Since there's really nothing I could do to expedite the development of the extremely new hardware components involved in the build, I switched to the software front. As you may have read in my previous posts, the ATI kernel DLL was causing problems with the XP install, so I had to retreat from the 3870 X2s. With the two GPU boards removed, only software problems remained. Or at least so I thought.

Having installed Vista Ultimate 64 on one 80GB partition, I had 40GB left on the SSDs (striped in RAID 0) for XP SP2. Normally a not a big deal. However, when you're planning to employ a boot manager that's going to hide one partition to use the other, you need to make sure you install XP on what it thinks is, and will be seen as the C: drive. As it stood, Vista was on C:. No problem, simply hide the partition, right? Well that should have been easy.

Unfortunately, my old standby Acronis Disk Manager, a Linux-based partition utility, apparently lacked the drivers for the Intel RAID matrix and/or Marvel eSata controller and wouldn't boot. I then tried Microsoft's DISKPART utility which comes with the PE2-based Active @ Boot disc, however, it only allowed me to hide/unhide partitions en masse with an MBR-based hard drive. I.e., hide em' all or show em' all.

I was just about to give up and delete the Vista 64 partition and reinstall that OS later when Paragon's Partition Manager 9.0 came to the rescue. Using PE2 (windows PrE-install version 2) it picked up on both RAID controllers without my so much as having to load a driver. It's my new favorite and a real gem. The Adaptec 3405 isn't attached since I can't use it and the Marvell at the same time until Intel fixes the D5400XS BIOS.

This would seem to have solved my problem, however, XP's install came up with a CRC error which probably means that some of the files copied from the CD weren't recognized. This most likely means a RAID driver problem. I finally buckled, removed Vista 64 and devoted the entire disk to the XP installation, but that didn't help one iota. After switching the D5400XS from RAID to IDE mode, the XP install crashed immediately after the first reboot. I hate to say it, but I'm running out of time and patience. According to a reader, this whole deal is a known issue with this chipset so I'll investigate over the weekend. Rest assured, I'm NOT going to send out a system that won't let you install Windows XP!

Plan B

This might mean implementing a plan B based on an nVidia SLi system or Intel X38 Crossfire system. I would lean towards an Asus P5N-T Deluxe and two liquid-cooled EVGA Black Pearl 8800 Ultras (as suggested in the forum by number3124. thanks!) which would also make room for the return of the Emu 1616m sound card. Actually, simply using the Black Pearls on the D5400XS might make room for the EMU. I have an email in to EVGA. Yeah! Feel free to chime in on this folks--one of you will be winning it.

Mar 15th Addendum: No matter what card I use, I'll be looking for low-profile cooling blocks like you'll find at Koolance

We finally opted for the faster Sony BWU200S to replace the Plextor PX-900's. Partition Manager 9 is sitting on top of one of the BWU200's in the picture below.

I appreciate all the thoughts and suggestions folks. Keep em' coming.

Till Monday...

Jon

I ragged a bit on the Gigabyte 3D Mercury case in my first post, calling it a near thing. Actually, the case isn't a near thing at all, it's the Skulltrail D5400 motherboard that's caused the most difficulty. Not that it isn't a wonderful product, it's just something new to the consumer market with special needs. A pampered rock star if you will.

First off, it's eATX, meaning large, with only relatively few cases on the market that will accommodate it. Next there's the fact that it's socket LGA771 meaning none of Intel's mainstream LGA775 processors fit it. There's no throwing two cheapos in this thing and upgrading later. Then there are those two darn EPS12V 8-pin sockets. If you've been reading, you'll already know that it was very difficult to find a power supply that offered two leads and I've yet to spot an adapter to split a single EPS12V connector into two. You might not want to do such a thing anyway, as a single 12-volt rail might not be up to the task (though I was perfectly willing to try it!).

The D5400XS I'm using at the moment is an alpha preproduction unit from Intel though I've been assured it's virtually identical to what will hit the retail channels. Even now that I've got everything in place, I'm still trying to figure out why it's so slow to boot. It takes forever to recognize the OCZ SSDs and I'm hoping there's not a compatibility issue. Oh, well... that's why they pay me the big bucks.

Caveat: The following is meant to be illustrative of the problems one can encounter when configuring and troubleshooting with new hardware and technologies. It is most emphatically NOT a rant against any particular company. I've encounter such issues with virtually every vendor in the industry at some point. Technology is programmed by humans who make mistakes. Perhaps not as many as I make, but...
I figured the slow drive recognition was a BIOS/SATA controller issue with the SSDs that might have been spotted and solved by now so I downloaded the 2/18/2008 BIOS update from the Intel site. Unfortunately, after burning the ISO file to CD, I booted and was greeted by a prompt saying "Missing parameter in config file". Go figure. What said parameter was and why it was missing, I'll probably never know. Suffice it to say that I was not pleased.

Tried the interminable boot again, and this time I got the proper boot prompt. If only I'd pressed the key within the required 15 seconds. One more interminable boot (The drive recognition sequence is what was taking forever--hanging at the two SSD drives. Things were very quick after this section) and then the updater hung yet again at the Linux -InitDisk. There were also messages about INT13 failures. I let it sit there for quite a while and worked on this blog entry, remembering that this is where the BIOS hangs. It was trying to find a partition on the SSDs ten minutes later when I finally decided to just pull the SSDs (which are eventually recognized) and try the reboot without them attached. Pretty darn quick this time and the BIOS flash transpired without incident. When this system actually kicks into gear, it's not playing games. Well, not yet anyway.

Alas, the BIOS flash didn't solve the problem so I'm going to have to quit till Monday when the OCZ and Intel folks are available for comment. Until then.

Cheers, Jon