Table of Contents
Configuring SATA Hard Drive(s) (Controller: nVIDIA nForce4-4X; nVIDIA nForce3 250/Ultra; nVIDIA
nForce2 MCP RAID) ..................................................................................................................... 2
(1) Installing SATA hard drive(s) in your computer .......................................................................... 2
(2) Configuring SATA controller mode and boot sequence in BIOS Setup .................................... 3
(3) Configuring RAID set in RAID BIOS ............................................................................................. 5
(4) Making a SATA controller driver disk .......................................................................................... 8
(5) Installing SATA controller driver during OS installation ............................................................ 10
(6) Configuring a bootable RAID array with Microsoft Windows 2000 ........................................ 13
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Configuring SATA Hard Drive(s) (Controller: nVIDIA nForce4-4X;
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nVIDIA nForce3 250/Ultra; nVIDIA nForce2 MCP RAID)
To configure SATA hard drive(s), follow the steps below:
(1) Install SATA hard drive(s) in your system.
(2) Configure SATA controller mode and boot sequence in BIOS Setup.
(3)* Configure RAID set in RAID BIOS.
(4) Make a floppy disk containing the SATA controller driver.
(5) Install the SATA controller driver during OS installation.
Before you begin
Please prepare:
(a) Two SATA hard drives (to ensure optimal performance, it is recommended that you use two hard
drives with identical model and capacity). If you do not want to create RAID with the SATA
controller, you may prepare only one hard drive.
(b) An empty formatted floppy disk.
(c) Windows XP/2000 setup disk.
(d) Driver CD for your motherboard.
(1) Installing SATA hard drive(s) in your computer
Attach one end of the SATA signal cable to the rear of the SATA hard drive and the other end to available
SATA port(s) on the motherboard. (If there are more than one SATA controller on your motherboard, you
may check the name of the SATA connector to identify the SATA controller for the connector. For example,
SATA0_SB/SATA_SB is controlled by the SATA controller on South-Bridge.) Then connect the power
connector from your power supply to the hard drive.
"*" Skip this step if you do not want to create RAID array on the SATA controller.
SATA Hard Drive Configurations (nForce series) - 2 -
(2) Configuring SATA controller mode and boot sequence in BIOS Setup
You have to make sure whether the SATA controller is configured correctly in system BIOS Set up and
set BI OS boot sequence for the SATA hard driv e(s).
Step 1:
Turn on your computer and press D el to enter BIOS Setup during POST (Power-On Self Test). If you want
to create RAID, selec t IDE F unction Setu p under the Integr ated Peri pherals menu and t hen press
ENTER (Figure 1). Change the SATA Primary Master RAID and SATA Secondary Master RAID items
to Enabl ed (Disabled by default) (Figure 2). Skip this step and leave the two items to Disabled by default
if you do not want to create RAID.
IDE Function Setup [Press En ter]
On-Chip Primary PCI IDE [En abled]
On-C hip Seco ndary PCI IDE [En abled]
USB Host Con troller [V1 .1+V2.0]
USB Keybo ard Support [Dis abled]
USB Mouse Support [Dis abled]
Serial-ATA 2(In tern al PHY) [En abled]
AC97 Audio [Au to]
On-C hip LAN(nVIDIA) [Au to]
Onbo ard Serial ATA [Enabled]
Serial ATA Function [RAID]
Onbo ard 1394 [En abled]
Onboard LAN Contro l [En abled]
Onboard LAN Boot ROM [Dis abled]
Onbo ard Serial Port 1 [3F8/IR Q4]
Onbo ard Serial Port 2 [2F8/IR Q3]
Onbo ard Parallel Port [378/IRQ7]
Parallel Port Mode [SPP]
x ECP Mode Use DMA 3
higf: Move Enter: Select +/-/PU/PD: Value F10: Save ESC: Exit F1: General Help
F5: Previou s Values F6: Fail-Safe Defaults F7: Optimized Defaults
Figure 1 (This BI OS setup sc reen is c aptured from GA-K8N SNXP-939, BI OS ver.: D24)
The BIOS Setup menus described in this s ection may not show the exact s ettings for your
motherboard. The actual BIOS Setup menu options you will see shall depend on the motherboard
you hav e and the BIOS version.
IDE RAID [En abled]
IDE Channel 0 Master RAID [Dis abled]
IDE Channel 0 Slave RAID [Disabled]
IDE Channel 1 Master RAID [Dis abled]
IDE Channel 1 Slave RAID [Disabled]
SAT A Primary Master RAID [Enabled]
SAT A Secndry Master R AID [En abled]
CMOS Setu p Utility-Cop yright (C) 1984-2004 Award Soft ware
CMOS Setu p Utility-Cop yright (C) 1984-2004 Award Soft ware
Integrated Peripherals
IDE Function Setup
Item Help
Menu Level}
Item Help
Menu Level}
higf: Move Enter: Select +/-/PU/PD: Value F10: Save ESC: Exit F1: General Help
F5: Previou s Values F6: Fail-Safe Defaults F7: Optimized Defaults
Figure 2
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 3 -
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Step 2:
Lat er, select Hard Disk Boot Prio rity under t he Advanced B IOS Featur es menu. In the H ard Disk
Boot Pri ority submenu, s elect the model of the SATA hard drive onto which you intent to install Microsoft
Windows 2000/XP (Figure 3).
CMOS Setu p Utility-Cop yright (C) 1984-2004 Award Soft ware
1. CH2 M. : S_AT A1-ST3120026AS
2. CH3 M. : S_AT A2-ST3120026AS
3. Bootab le Add-in Cards
hi: Move PU/PD/+/-: Change Priority F10: Save ESC: Exit
Hard Disk Boot Priority
Item Help
Menu Level }}
Use <h> or <i > to
select a device, then
pres s <+> to move it
up, o r <-> to move it
down the list. Press
<ESC> to exit this
men u.
Figure 3
Step 3:
Set Fi rst Bo ot Device under the Advanced BIOS Featu res menu to C DROM t o boot from CD-ROM
drive after system restarts (Figure 4).
CMOS Setu p Utility-Cop yright (C) 1984-2004 Award Soft ware
} Hard Disk Boot Priority [Press Enter]
First Boot Device [CDR OM]
Secon d Boot Device [Hard Disk]
Third Bo ot Device [CDR OM]
Boot Up Floopy Seek [Dis abled]
Password Check [Setup]
Flexib le AGP 8X [Auto]
Init Disp lay First [AGP]
Advanced BIOS Features
Item Help
Menu Level}
higf: Move Enter: Select +/-/PU/PD: Value F10: Save ESC: Exit F1: General Help
F5: Previou s Values F6: Fail-Safe Defaults F7: Optimized Defaults
Figure 4
Step 4:
Sav e and exit BIOS Setup.
SATA H ard Drive C onfigurations (nForce series) - 4 -
(3) Configuring RAID set in RAID BIOS
Enter t he R AID BIOS setup utility to c onfigure a RAID array. Skip this step and proceed to Section 4 if
you do not want to create RAID.
Step 1:
After the POST m emory test begins and before the operating system boot begins, look f or a message
whic h says "Press F10 to enter RAID setup utility" (Figure 5). Hit the F10 key to ent er the RAID BIOS
setup utility.
NVIDIA R AID IDE ROM BIOS 4.22
Copy right (C) 2003 NVIDIA C orp.
Detecting array ...
Press F10 to enter RAID setup u tility ...
Figure 5
Step 2：
The D efine a New Array screen is the firs t option screen when you enter the NVID IA RAID setup utility.
(Figure 6). You can press the TAB key t o highlight through options. The f ollowing below is an example
of RAI D 0 array creation.
Step 3:
In the RAID Mode field, use the UP or D OWN ARROW key to selec t a RAID m ode. The supported RAI D
modes inc lude Mirroring (def ault ), Striping, Stripe Mirroring, and Spanning.
Step 4:
If RAI D 0 is selected, y ou can m anually set the striping block size. In the St riping Block field, us e the
UP or DOWN ARROW key to set t he Striping Block size. The KB is the s tandard unit of Striping Block
size. We recommend you leaving it to the default setting--Optimal (64K). The size range is from 4K to
128K.
NVID I A RAI D Ut ilit y Ma y 10 2004
- De fine a N ew Arr ay -
R A ID M o de: Mirro r i ng Stripin g Block: Op tim al
Free Dis ks
L o c Disk M od el N a m e
1 . 0.M ST3120026A S
1 . 1.M ST3120026A S
[F6] Back [ F 7] Fin is h [TAB] N avig a t e [hi] S e lect [ENTE R ] Popup
[g ] A d d
[f ] Del
Arr a y D is k s
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
Figure 6
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 5 -
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Step 5:
Nex t, selec t the hard drives which you wish to be included in the disk array . The F ree D isks section
displays t he information about the currently inst alled SATA hard drives. Press the TAB k ey to m ove to
the Free Disks section. Select the target hard drives and use t he RIGHT ARROW k ey to add the hard
drives t o the Array Disks section (F igure 7).
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NVID I A RAI D Ut ilit y Ma y 10 2004
- De fine a N ew Arr ay -
R A ID M o de: Mirro r i ng Stripin g Block: Op tim al
Free Dis ks
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
[F6] Back [ F 7] Fin is h [TAB] N avig a t e [hi] S e lect [ENTE R ] Popup
[g ] A d d
[f ] Del
Arr a y D is k s
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
1 . 0.M ST3120026A S
1 . 1.M ST3120026A S
Figure 7
Step 6:
Press F7 after select ing the target hard disks . A message which say s "Clear disk data?" will appear.
If you are sure to clear the data in the selected hard drives, press Y. (If the hard drives contain previously
created RAID array, you need t o press Y to clear t he data from the hard drives.)
NVID I A RAI D Ut ilit y Ma y 10 2004
- De fine a N ew Arr ay -
R A ID M o de: Mirro r i ng Stripin g Block: Op tim al
Free Dis ks
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
C le a r dis k da t a ?
[Y] YES [N] N O
[g ] A d d
Arr a y D is k s
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
1 . 0.M ST 31 20 0 2 6 A S
1 . 1.M ST 31 20 0 2 6 A S
[f ] Del
[F6] Back [ F 7] Fin is h [TAB] N avig a t e [hi] S e lect [ENTE R ] Popup
Figure 8
SATA H ard Drive C onfigurations (nForce series) - 6 -
Aft er that, the Array List screen displaying the RAID array you creat ed will appear (Figure 9).
If you want to set the disk array as boot device, us e the UP or DOWN AR ROW key to select the array
and press B.
NVID I A RAI D Ut ilit y Ma y 10 2004
Bo o t I d Sta t u s Ven do r A rra y M o d el N a m e
BBS 2 He al t h y NV I D IA MIRROR 111. 79G
[Ctrl- X ] Exit [ hi ] Se lec t [B] Set Boo t [ N ] New Arr a y [ENTER] Detail
- A rra y Li s t -
Figure 9
If you want to read more informat ion about the R AID array, press EN TER to enter the Array Detail screen
(Figure 10), where you can see detailed information about RAID mode, disk block size, disk model name,
and disk capacit y, etc.
Arr a y 2 : NV ID IA M I RRO R 111. 79G
R A ID Mo de : Mirro r i n g
Strip in g Width : 1 Striping Blo c k:
Ada p t Ch ann e l M/S In d ex Di s k Mod e l Nam eC ap ac it y
1 0 M a s t e r 0 ST3 1 2002 6 A S 11 1 . 7 9 GB
1 1 M a s t e r 1 ST3 1 2002 6 A S 11 1 . 7 9 GB
- Ar ra y D et a il -
[R] R e bu ild [D] D elete [ C ] C lear Disk [ENTER] R e tu r n
Figure 10
If you need t o clear t he data in the hard disk , press C in this screen. When the Clear disk data screen
appears, press Y t o confirm or N to cancel. Press ENTER to return to the Array List sc reen.
To ex it t he Nvidia RAID utility, pres s CTR L+X.
Now , you c an proceed to install the SATA controller driver and operating system .
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 7 -
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(4) Making a SATA controller driver disk
To ins tall Windows 2000/XP ont o a SATA hard drive on t he nVIDIA nForce3 250/Ultra or nVIDIA nForce2
MCP RAID SATA controller successfully, y ou need t o install required driver for t he SATA controller
during OS installation. Without the driver, the hard drive may not be recognized during the Windows set up
process.
First of all, you need to copy the driver for the SATA c ont roller from the motherboard driver CD to a
floppy disk. The instructions below explain how to copy the driver.
Step 1: Find an available s ystem and insert t he motherboard driver CD into the CD-ROM drive. The
inst allation ut ility will appear aut omat ically. Quit the installation ut ilit y first.
Step 2: Go t o My Co mputer and right-click the CD-ROM drive icon and select Open (Figure 11).
Figure 11
Step 3: Go to the Bo otDrv folder and look for an executable program named MEN U.exe (Figure 12).
Figure 12
SATA H ard Drive C onfigurations (nForce series) - 8 -
Step 4:
Double-click MENU. exe. An M S-DOS prom pt screen similar t o Figure 13 below will appear.
Figure 13
Step 5:
Insert an empty floppy disk and press E to select E)nVIDIA Series ATA (XP) if you want to install Windows
XP; press F to select F)nVIDIA Series ATA(2K) if you want to install Windows 2000. Then it will take
about one m inute to c opy the SATA driver from the motherboard driver CD t o the floppy disk.
Step 6:
Press 0 t o exit when the procedure is complete (Figure 14). You have copied the SATA driver successfully.
Figure 14
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 9 -
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(5) Installing SATA controller driver during OS installation
Now t hat you have prepared the SATA driver disk and configured BIOS settings, you are ready to install
Windows 2000/XP onto your SATA hard drive with the driver. The following is an example of W indows
XP installation.
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Step 1: Restart your s ystem to boot from the Window s 2000/XP Setup disk and press F6 as soon as
you s ee the "Press F6 if you need to install a 3rd party SC SI or RAI D driver" message (F igure 15). After
pressing F6, there will be a few moments of some f iles being loaded before you see the next screen.
Windows Setup
Pres s F6 if you need to install a 3rd party SCSI or RAID driver.
Figure 15
Step 2:
When a screen similar t o that below appears (Figure 16), insert the floppy disk containing the SATA driver
and press S.
Windows Setup
Setu p could not determine the type of one or mo re mass sto rage devices
installed in you r system, or you have chos en to manually specify an adap ter.
Currently, Setup will load support for t he following mass storage devices(s)
<none>
* To specify add itional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or s pecial
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device su pport disk fro m a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not h ave any device su pport disks from a mass storage
device manufactu rer, or do not want to specify add itional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
S=Specify Ad ditional Device ENTER=Con tinue F3=Exit
Figure 16
SATA H ard Drive C onfigurations (nForce series) - 10 -
Step 3:
If Setup correctly recognizes t he driver in the floppy disk, a controller menu similar to Figure 17 below
will appear. Use the ARR OW key s to select NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER* (F igure 17) and pres s
ENTER . Later, when a screen similar to Figure 18 appears, you must press S to select additional driver.
The screen will return to previous screen as s hown in F igure 17. Select NVID IA NForce Storage
Con troller and press ENTER, and then it will begin t o load the SATA driver from the floppy disk .
Windows Setup
You have chosen to configure a SCSI Adapter for use with Windows,
using a device suppo rt disk provided by an adapter manufacturer.
Select the SCSI Adapter you want from the following list, or press ESC
to retu rn to the previous screen .
NVIDIA R AID C LASS DRIVER
NVIDIA NForce Storage Controller
ENTER =Select F3=Exit
Figure 17
Windows Setup
Setu p will load supp ort for the fo llowing mass storage device(s):
NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER
* To specify add itional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or s pecial
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device su pport disk fro m a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not h ave any device su pport disks from a mass storage
device manufactu rer, or do not want to specify add itional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
S=Specify Additional Device Enter=Continue F3=Exit
Figure 18
If a message appears say ing one or som e file(s) c annot be found, please c heck the floppy disk
or copy the correc t SATA driver again from the motherboard driver CD.
"*" If you want to creat e RAID, select both NVIDIA RAID CL ASS DRIVER and then NVIDI A
NForce Storage Controll er.
If y ou do not c reate R AID, selec t NVI DIA NForce Storage Contro ller only.
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 11 -
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Step 4:
When the next screen (F igure 19) appears, press ENTER to cont inue the SATA driver installat ion from
the floppy disk. The driver installat ion w ill be f inished in about one m inute.
Windows Setup
Setu p will load supp ort for the fo llowing mass storage device(s):
NVIDIA RAID CLASS DRIVER
NVIDIA NForce Storage Contro ller
* To specify add itional SCSI adapters, CD-ROM drives, or s pecial
disk controllers for use with Windows, including those for
which you have a device su pport disk fro m a mass storage device
manufacturer, press S.
* If you do not h ave any device su pport disks from a mass storage
device manufactu rer, or do not want to specify add itional
mass storage devices for use with Windows, press ENTER.
S=Specify Additional Device Enter=Continue F3=Exit
Figure 19
After the SATA controller driver installation is completed, you should see a screen as below. It indicates
that you have installed the SATA c ontroller driver successfully. You can proceed with t he Windows
2000/XP installation.
Windows XP Pro fessional Setup
Welcome to Setup.
This port o f the Setup p rogram p repares Microsoft(R)
Windows (R) XP to run on you r computer.
To set u p Windows XP now, p ress ENTER.
T o repair a Windows XP installation us ing
Recovery Console, p ress R.
To quit Setu p without installing Windows XP, press F3.
Enter= Con tinue R=Repair F3=Exit
Figure 20
SATA H ard Drive C onfigurations (nForce series) - 12 -
(6) Configuring a bootable RAID array with Microsoft Windows 2000
Prob lem: Users cannot inst all Windows 2000 with Servic e Pack 2 (or previous v ersions) to a bootable
RAID volume.
There are two solutions to resolve this iss ue.
So lutions 1:
Use t he NVRAID tool (nForce Driver Version 5.xx) to convert the boot volume to a RAID array. H ere
are the detailed step-by -step inst ructions:
Step 1:
Ins tall W indows 2000 onto a select ed hard drive. Download and install Windows 2000 Service Pac k 4
from Mic rosoft's website.
Step 2:
After syst em restarts, press Del to enter system BIOS Setup during POST (Power-On Self Test). Select
RAI D Co nfig under the Integrated Perip heral s menu (Figure 21), and s et t he SATA disk (the one
containing the Windows 2000) item to Enabled (Disabled by default)(Figure 22). Save settings and exit
the BIOS s etup.
} IDE Function Setup [Press Enter]
} RAID Config [Press En ter]
OnChip USB [V1 .1+V2.0]
USB Keybo ard Support [Dis abled]
USB Mouse Support [Dis abled]
AC97 Audio [Au to]
Onbo ard H/W LAN* [Enab led]
Onbo ard Serial Port 1 [3F8/IR Q4]
Onbo ard Serial Port 2 [2F8/IR Q3]
UART Mo de Select [Norm al]
x UR2 Dup lex Mode Half
Onbo ard Parallel Port [378/IRQ7]
Parallel Port Mode [EC P]
ECP Mode Use DMA [3]
Game Port Address [201]
Midi Port Ad dress [Disabled]
x Midi Port IRQ 10
CMOS Setu p Utility-Cop yright (C) 1984-2004 Award Soft ware
Integrated Peripherals
Item Help
Menu Level}
higf: Move Enter: Select +/-/PU/PD: Value F10: Save ESC: Exit F1: Gen eral Help
F5: Previou s Values F6: Fail-Save Defaults F7: Optimized Defaults
Figure 21 (This BIOS setup sc reen is captured from GA-7N400S-L, BIOS ver. E17)
CMOS Setu p Utility-Cop yright (C) 1984-2004 Award Soft ware
IDE Chann el0 Master R AID [Disabled ]
IDE Channel0 Slave RAID [Dis abled]
IDE Chann el1 Master R AID [Disabled ]
IDE Channel1 Slave RAID [Dis abled]
SAT A Primary Master RAID [Disabled]
SAT A Secndry Master R AID [Dis abled]
higf: Move Enter: Select +/-/PU/PD: Value F10: Save ESC: Exit F1: Gen eral Help
F5: Previou s Values F6: Fail-Save Defaults F7: Optimized Defaults
RAID C onfig
Item Help
Menu Level}
Figure 22
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 13 -
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Step 3:
After system restarts , press F10 to enter the N VIDIA RAID setup ut ility. Select Striping in the RAID Mode
filed (Figure 23). Move to the Free D isks sec tion with the TAB k ey. Select the desired disk and use the
RIGHT ARROW key t o add it to Array Disks m enu.
NVID I A RAI D Ut ilit y Ma y 10 2004
- De fine a N ew Arr ay -
R A ID Mo d e: S t rip i n g Stripin g Block: Op tim al
Free Dis ks
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
1 . 0.M ST3120026A S
1 . 1.M ST3120026A S
[F6] Back [ F 7] Fin is h [TAB] N avig a t e [hi] S e lect [ENTE R ] Popup
[g ] A d d
[f ] Del
Arr a y D is k s
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
Figure 23
Step 4:
After all the settings, press F7 to complete t he configuration. When prompted to Clear Disk Data (Figure
24), press N. Then press CTRL+X to exit the NVIDIA RAID BIOS. Restart the computer to boot into Windows
2000.
NVID I A RAI D Ut ilit y Ma y 10 2004
- De fine a N ew Arr ay -
R A ID Mo d e: S t rip i n g Stripin g Block: Op tim al
Free Dis ks
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
[F6] Back [ F 7] Fin is h [TAB] N avig a t e [hi] S e lect [ENTE R ] Popup
C le a r dis k da t a ?
[Y] YES [N] N O
Arr a y D is k s
L o c Disk M o d el N a m e
1 . 0.M ST3120026A S
1 . 1.M ST3120026A S
[g ] A d d
[f ] Del
Figure 24
SATA H ard Drive C onfigurations (nForce series) - 14 -
Step 5:
Inst all the NVIDIA nForce Driver Package while in Window s 2000 and reboot the sy stem. Go to
STAR T>Programs>Nvi dia Corporati on and selec t NVRAID manager. You should see the single disk
RAID array (in striping mode) that was created from the boot disk. Select the single boot disk RAID Array
by clicking on it. Select Convert Array under the System Tasks and select Next following the instructions.
Select the desired type of RAID array you want to convert and then select Next. You are prompted to
select the desired F ree Disk(s) to add t o the bootable RAID array. Press Finish then NVRAID will st art
convert ing t he single disk RAID array into a multi-disk RAID array in a bootable format.
Not e: C onversion may tak e 1~2 hours depending on disk siz e.
So lutions 2:
Users must create a c ombination ins tallation C D that includes Window s 2000 and Servic e Pack 3 or
Service Pack 4 fixes integrated in. To create the combination installat ion CD, refer t o the following
website:
ht tp:/ /www.mic rosoft.com/windows2000/downloads/servicepacks/sp4/HFdeploy.htm
Note: If users choose not to install Windows 2000 Service Pac k 3 or 4, RAID is still supported on Windows
2000. However, users will not be able to create a bootable RAID volume.
SATA H ard Drive Configurations (nForce s eries)- 15 -
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