User manual

Chapter 7: Support
63
Do the disk drives on the FastTrak Controller have to be the same size?
The disk drives connected to the FastTrak Serial ATA RAID Controller card
do not have to be the same size. If the sizes differ, the FastTrak Controller
will truncate the bigger drive so the drives match. The resulting difference in
drive space is unusable, so avoid using disk drives of significantly different
capacities.
I already have a logical disk on an older FastTrak controller. Can I move that
logical disk to my new FastTrak Serial ATA RAID controller?
Yes, provided your logical disk was build using Serial ATA disk drives. All
FastTrak controllers read the logical disks the same way so you can move
them from one controller to another.
Can I take a drive used in a FastTrak logical disk and access it directly with
a different controller, such as the one integrated on the motherboard?
Only Single-drive striped (RAID 0) and mirrored (RAID 1) logical disk
configurations allow the drive(s) to be accessed individually on another
controller. Multiple-drive striped (RAID 0) or mirrored/striped (RAID 10)
drives will not work.
If I have a problem with one of the drives on the FastTrak Controller, how
can I low-level format it to correct the problem?
Do NOT do this. Low-level formatting is unnecessary and generally does not
correct problems commonly experienced. If you think the disk drive is faulty,
run the drive manufacturer’s diagnostic utility on it.
Errors such as bad sectors or ECC/CRC failure are best remedied by
completely replacing the drive. For this reason, do NOT low-level format the
drives attached to the FastTrak controller.
Do I have to install disk management software on my logical disk in order to
access the full storage capacity of drives?
No! Disk management software will only complicate things. The logical disk
should be fully addressable by your OS as it is. Remember that some
operating systems have varying limits on the sizes of partitions and logical
drives that can be defined. Consult your OS documentation about
partitioning larger drives.
What system BIOS setup settings do I use for the drives on the FastTrak
Serial ATA RAID Controller card?
None. The drives on the FastTrak Controller are supported by the FastTrak
BIOS and/or OS drivers, not by your system BIOS.