this is kind of a hardware/system type situation. ive been tryin to install raid 0 on two sata hard drives.. i reformatted the one hard drive with windows on it and wanted to start out completely new with raid 0. theres nothing on my BIOS that lets me create a raid array. i can go through windows setup and install raid drivers, but theres like no raid initalized. im trying to upgrade/flash the BIOS through a floppy but when i try to upgrade the .rom file it just shows a list of commands like asfudos /i<ROM FILENAME> if i type that it it says cannot find file.

im using an ASUS P4P800-VM mobo
and the .rom file that was in the drivers disc

The BIOS and BIOS Install Utility are here:

http://support.asus.com/download/dow...Language=en-us

Manual:

http://dlsvr01.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/..._p4p800-vm.pdf

Page 41 has the BIOS upgrade instructions:

2.1.1 Creating a bootable floppy disk
1. Do either one of the following to create a bootable floppy disk.
DOS environment
Insert a 1.44 MB floppy disk into the drive. At the DOS prompt, type:
format A:/S <Enter>
Windows environment
a. From your Windows desktop, click on Start, point to Settings, then click on
Control Panel.
b. Double-click on Add/Remove Programs icon from the Control Panel
window.
c. Click on the Startup Disk tab, then on Create Disk... button.
d. Insert a 1.44 MB floppy disk when prompted. Follow the succeeding screen
instructions to complete the process.
2. Copy the original (or the latest) motherboard BIOS to the bootable floppy disk.
2.1.2 Using AFUDOS to update the BIOS
Update the BIOS using the AFUDOS.EXE utility in DOS environment.
1. Visit the ASUS website (www.asus.com) to download the latest BIOS file for
your motherboard. Save the BIOS file to a bootable floppy disk.
Write down the BIOS file name to a piece of paper. You need to type the exact
BIOS file name at the prompt.
2. Copy the AFUDOS.EXE utility from the support CD to the bootable floppy disk
that contains the BIOS file.
3. Boot the system from the floppy disk.
2-2 Chapter 2: BIOS information
4. At the DOS prompt, type the command line:
afudos /i<filename.rom>
where “filename.rom” means the latest (or original) BIOS file that you copied to
the bootable floppy disk.
The screen displays the status of the update process.
The BIOS information on the screen is for reference only. What you see on your
screen may not be exactly the same as shown.
A:\>afudos /ip4p800vm.rom
AMI Firmware Update Utility - Version 1.10
Copyright (C) 2002 American Megatrends, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reading file ..... done
Erasing flash .... done
Writing flash .... 0x0008CC00 (9%)
DO NOT shutdown or reset the system while updating the BIOS! Doing so may
cause system boot failure!
When the BIOS update process is complete, the utility returns to the DOS
prompt.
A:\>afudos /ip4p800vm.rom
AMI Firmware Update Utility - Version 1.10
Copyright (C) 2002 American Megatrends, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reading file ..... done
Erasing flash .... done
Writing flash .... done
Verifying flash .. done
A:\>
5. Reboot the system from the hard disk.

This board has two SATA ports. I see no support for any RAID configuration. Usually such boards would have four SATA ports.

Of course you can install XP onto one of the SATA drives as long as you load the drivers at the F6 prompt.

i was able to upgrade to ppvm1008.exe, which still doesnt have any raid config. when i try afudos /ip4pvm1018.rom it says cannot open ROM file. the only way i can get raid 0 is through the BIOS right. raid 1 is just a mirror and i think u can use a program for that.

Just from reading your manual I do not see any option for any RAID configuration.

I am not all that knowledgeable along these lines but I just don't see it as an option.

May I ask what is your ultimate goal here? As said you can install XP to either of the SATA drives and then should have access to the other.

If your BIOS Setup has RAID options they would be under: Advanced > Chipset > Southbridge

Perhaps another member will have other ideas for you.

i just wanted raid 0 with 2 hard drives so it could be faster for applications and such. there has to be a way because in the mobo's chipset folder it has a folder called "raidsbios" with a .rom file, and "raid_or" folder with a .bin, and "raidcfg" folder with raidcfg.exe file. i tried already upgrading to that raidsbios .rom file but it says file not found. so i dont know either to keep trying before i install windows or try flashing with windows installed with the asus program.