User`s manual

48
Troubleshooting & Tips
This section is used to assist troubleshooting conflicts and installation problems. Also refer
to the “README.TXT” file in the CD for more recent information as well as the
PromiseOnline
TM
services.
Drive-Related Errors
Critical Array Status Error Reported during Boot
If the critical status error message of a mirrored array appears on the BIOS startup screen
(see below), there is a drive in the array that has failed or is not responding. The system will
identify the failed drive by channel number and Master/Slave designation (if 2 drives exist on
the same cable). The mirrored array has lost its fault tolerance, but will still perform normal
drive reads and writes.
Operation aborted because FastBuild encountered an error as
follows:
Location: Channel 2 - Master Drive
Array Status: Critical
Please retry using FastCheck utility to recover all data. Reboot the
system by pressing the ENTER key.
Try powering the system off and on to reset the drive. Also confirm that cables are properly
attached and the drive is receiving power. If the drive still appears to have failed, proceed to
FastCheck’s “Rebuild Array” option.
Drive cannot be formed into an array
Drives must support Ultra DMA or Multi-word DMA and be free of media defects before
adding it into an array. We recommend using new identical drives for each array. Re-secure
data and power cabling while checking for proper alignment. Typically, pin 1 of the drive is
closest to the power connector.
Possible Master/Slave problems
Master/slave problems may exist between two ATA or IDE drives of different brands
attached to a single cable. For both compatibility and better performance, choose drives of
the same model/brand and install them on separate cables.
System CMOS displays C: or D: drive failure during Startup
Do not reference C: or D: for drives attached to the RAID IDE connectors. Only enter these
drive information in the Standard CMOS Features for drives attached to the standard IDE
hard drive add-in card or the onboard standard IDE connectors.
FDISK reports a much lower drive capacity if a single physical drive or a striped array
exceeds 64GB
Due to a limitation with FDISK, the utility reports only the storage capacity that exceeds
64GB. This is a cosmetic, not actual, limitation. Simply create a single DOS drive partition,
reboot, then format the partition. The Format command will recognize the total capacity of
the partition accurately. Windows NT/2000/98/ME will now recognize the total capacity of
your array.