Windows 7 RAID Problems Asus P6X58D-E

[O-Dog]

Hi i am pulling my hair out with my new rig.

Asus P6X58D-E
Intel i7 960 3.2GHz
16GB RAM
1000W Thermaltake PSU
2 x Western Digital 1TB WD1002FAEX

If i setup the drives non-raid, I can get the system to boot, I can install windows without any problem.

If i setup a RAID-1 array in the BIOS, both drives are seen and it creates the raid array no issue. I then get the Windows installer, his F8 to select the DVD and boot the installer. It just hangs on the Starting Windows screen.

I have tried different cables, one drive at a time, and every time the RAID is active, it just hangs. I have drive this with the Marvell SATA-6G and the Intel ICH10R controller.

I have now spent two evenings on this and about to throw the PC out of the window. I have another machine (Asus RAMPAGE 2 mobo) with the intel RAID chipset and that is working fine.

One final note just as i have finished the above i started the Windows 7 installer in Safe Mode (hit F8 straight after hitting return to boot from DVD), it is ok and i can even install to it... now it is working, what is going on?!!

Any ideas? Is Windows 7 a bit flakey with RAID? Why did it work when installed from safe mode installer?

Thanks in advance

 

[O-Dog]

dud ram chip

ok the plot thickens... now i found i got a dud ram i found this out after able to install windows after 5 minutes or some disk activity windows would reboot, kept swapping each of the ram chips one at a time until it stopped, i think the first is faulty and running prime95 now.

oh the joy of home build PC's, must make a standard operating procedure that includes doing a full RAM test before even attempting to install windows. i wonder if my RAM problems were to do with the install issues.

Fingers crossed this is the last of the issues