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AMD RAID Installation Guide
1. AMD BIOS RAID Installation Guide ........................................................................................................ 2
1.1 Introduction to RAID ................................................................................................................. 2
1.2 RAID Configurations Precautions ............................................................................................ 4
1.3 Installing Windows
1.3.1 RAID Functions for AMD A85X, A75, A55 chipsets ........................................................ 5
1.3.2 RAID Functions for AMD A88X, A78, A68H,A58 chipsets .............................................. 9
1.4 Create Disk Array ................................................................................................................... 12
1.4.1 Configuring RAID Option ROM For AMD A85X/A75/A55 Chipsets .............................. 12
1.4.2 Configuring Legacy RAID ROM For AMD A88X/A78/A68H/A58 Chipset ..................... 15
2. AMD Windows RAID Installation Guide ........................................................................................... 18
2.1 Components of RAIDXpert Installation Software ................................................................... 18
2.2 Browser Support .................................................................................................................... 18
2.3 Installing RAIDXpert .............................................................................................................. 19
2.4 Logging into RAIDXpert ....................................................................................................... 21
2.5 Regular Connection ............................................................................................................... 22
2.6 Secure Connection ................................................................................................................ 22
2.7 Creating a New Logical Drive................................................................................................. 23
2.8 Connecting to RAIDXpert from the Internet ........................................................................... 25
2.9 Running RAIDXpert without Network Connection .................................................................. 25
®
OS With RAID Functions ......................................................................... 5
2.10 Using RAIDXpert2 to Create RAID Array in Windows (for AMD A88X/A78/A68H/A58 Chipset)
............................................................................................................................................... 27
Appendix –rcadm.efi information for AMD A88X/A78/A68H/A58 .............................................................. 32
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1. AMD BIOS RAID Installation Guide
AMD BIOS RAID Installation Guide is an instruction for you to configure RAID funct i ons by using the onboard
FastBuild BIOS utility under BIOS environment. After you make a SATA driver diskette, press <F2> or <Del> to enter
BIOS setup to set the option to RAID mode by follow ing the detailed instruction of the “U ser Manual” in our support CD,
then you can start to use the onboard RAID Option ROM Utility to configure RAID.
1.1 Introduction to RAID
The term “RAID” stands for “Redundant Array of Independent Disks”, which is a method combining two or more hard
disk drives into one logical unit. For optimal performance, please install ident ic al drives of the same model and
capacity when creating a RAID set.
RAID 0 (Data Striping)
RAID 0 is called data striping that optimizes two identical hard disk drives to read and write data in parallel, interleaved
stacks. It will improve data access and storage since it will double the data transfer rate of a single dis k alone while the
two hard disks perform the same work as a single drive but at a sustained data transfer rate.
WARNING!!
Although RAID 0 function can improve the access performance, it does not provide any fault tolerance. Hot-Plug any HDDs of the
RAID 0 Disk will cause data damage or data loss.
RAID 1 (Data Mirroring)
RAID 1 is called data mirroring that copies and maintains an identical image of data from one drive to a second
drive. It provides data protection and increases fault tolerance to the entire system since the disk array
management software will direct all applications to the surviving drive as it contains a complete copy of the data in
the other drive if one drive fails.
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RAI D 5 (Block Striping with Distributed Parity)
RAID 5 stripes data and distributes parity information across the physical drives along with the data blocks. This
organization increases performance by accessing multiple physical drives simultaneously for eac h operation, as well
as fault tolerance by providing parity data. In the event of a physical drive failure, data can be re-calculated by the
RAID system based on the remaining data and the parity information. RAID 5 makes efficient use of hard drives and is
the most versatile RAID Level. It works well for file, database, application and web servers.
RAID 10 (Stripe Mirroring)
RAID 0 drives can be mirrored using RAID 1 techniques, resulting in a RAID 10 solution for improved performance
plus resiliency. The controller combines the performance of data striping (RAID 0) and the fault tolerance of disk
mirroring (RAID 1). Data is striped across multiple drives and duplicated on another set of drives.
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1.2 RAID Configurations Precautions
1. Please use two new drives if you are creating a RAID 0 (striping) array for performance. It is recommended
to use two SATA drives of the same size. If you use two drives of different sizes, the smaller capacity hard
disk will be the base storage size for each drive. For example, if one hard disk has an 80GB storage
capacity and the other hard disk has 60GB, the maximum storage capacity for the 80GB-drive becomes
60GB, and the total storage capacity for this RAID 0 set is 120GB.
2. You may use two new drives, or use an existing drive and a new drive to create a RAID 1 (mirroring) array
for data protection (the new drive must be of the same size or larger than the existing drive). If you use two
drives of different sizes, the smaller capacity hard disk will be the base storage size. For example, if one
hard disk has an 80GB storage capacity and the other hard disk has 60GB, the maximum storage capacity
for the RAID 1 set is 60GB.
3. Please verify the status of your hard disks before you set up your new RAID array.
WARNING!!
Please backup your d ata fi rst bef or e you create RAID f unctions. In the process you create RAID , th e system will ask if yo u
want to “Clear Disk D ata” or not . It is r e c om m end ed t o s el ect “Yes”, and then y our f ut ure dat a building will ope rat e un der a
clean environment.
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1.3 Installing Windows® OS With RAID Functions
If you want to install Windows® 7 / 7 64-bit / 8 / 8 64-bit / 8.1 / 8.1 64-bit / 10 64-bit on a RAID disk composed of 2 or
more SA T A HDDs with RAID functions, please follow below procedures according to the OS you install.
1.3.1 RAID Functions fo r AMD A85X, A75, A55 chipsets
:
Way 1
Use legacy RAID ROM to create and configure the RAID disk. The RAID disk will be created in MBR mode which the
size of the RAID disk is limited to 2TB. For RAID disk size larger than 2TB, please refer to Way 2 (UEFI Mode for GPT
partition).
STEP 1: Set up UEFI
A. During system boot, press <F2> or <Del> key to enter UEFI setup utility.
B. Go to Advanced Storage Configuration.
C. Set the “SATA Mode” option to <RAID>.
D. Click <F10> to save to exit.
STEP 2: Create and configure the RAID disk
A. During system boot, press <Ctrl+F> to enter legacy RAID ROM utility.
B. F ol l ow the instruct i on i nsi de the RAID ROM utility to create the target RAID disk.
(Please refer to Section 1.4 in this guide for more details)
STEP 3: Copy RAID driver to a USB flash drive
A. P l ease install the DVD-ROM into one of the SATA ports 5 ~ 8 which support IDE Combined Mode.
B. During system boot, press <F2> or <Del> key to enter UEFI setup utility.
C. Plug a USB drive into one of the USB port.
D. Insert the Support CD into the DVD-ROM drive.
E. Go to Tools Easy RAID Installer
F. Follow instructions to finish the driver copy process.
STEP 4: Windows installation
A. During Windows installation process, when Disk selection page show up, please click <Load Driver>.
B. Cl i ck <Browse> to find the driver insi de your USB flash drive.
C. For 32bit OS, the driver is under /I386 directory. For 64bit OS, the driver is under /AMD64 directly. Please select
the correct driver for your Windows version (Windows 7/8/8.1).
D. After RAID driver is loaded, the RAID disk will show up.
E. P l ease follow Windows installation instruction to finish the process.
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:
Way 2
Create and configure the RAID disk in GPT mode to support RAID disk size over 2TB and speed up system boot time.
STEP 1: Set up UEFI
A. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY → Advanced screen → Storage Configuration.
B. S et the “SATA Mode” option to <RAID>.
C. Set the “Onboard RAID 3TB+ Unlocker” option to <UEFI Mode For GPT Partition >.
D. Click <F10> to save and exit.
(for Windows® 8 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 10 64-bit only)
E. Click <F11> to enter boot menu and select “Built-in EFI shell”.
F. At the Shell> prompt, enter the command “drvcfg” and click <Enter>.
G. When the following screen appears, enter “dh <Drv number>” and click <Enter>.
H. Enter “drvcfg(spac e)-s(s pac e) <Drv number>(space)<Ct rl number>” and click <Enter> to access RAID Utility.
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I. Enter <Logical Drive Main Menu> to set up RAID Drive.
J. Choose <Logical Drive Create Menu> to create a RAID Drive.
K. Choose <Usable Physical Drive List> and select the hard drives to be included in the RAID array.
Click <Space> on keyboard to toggle checkbox. Then choose <Basic Setting>.
L. Ent er <Ld Name>.
Choose <Ld Size setting> and set <LD Size (GB)> to LD Max Size.
Choose <Start To Create> and click <Enter> on keyboard to create logical drive.
M. Click <Enter> two times.
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N. Click <Esc> to return to the previous page and choose <Logical Drive List Menu> to check the logical drive list.
Press <F10> to save and exit.
O. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY → Boot to set the “Fast Boot” option to <Ultra Fast >. Press <F10> to save change
and exit.
STEP 2: Windows
Click <F11> to enter boot menu and select “UEFI” DVD-ROM to install OS.
®
8 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 10 64-bit OS installation
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1.3.2 RAID Functions fo r AMD A88X, A78, A68H, A58 chipsets
:
Way 1
Use legacy RAID ROM to create and configure the RAID disk. The RAID disk will be created in MBR mode which the
size of the RAID disk is limited to 2TB. For RAID disk size larger than 2TB, please refer to Way 2 (UEFI Mode for GPT
partition).
STEP 1: Set up UEFI
A. During system boot, press <F2> or <Del> key to enter UEFI setup utility.
B. Go to Advanced Storage Configuration.
C. Set the “SATA Mode” option to <RAID>.
D. Click <F10> to save to exit.
STEP 2: Create and configure the RAID d isk
A. During system boot, press <Ctrl+R> to enter legacy RAID ROM utility.
B. F ol l ow the instruct i on i nsi de the RAID ROM utility to creat e the target RAID disk.
(Please refer to Section 1.4 in this guide for more details)
STEP 3: Copy RAID driver to a USB flash drive
A. P l ease install the DVD-ROM into one of the SATA ports 5 ~ 8 which support IDE Combined Mode.
*Due to the AMD A68H chipset limitation, please install the DVD-ROM into one of the SATA ports 1 ~ 4 and set the
“SATA Mode” option to <AHCI> in BIOS setup. After copying RAID driver to a USB flash drive, please set the “SATA
Mode” option back to <RAID> in BIOS setup.
B. During system boot, press <F2> or <Del> key to enter UEFI setup utility.
C. Plug a USB drive into one of the USB port.
D. Insert the Support CD into the DVD-ROM drive.
E. Go to Tools Easy RAID Installer
F. Follow instructions to finish the driver copy process.
STEP 4: Windows installation
A. During Windows installation process, when Disk selection page show up, please click <Load Driver>.
B. Cl i ck <Browse> to find the driver insi de your USB flash drive.
C. For 32bit OS, the driver is under /I386 directory. For 64bit OS, the driver is under /AMD64 directly. Please select
the correct driver for your Windows version (Windows 7/8/8.1/10).
D. After RAID driver is loaded, the RAID disk will show up.
E. P l ease follow Windows installation instruction to finish the process.
:
Way 2
Create and configure the RAID disk in GPT mode to support RAID disk size over 2TB and speed up system boot time.
(for Windows® 8 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 10 64-bit only)
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STEP 1: Set up UEFI
A. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY → Advanced screen → Storage Configuration.
B. S et the “SATA Mode” option to <RAID>.
C. Set the “Onboard RAID 3TB+ Unlocker” option to <UEFI Mode For GPT Partition >.
D. Click <F10> to save and exit.
E. Cl i ck <F 11> to enter boot menu and select “Built-in EFI shell”.
F. At the Shell> prompt, enter the command “rcadm –M –qa” and click <Enter> to show RAID information.
* Please refer to the step 3 of Section 1.3.2 to copy rcadm.efi file to USB flash disk or download the file from ASRock
website http://download.asrock.com/drivers/AMD/SATA/BoltonRAID(v6.1.0.00117).zip
*See the Appendix section for more information on “rcadm.efi”.
.
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G. When the following screen appears, enter “rcadm -M -id -d<list>” and click <Enter> to initialize disk.
H. Enter “rcadm -C <raid_type> -d <list > ” and click <Enter> to creat e RAID disk.
RAID Types:
--volume, -v Single disk or concatenation of disks (JBOD)
--raidable, -ra Single disk, RAIDAble
--raid0, -r0 Stripe of two or more disks
--raid1, -r1 Mirror of two disks
--raid10, -r10 Stripe set of mirror sets
--raid5, -r5 Stripe set with parity, three to sixteen disks
I. Enter UEFI SETUP UTILITY → Boot to set the “Fast Boot” option to <Ultra Fast>. Press <F10> to save change
and exit.
STEP 2: Window s
®
8 64-bit / 8.1 64-bit / 10 64-bit OS installation
Click <F11> to enter boot menu and select “UEFI” DVD-ROM to install OS.
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1.4 Create Disk Ar r ay
Power on your system. If this is the first time you have booted with the disk drives installed, the AMD onboard RAID
Option ROM Utility will display the following screen.
The RAID Option ROM includes a Utility with tools to set up your physical drives as RAID logical drives. The RAID
Option ROM Utility can perform these functions:
- Monitoring RAID status
- Viewing physical drive assignments
- Secure erasing of all data on physical drives
- Creating RAID logical drives
- Creating multiple logical drives using the same physical drives
- Deleting RAID logical drives
- Diagnosing critical and offline RAID logical drives
- Displaying the IRQ and base address (for system diagnosis)
1.4.1 Configuring RAID Option ROM For AMD A85X/A75/A55 Chipsets
During the POST process, press <Ctrl+F> keys, then the RAID Option ROM Utility Main Menu appears.
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