Promise Technology FastTrak TX4000 - Manual (Page 69)

Appendix A: FAQs
65
A: Yes. All FastTrak controllers read the arrays the same way and can be
moved from one controller to another.
Q: Can I take a drive used in a FastTrak TX4000 array and access it
directly with a different controller, such as the one integrated on the
motherboard?
A: Yes, but only under certain configurations. First, the controller must address
the drives as LBA, not CHS.
Second, only the following array configurations will allow the drive(s) to be
accessed individually on another controller:
• Single drive striped (RAID 0)
• Mirrored (RAID 1)
Multiple drives striped or spanned will not work.
Q: If I have a problem with one of the drives on the FastTrak TX4000, how
can I low-level format it to correct the problem?
A: Do NOT do this. Low-level formatting IDE drives is unnecessary and
generally does not correct problems commonly experienced during use.
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 TX4000 controller.
Q: Do I have to install disk management software on my array in order to
access the full storage capacity of drives?
A: No! Disk management software will only complicate things. The array
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.
Q: What system BIOS setup settings do I use for the drives on the
FastTrak TX4000 controller?
A: None. The drives on the FastTrak TX4000 controller are supported by the
FastTrak TX4000 BIOS and/or OS drivers, not by your system BIOS.
Q: How do I partition/format my FastTrak TX4000 RAID array?
A: The FastTrak TX4000 represents the array as a single HDD to your system.
Therefore, anything that you can do to a single HDD you can do to a FastTrak
TX4000 array. For example, you should use the FDISK and FORMAT utilities to
partition/format the array. You can partition the array as you see fit. You can
format the array with any file system you wish.