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Old September 22nd 05, 09:44 PM
Nut Cracker
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"Jason Arthurs" wrote in message
...
It was actually a Smart Array 2SL but still a little bit of ancient
history. I've just managed to get it working in a generic tower albeit
with a little help from a Proliant 5500.

I couldn't install Windows to run ACU because the install 'got lost'
during hardware detection and never came back (something to do with
the array not being configured). So I pulled the 2SL and put it in a
5500 and ran ACU.

Pulled it all back out and put it back into the tower and it works
fine after a tweak of the BIOS to stop it trying to boot off of the
network card. It's installing a copy of XP as we speak and it picked
up the array without a hitch this time.

Despite being an ancient card, I think it'll do a better job with the
9Gb 10K drive than the pair of old Seagate 1.2Gb IDE drives that were
in there...

Out of interest, will a 64bit Smart Array (a la 431) work in a 32bit
slot albeit with less bandwidth?


Bear in mind, you wont be able to update the array controller driver. HP
hasnt released a signed XP compatable version of it. As for it working
better than the old IDE drives .... definitely.

Now, as to the 64bit controller question, as long as your controller is
keyed for a 3.3v 32bit slot you can use it, and yes, it will have less
bandwidth. It will probably negotiate down to Ultra2 speeds (80MB/s).
Anything more would exceed the rating of the entire PCI bus.

The 431 has the above mentioned slot keying. You should be able to use it.

its PCI keying looks like this:

|_|-|_______|-|_|-|___________|

some of the others, such as the 532 and 641 controllers look like this:
|_|-|__________|-|___________|

Your standard 32bit 33Mhz PCI slot looks like this:
|__________|-|___|

notice how the notch does not line up at the back of the slot. That is the
"gotcha".

Let me know if you have any other questions.

- LC