K7D Master L & Promise FastTrak SX4000 boot hang

Question

I am having major trouble getting a Promise FastTrak SX4000 RAID controller to work with a K7D Master-L (MSI-6501-030). I would appreciate any and all input, especially from those of you who have similar or identical hardware (same motherboard/chipset, same RAID controller or similar Promise card) and are able to get them working.
Brief description :
The SX4000 controller will hang at the IDE drive detection stage when installed on this board alone (plus an AGP video card) or alongside various combinations of PCI adapters, in various PCI slots available, and using various BIOS settings. The SX4000 appears to work fine in another Intel chipset system with the same AGP video cards. Both the motherboard and the SX4000 controller appear to have the latest BIOSes available.
Symptoms :
When the system is turned on with the SX4000 controller installed, it completes POST successfully, then loads the Promise FastTrak BIOS from the SX4000, and stalls after displaying "Scanning for IDE drives". Waiting for extended periods of time verifies the system is just 'stuck' here. It appears to be a 'hang' rather than a 'freeze', since the keyboard continues to operate and Ctrl-Alt-Del will still reboot the system at this point. The D-LED diagnostic LED bracket indicates (according to the included user manual), the system is at the "Initializing Hard Drive Controller" stage at this point.
The system continues to boot fine if the SX4000 controller is not installed.
The SX4000 controller functions fine on another system, a Dell OptiPlex GX400--a Pentium 4-based system built around the Intel i850 chipset. This OptiPlex GX400 has only a TNT RIVA 128 AGP video card installed, but has built-in audio and NIC. The SX4000 controller also works in this system using a GeForce2 MX TwinView AGP video card as well as a GeForce FX5600 AGP video card. It does not work on the K7D Master-L with either card, with the following exception. With only the TNT RIVA 128 AGP video card, it will in fact scan for IDE drives (indicated by ~10 - 15 dots/periods, ".", displayed after the "Scanning for IDE drives" message), but then will also hang as soon as the scan is complete without additional messages.
All of the above is true whether hard disks are connected to the SX4000 controller or not.
Disclaimer : I am not a newbie. I've built hundreds of systems over the past 10 years and know what I am talking about. :)
What I have tried so far, and what I've been able to determine :
I have gone through quite a bit of research about this. I've tried both Promise and MSI Web sites (both US and Taiwan), the Web at large through Google, as well as various newsgroups including alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.msi-microstar through Google, the MSI forums on their Web site, the AMDMB Forums, 2CPU forums, HardForum, AnandTech Forums, SysOpt forums, and Tom's Hardware Community. While there are many posts about the AMD 760MPX chipsets and various Promise RAID and non-RAID IDE controller cards, none describes my problem exactly. Hence my posting here.
o There isn't a problem with the DIMM I am using on the SX4000. It's a 256 MB PC133 DIMM, with 8 HT33S328256K (32Mx8) DRAM chips on it. I am certain it's not a problem because the card works as expected in the Dell OptiPlex GX400 with the same DIMM. I have also tried a 64 MB PC100 DIMM (Crucial) and there is no difference--the SX4000 controller hangs the K7D Master-L, but works with the OptiPlex GX400.
o Moving the card around to different PCI slots on the K7D Master-L doesn't make a difference, if only so to avoid a problem with a shared interrupt. I have tried the board in all 5 available PCI slots--the upper two 66MHz/64-bit PCI slots as well as the lower three 33MHz/32-bit PCI slots. I have looked at the IRQ assignment scheme for this board, and tried putting the SX4000 (alone or with other PCI cards--see configuration info at the end) in the first PCI slot, next to the AGP slot such that it doesn't share an IRQ with the video card. No luck. I have also tried the lowest PCI slot (#5), which should have a distinct IRQ ideally, based on the above scheme, but that also makes no difference.
o Disabling various components, including all on-board peripherals (audio, LAN, serial, parallel, and USB ports, legacy USB emulation, ACPI), disabling all caching/shadowing (video/system BIOS) makes no difference.
o The SX4000 controller came with the latest available BIOS according to the Promise Web site (http://www.promise.com/support/download/download2_eng.asp?productId=94&category=All&os=100), v1.02.0.5. Just for the hell of it, I copied the controller BIOS from the flash ROM to an image using Promise's own PFLASH.EXE utility and file-compared it with the latest BIOS on the Web site to ensure they are exactly the same.
o The K7D Master-L came with BIOS v1.6, which, according to MSI's US (search for the K7D Master L) or Taiwanese (lists a v1.82, but I am hesitant since it doesn't recommend or caution against using it on the -L model of the motherboard) Web sites is not available. These list either v1.3 or v1.5 (the latter for the K7D Master) as the latest available that I can verify for K7D Master-L.
o I tried downgrading the SX4000 controller BIOS to the other, earlier one available on the Promise Web site, to v1.01.0.15. No changes. The card still doesn't work in any slot on the K7D Master-L, and works fine in any slot on the OptiPlex GX400.
o There *are* people on these forums who have similar systems, some with the same motherboard and controller, others with the same motherboard and similar cards like the FastTrak SX6000 who apparently are able to make it work. I know this only because they have open threads on other issues and happen to provide their configuration info. For example:
--same mobo and controller card, apparently working as reported problems are other issues--
2CPU forum post #1
2CPU forum post #2
2CPU forum post #3
MSI forum post #1
newsgroup post #1
--same mobo, very similar controller card--this person first asked on MSI forums and then walked the AMDMB, Tom's Hardware forums, with no response except a supposed "will not work" from MSI; the last one is another person describing my exact problem I think--only one so far--but with an SX6000--
MSI forum post #2
AMDforums post #1
Tom's HW Community post #1
newsgroup post #2
--same chipset though different mobo--
2CPU forum post #4
2CPU forum post #5
2CPU forum post #6 (the K7D Master L has no "jumperless mode")
--people building similar/identical setups--
2CPU forum post #7
AMDforums post #2
AMDforums post #3
What I have not done :
o I have not tried downgrading the BIOS on the K7D Master-L to an earlier (pre-1.6) version. I don't know if this is wise, though, considering this appears to be a newer (with working USB 1.x) revision of the motherboard that might minimally need the BIOS currently on it.
o I have not tried another SX4000 controller card, which I do not have. However, the card working fine on the OptiPlex GX400 indicates to me clearly that there isn't a functional problem per se on the card itself.
o No components are overclocked.
What I suspect :
o The fact that the two GeForce-based cards behave slightly differently than the TNT RIVA 128 (see above about how the hang occurs slightly later with the latter card) indicates to me that the problem is some combination of the motherboard, RAID controller, and video card conflicting (conspiring?) together. I am looking for the plainest AGP video card I have around to further test this.
o There appears to be a resource conflict *or* a BIOS/handover problem going on. It's not likely an IRQ conflict/sharing issue, since on the OptiPlex GX400, the SX4000 happily shares an IRQ with the video card (verified through the BIOS). The resources the SX4000 uses when on the OptiPlex GX400, as seen through its own BIOS/array utility are:
Installed Memory Address FF1F8000   Size 256M
Controller IRQ9
ATA IO Address EC00
XOR and HDMA IO Address E800
Sequence Control IO Address E400
Flash and SRAM Memory Address FF200000
I do not know which of these are retained as is when in the K7D Master-L (the IRQ certainly isn't necessarily retained, but don't know about the rest). I also am not able to easily check for a conflict with these. I can verify that as Windows XP can see it (which does assign its own resources via ACPI, of course,) there are not system or motherboard resources overlapping with any of these.
Also note this older K7T issue that may be relevant
What I need help with :
If you have a K7D Master-L and an SX4000, SX6000, or other similar Promise controller, please let me know how your system is configured.
What other peripherals, particularly video card do you have?
Which slots are all the cards in, particularly the SX4000?
What BIOS version of the K7D Master-L are you using?
What BIOS version is the SX4000?
Many thanks in advance,
MacGyver

Answer 1

Hi, I believe of having your same problem..sorry, I do not speak well English,
this is my system:
Mainboard Microstar MSI K7D MasterL chipset AMD 761MPX
CPU dual AMD MP2400+
RAM 2x512 Corsair  pc2100 ECC Reg.
Primary Master  DVD Rom Toshiba SD-M1712
1° slot PCI(66Mhz) controller FASTRACK SX4000
3° slot PCI  controller USB
AGP 3Dlabs VP970
3 HD Western Digital WD0800JB 80Gb with 8Mb buffer (new)
AUDIO ONBOARD AC97
LAN ONBOARD INTEL
IRQ 11
RAID 5
BIOS FASTRACK SX4000 1.02.0.5
RAM Dimm 256Mb (test OK)
this is my problem:
1) the HD in master or slave the HD do not come recognized from the bios of the fastrack..HD not found..control cables ide or current
2) cable select or removing jumper from the HD the these they come recognized, it allows to make the Array (tried raid 5, 0 and the 1) ago boot of the fastrack but at the moment of the boot from floppy or cd rom (as from bios of the mainboard) remains the underscore that flashes. The PC is not of an all out..con ctrl+alt+del reboot.
3) tried to use also only 2 of aforesaid the HD, invert channel, user also channel 4, same problems
4) it recognizes the HD in master if I mount cables IDE to the contrary.. with the blue connector on the HD..ma remains problem of the boot from floppy or cd
5) I have tried to install others 2 not new HD (samsung 6,4 Gb + seagate4,6 Gb)..il fastrack recognizes them also in master..it allows the Array in raid 0 or raid1 but it remains the problem of the boot from floppy or cd.
6) tried to move fastrack on other slot Pci (also on one of those to 33Mhz) identical problems
7) bios mainboard all ok..also why if I do not make array..part the boot from floppy or cdrom..also if then to the fine ones it says nonexistent disc to me (lacks the Array..)
8) changed to cables courrent..do not creed is that one the problem..Enermax 460W..e then if septum in a determined way jumper the recognized HD
9) modernized bios..le tests son been made it is with that old one that with last (the 1.02.0.5)
10)  tried to use other cable 80 pin connecting a single HD WD in master..l' HD it is not recognized!
11) tried also to detach controller USB
12) moved reader DVD in primary slave and also in secondary (it is master that slave)
13) mounted same fastrack SX4000 on other pc..same problems
14) I have modernized bios to version 1,3 (last the available on the site US..on the taiwanese site is version 1,82 but I do not trust myself)
15) I do not know what other to make!
I have read on the situated one that not there were problems of incompatible with my Mainboard and was compatible with HD Western WD0800BB (80 GB and 2 Digital Mb of buffer) and with WD1200JB (120Gb and 8 Mb of buffer)..i 8 WD0800JB are 80Gb and have Mb of buffer..but creed are not a problem of HD..inasmuch as the problems remain also changing discs (seagate and samsung).
I absolutely have need of this PC for job
if it finds one solution..please it makes to know me! ;(  thanks