#######################################################################
# Silicon Image SiI SATA controller #
# RedHatLinux Driver #
#######################################################################
1. OVERVIEW
This driver disk adds support for SiI SATA controller that is otherwise
not supported by the RedHatLinux installation program.
Supported RedHatLinux versions:
* RedHatLinux 7.3/8.0/9.0/EL 3.0
2. INSTALLATION
2.0 For detailed information about RedHat installation visit:
http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-8.0-Manual/install-guide
(substitute 8.0 by the proper release version)
2.1 Preparing driver disk
A floppy disk is required to install into a brand new (or blank) disk drive.
Several Options:
. Extract the contents of the [distribution]_sii____rhdd.tgz file on to a formatted floppy disk.
(e.g. use tar xzf [distribution]_sii____rdhh.tgz)
. If running windows: use "rawrite.exe sii____.img A:"
(get rawrite from RedHat installation disk #1 \dosutils directory)
. If running linux: "dd if=sii65x4.img of=/dev/fd0"
* Make sure BIOS reports drives as 'current' (if using RAID)
2.1.1 IMPORTANT NOTE FOR OEM CUSTOMERS
ADD your PCI ID to the "pcitable" file if OEM VendorId is going to be different
from SiI 0x1095 IDs. (End Users should ignore this step)
2.2 Steps for first-time installation
Before you start make sure the BIOS sees your adapter card (if applicable) and
your disk drives.
If just adding Data Drives or upgrading go to sections 2.3 or 2.4
(non-bootable SATA drives are considered Data Drives)
Step1 Boot from the RedHatLinux CD 1 or a boot diskette that you have created.
(Refer to "The Official Red Hat Linux x86 Installation Guide" see 2.1)
*RedHatLinux
Step2 At the "Welcome to Red Hat Linux ..." installation screen, a
prompt labeled "boot:" will appear at the bottom of the screen.
For installation in graphical mode:
At the prompt type "linux dd "and press the enter key.
For installation in text mode:
At the prompt type "linux dd " or "dd text instead of dd"
Sometimes mostly if you have are using drives that have partition information
the SATA driver may get confused and report errors at installation time. After
you have installed the driver but before you format the disk(s) you may do the
following: (formatting starts when doing disk partitioning)
. get a console window by typing CTL-ALT-F2
. mke2fs /dev/sda (say 'y' to prompt)
. fsck /dev/sda
type '2'
type 'w'
This will repartition the disk drives
Step3 Select "Yes" at the "Do you have a driver disk ?" .
Step4 When the screens prompts for "Insert your driver disk and press OK to
continue" insert the driver diskette in the floppy drive and select
"Ok".
Step5 The installation program will automatically load the SiI driver into
kernel. Continue installing your system.
Note, all ATA/ATAPI devices connected to SiI controller will be
presented as a SCSI devices.
Typically you should be able to get a console shell by typing CTL-ALT-F2
or by just login into your favorite window manager.
Become root and execute the following script that will modify the boot loaders to work properly
# sh "update_bootloader.sh"
This script determines which loader and loader configuration files must be
modified / upgraded
At this point you are done with the installation.
2.3 Upgrading the Kernel / Adding DATA DRIVES
If your system is already up and running then you can use execute shell scripts to modify
the kernel or add loadable modules to access the SATA drives as follows:
. # mount /mnt/floppy
in case of DOS formatted floppy
. # mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
. # sh /mnt/floppy/upgrade_driver..
/etc/lilo.conf and /boot/grub/grub.conf will be saved by the setup
script. you may back them up as you wish. Visually inspect lilo.conf and
grub.conf to make sure the result is what you want.
2.4 Adding a HARD DISK as DATA DRIVES (not permanent)
If your system is already up and running then you can use execute shell scripts to modify
the kernel or add loadable modules to access the SATA drives as follows:
. Modify the loaders to disable the Open Source Driver (no script yet)
(add hde=noprobe and hdg=noprobe (3112 chipsets only))
. # mount /mnt/floppy
in case of DOS formatted floppy
. # mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
. # 'sh /mnt/floppy/load_module..' (DATA DRIVES)
(or use the the proper script depending on your kernel)
. insmod sii65x4. As an example add the following lines at the end
of the script in /etc/rc.d/rc.sysinit
'insmod scsi_mod'
'insmod sii65x4'
. At this point you are done with the installation
. If you want to permanently have access to your SATA drives we recommend
you upgrade to kernel as shown below.
3.0 Special Cases:
Mixing Drives.
if you are using LABELS to define partitions, it is recommended that NO drives have duplicate
labels. Linux gets confused when partitions have the same names. (check lilo or grub
configuration files)
change from => append="root=LABEL=/" to root=/dev/hda2 for example
The way Linux finds disk drives also affect the booting sequence.
At the prompt type
"linux ide0=0x1f0,0x3f6,14 ide1=0x170,0x376,15 ide2=0 ide3=0 ide4=0
ide5=0 ide6=0 ide7=0 ide8=0 ide9=0 expert "
At the "Boot Loader Configuration" installation screen specify following
kernel parameters:
"ide0=0x1f0,0x3f6,14 ide1=0x170,0x376,15 ide2=0 ide3=0 ide4=0
ide5=0 ide6=0 ide7=0 ide8=0 ide9=0"
(this may apply only to old releases)
4.0 Modifying Boot Loaders Manually (old techniques)
If using LILO boot loader:
a) Modify /etc/lilo.conf file similar to the example
EXAMPLE:
(before modification)
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.7-10
label=linux
read-only
root=/dev/hda1
(after modification)
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.7-10
label=Red Hat Linux SiIxxx
read-only
root=/dev/sda1
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.7-10.siixxx
b) Update new configuration of Lilo by the next command:
/sbin/lilo
If using GRUB boot loader:
Modify /boot/grub/grub.conf file similar to the example
EXAMPLE:
(before modification)
title Red Hat Linux (2.4.7-10)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.7-10 ro root=/dev/hda2
(after modification)
title Red Hat Linux SiIxxx
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.7-10 ro root=/dev/sda2
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.7-10.siixxx
Step2 Flush filesystem buffers
#sync
Step3 Reboot the system
#reboot
Step4 Select in boot loader menu item "Red Hat Linux SiI680"
Step5 If the system reports about swap failure, please,
modify /etc/fstab file similar to the example:
EXAMPLE
(before modification)
/dev/hda3 swap swap defaults 0 0
(after modification)
/dev/sda3 swap swap defaults 0 0
*RedHatLinux7.3* (old techniques)
Step1 Get driver "siixxx.o" from SiIxxx Driver Disk by issuing commands :
# mount /dev/fd0 /mnt/floppy
# /mnt/floppy/load-siixxx
The shell script "load-siixxx" will load driver in the system and
will create initrd image.
Step2
If using LILO boot loader:
a) Modify /etc/lilo.conf file similar to the example
EXAMPLE:
(before modification)
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-3
label=linux
read-only
root=/dev/hda1
(after modification)
image=/boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-3
label=Red Hat Linux SiIxxx
read-only
root=/dev/sda1
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.18-3.siixxx
append="ide0=0x1f0,0x3f6,14 ide1=0x170,0x376,15 ide2=0
ide3=0 ide4=0 ide5=0 ide6=0 ide7=0 ide8=0 ide9=0"
b) Update new configuration of Lilo by the next command:
/sbin/lilo
If using GRUB boot loader:
Modify /boot/grub/grub.conf file similar to the example
EXAMPLE:
(before modification)
title Red Hat Linux (2.4.18-3)
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-3 ro root=/dev/hda2
(after modification)
title Red Hat Linux SiIxxx
root (hd0,1)
kernel /boot/vmlinuz-2.4.18-3 ro root=/dev/sda2 ide0=0x1f0,0x3f6,14 ide1=0x170,0x376,15
ide2=0 ide3=0 ide4=0 ide5=0 ide6=0 ide7=0 ide8=0 ide9=0
initrd=/boot/initrd-2.4.18-3.siixxx
Step3 Flush filesystem buffers
#sync
Step4 Reboot the system
#reboot
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.