FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions )

Q:	Do I need to do anything before installing and activating Raid function? (PSA420 & PSA421)
A:	Yes. Before installing and activating Raid function, PLEASE make sure you have a complete backup of your existing data from hard drives.
Q:	How to enter Raid Bios? (PSA420 & PSA421)
A:	When the Bios on the controller card is active. Press Ctrl-S or F4 to enter Bios menu. ("Caution: When creating Raid Set, all data in the hard disks will be lost")
Q:	For the PSA420 & PSA421, What kinds of Raid function do this card have?
A:	Raid 0 = Striped Raid 1 = Mirrored Raid 5 = Parity Raid 10 = Raid 0 + Raid 1
Q:	For the PSA420 & PSA421 where is the drivers located in the CD?
A:	CD-Rom drive:/silicon_image/sil3124raid/windows
Q:	Which version of drivers is the best/right drivers for the PSA420 & PSA421?
A:	Drivers Version: 1.5.11.0 Drivers Date: 9/20/06 CD Version: SI07A
Q:	For the PSA420 & PSA421, Do I need to use/load the raid drivers, even though I am not using raid function?
A:	Yes, you have to use/load the raid drivers.
Q:	How to install a new Windows 2000/XP installation to hard disk attached to the PSA420/PSA421 SATA Raid card?
A:	STEP 1: Make sure to copy the Windows driver from the Driver CD on to a 1.44MB floppy diskette. You will need the driver in the 1.44MB floppy diskette during the installation. (a) With Raid function: Copy the\Silicon_Image\SIL3124RAID\Windows driver from the Driver CD to the diskette. STEP 2: Connect the HD to the PSA420/PSA421 controller card and insert the card into PCI slot. Start up the system. STEP 3: Boot up your Windows. Press "F6" for third party SCSI or driver installation at the beginning of the text mode installation. Insert the 1.44MB floppy diskette into the floppy drive. Press "S" when setup asks if you want to specify an additional device. STEP 5: Press "ENTER" to continue on with text mode setup. STEP 6: Follow the setup instructions to complete installing Windows.
Q:	Does the PSA150 support 750GB, 1TB, and higher capacity Hard Disk Drives?
A:	Yes. The PSA150 does support 750GB, 1TB and higher capacity Hard Disk Drives with PSA150's Bios version 4.3.79.
Q:	Does the PSA150 support 1.5TB Hard Disk Drives?
A:	Yes. The PSA150 does supports 1.5TB capacity Hard Disk Drives with PSA150's Bios version 4.3.79. Also it will support RAID 0 & 1 with 1.5TB Hard Disk Drives
Q:	Why my Intel motherboard bios won't detect the RAID card? I don't see a prompt screen that lets me press Ctrl+S or F4? (PSA150,PSA420,PSA421 or future RAID card)
A:	All you need to do is on the motherboard bios setup screen, go to "Security", then enable "Expansion Card Text," where it should be disabled by default. Save and Exit. After rebooting the system, you should see the RAID card bios show after the Intel post screen.
Q:	I have a PSA420 RAID card with 4x1TB hard drives; they are in RAID 5, which gives ~3TB of data and the bios of the PSA420 shows ~3TB of data space. When I look in Windows XP Pro (32bit) disk manager, I see only 2TB. Why?
A:	Windows XP Pro has a 2TB limitation per partition or per RAID set partition because NTFS5 or NTFS only support up to a 2TB limitation per partition. For more information about NTFS limitation, please visit  http://www.ntfs.com/ntfs_vs_fat.htm
Q:	IO-PSA420 I installed all drivers, device manage shows the devices drivers installed properly. I attached my backup hard drive to the card but Windows 7 didn’t detect it (Device manage didn’t detect the hard driver). Why? How come Windows 7 didn’t detect the hard drive?
A:	For Windows 7 or any OS that didn’t detect storage hard drive or backup hard drive. Please follow below step: Caution: Please follow the step correctly. If steps are not following correctly, all data in the hard drive will be lost. (Koutech Systems, Inc. not responsible for any data lost) Turn on the computer. When the Bios setup menu of the controller card during boot up, press Ctrl-S or F4 to enter into Bios menu. Choose “Create RAID set” in the main menu. Choose “Concatenation” Select “1” for only one hard disk to be installed. Press “Enter” if there is only one hard drive is installed or press up or down arrows and then press “Enter” to choose the physical drive to be set. Press “Y” to confirm. Press “Ctrl-E” to exit. Boot to Windows, Windows should detect the drive.
Q:	I'm looking to buy a PSA421 to put in my Dell Precision 670 to allow for a 3rd hard drive. The board PCI-x slots is 3.3v, 100 MHz each and I'm running XP 64 Pro. Apparently some cards have problems with less than 5 volts. Will this card work in my system? Also, I have a 2TB hard drive and your site says that his card will only support up to 1.5TB. Will the 2TB drive not work with this card?
A:	The IO-PSA421 will support 3.3v and 100Mhz bus and supports Windows XP Pro 64bit. Also this card will support 2TB hard disk drive.
Q:	Do Koutech’s Serial ATA controller cards support Blu-ray drive/ DVD-ROM/ CD-ROM read/write drive?
A:	Yes. All Koutech’s Serial ATA controller cards can support all kind of Blu-ray drive/ DVD-ROM/ CD-Rom drives.
Q:	Can I create a RAID with one IDE hard drive and one SATA hard drive on the IO-PESI300?
A:	No. The RAID function is only for SATA hard drive and can not be combo with IDE hard drive.

<<Previous