ctrl and i keys at the same time to enter the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager option ROM user interface.
2. Select Option 1: Create RAID Volume and press the Enter key.
3. Use the up or down array keys to select the RAID level and press the Enter key.
4. Unless you have selected RAID 1, use the up or down arrow keys to select the strip size and press the Enter key.
5. Press the Enter key to select the physical disks.
6. Select the appropriate number of hard drives by using the up or down arrow keys to scroll through the list of hard drives and pressing the Space key to select the drive. When finished, press the Enter key.
7. Select the volume size and press the Enter key. Note: You must select less than 100% of the available volume space in order to leave space for the second volume.
8. Press the Enter key to create the volume. At the prompt, press the Y key to confirm volume creation.
9. Select Option 4: Exit and press the Enter key. Press the Y key to confirm exit.

Install the Operating System on the RAID Volume Using the F6 Installation Method

Note: The F6 installation method is not required for Microsoft Windows Vista*. The RAID volume should be recognized during operating system installation. You can skip to step #7 below.

Perform the following steps to install the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager driver during operating system setup:

1. Press the F6 key when prompted in the status line with the Press F6 if you need to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver message. This message appears at the beginning of Windows* XP setup (during text-mode phase).
   Note: Nothing will happen immediately after pressing F6. Setup will temporarily continue loading drivers. You will then be prompted with a screen asking you to load support for mass storage device(s).
2. Press the S key to Specify Additional Device.
3. You will be prompted to Please insert the disk labeled Manufacturer-supplied hardware support disk into Drive A: When prompted, insert the floppy disk containing the following files: IAAHCI.INF, IAAHCI.CAT, IASTOR.INF, IASTOR.CAT, IASTOR.SYS, and TXTSETUP.OEM and press the Enter key.
4. After pressing Enter, you should be presented with a list of available SCSI Adapters. Select your controller from the list. The up and down arrow keys can be used to scroll through the list as all controllers may not be visible. The list may include:
   • Intel® 82801GR/GH SATA RAID Controller
   • Intel® 82801GHM SATA RAID Controller
   • Intel® ESB2 SATA RAID Controller
   • Intel® 82801R/DO/DH SATA RAID Controller
   • Intel® 82801HEM SATA RAID Controller
   • Intel® 82801IR/IO SATA RAID Controller
5. The next screen should confirm your selected controller. Press the Enter key again to continue.
6. At this point, you have successfully F6'ed in the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager driver and Windows setup should continue. Leave the floppy disk in the floppy drive until the system reboots. Windows setup will need to copy the files from the floppy again to the Windows installation folders. Once Windows setup has copied these files again, you should then remove the floppy diskette so that Windows setup can reboot as needed.
7. During Windows setup, create a partition and file system on the RAID volume as you would on any physical disk.

Install the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager from within Windows*

Perform the following steps to install the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager driver from within Windows if you wish to use the Intel® Matrix Storage Console to create the second RAID volume:

1. Download the latest version of the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager from the following location: http://downloadcenter.intel.com/scripts-df-external/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2101
2. Run the executable.

Create the Second RAID Volume

Use one of the following methods to create the second RAID volume:

• Right-click Option in Intel® Matrix Storage Console Device Tree
• Actions Menu in Intel® Matrix Storage Console
• Intel® Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM

Create the Second RAID Volume Using the Right-click Option in the Device Tree To create a second volume on a RAID array using the right-click option, use the following steps:

1. Open the Intel® Matrix Storage Console (Start/All Programs/Intel® Matrix Storage Manager/Intel® Matrix Storage Console).
2. Select View » Advanced Mode to enter Advanced Mode.
3. Right-click on the array with available capacity in the device tree and select Create Volume (see following example where Array 0 has 57.1GB of available capacity).
4. Enter the RAID volume name, select a RAID level, and select a strip size (if applicable); click Next to continue.
5. The array will be already be selected for you; click Next to continue.
6. Click Next since the volume will utilize all available capacity.
7. Click Finish to create the new RAID volume.

Create the Second RAID Volume Using the Actions Menu
To create a second volume on a RAID array using the Actions menu, use the following steps:

1. Open the Intel® Matrix Storage Console (Start/All Programs/Intel® Matrix Storage Manager/Intel® Matrix Storage Console).
2. Select View » Advanced Mode to enter Advanced Mode.
3. Select Actions » Create RAID Volume.
4. Enter the RAID volume name, select a RAID level, and select a strip size (if applicable); click Next to continue.
5. Select the array (see the following example where Array 0 is the name of the array with available capacity); click Next to continue.
6. Click Next since the volume will utilize all available capacity.
7. Click Finish to create the new RAID volume.

Create the Second RAID Volume Using the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager Option ROM
To create a second volume on a RAID array using the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager option ROM, use the following steps:

1. When the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager option ROM status screen appears during POST, press the Ctrl and i keys at the same time to enter the Intel® Matrix Storage Manager option ROM user interface.
2. Select Option 1: Create RAID Volume and press the Enter key.
3. Enter a RAID volume name if desired and press the Enter key.
4. Use the up or down array keys to select the RAID level and press the Enter key.
5. If applicable, press the Enter key to select the array.
   Note: This action will only be required if there is more than one location available for a volume to be created (e.g. two non-RAID hard drives and an array with available capacity). If this action is not required, skip to step 7.
6. Select one of the member drives in the RAID array with available capacity and the remaining drives will be selected automatically (see the following example where the hard drives on Port 0 and Port 1 have available capacity); press the Enter key.
7. Unless you have selected RAID 1, use the up or down arrow keys to select the strip size and press the Enter key.
8. Press the Enter key to create the new RAID volume.

This applies to:

Intel® Matrix Storage Manager