Advantages: USB 1.1 Backwards Compatable Disadvantages: Instalation
.
The drivers are in a set up file in the driver?s directory, which you need to run before installing the card. Once the set up file was ran and the computer was restarted then there were no problems with installing the card and windows automatically located the drivers. It was a pity that the manual was not clearer about this.
Since installation I have had absolutely no problems running both USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 devices and I have to say that I have seen no noticeable change in speed between the 2 standards.
So apart from the slight installation hassle it has done the job it is supposed to do and that is all I want from it. Though I am confused as to why there is a need for 2 standards when on I have not seen a noticeable improvement in performance. ...
Advantages: online capacity expansion, deals with hard disc problems better Disadvantages: slow compared to software RAID
recommend upgrading to current firmware and 2.16 storcon utl (both are on www.intel.com. There is a linux version of the 2.16 storcon, but it was hard to find!)
With initial installation on a Gigabyte GA7 motherboard and Adaptec 2940AU SCSI controller, the problems with onboard intel BIOS / adaptec 2940AU and mobo BIOS reared it's ugly head.
I could not for the life of me with all the PCI juggling, IRQ remapping and BIOS remapping options get it to boot with a Adaptec SCSI card and Intel RAIDcard. I asked a friend about his setup, and he had no problems (he was running a Intel serverboard with his SRCS14L)
My problem was solved by removing SCSI from system completely and migrating to IDE bootup drives (which was such a pain on linux!)
Current drivers are 2.05 which are included since the 2.4.19 kernel.
As with all RAIDcontrollers ...
I have bought this PCIcard a week ago.
Reason: I have got a MSI K7T266Pro2 motherboard that only offer USB1.1 ports (1.5Mbytes/s maximum transfer rate).
Since I have got devices that uses USB2.0 and without breaking my piggy bank to upgrade my computer, the most economical way is to install a PCIcard that offers USB2.0 connections (up to 480Mbits/s or 60Mbytes/s, 40X faster than USB1.1) for 1 internal port and 4 external ports.
Before you buy a USB2.0 PCIcard, make sure that your motherboard got version 2.2PCI slots which are USB2.0 compatible.
If your motherboard hasn't got version 2.2PCI slots or higher, don't bother. You need a motherboard upgrade.
Also, your operating system needs to be windows 2000 service pack 4 or windows XP which provides appropriate drivers to support USB2.0. For the other operation systems ...
Product Information for "StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Ultra ATA/100 RAID IDE Controller Adapter Card" »
Manufacturer's product description
This 2 Port PCI Ultra ATA/100 RAID IDE Controller Adapter Card provides affordable data protection and increased drive performance, with support for RAID levels 0 (striping), 1 (mirroring), and 0+1 (mirrored, striped set) on up to four IDE hard drives. The IDE controller card adds two IDE channels, with support for two IDE drives per channel. Designed for Ultra ATA/100 hard drives, the RAID controller card is compatible with older drives as well as other ATAPI devices such as CD/DVD-ROM drives, CD-R/CD-RW drives, LS-120 drives, tape drives, Zip drives and more. A cost-effective and convenient RAID solution, the adapter card lets you get the most out of your IDE storage for applications such as mirroring file servers for drive redundancy, or simply improving the drive speed on workstations by striping the drives.
Related tags for StarTech.com 2 Port PCI Ultra ATA/100 RAID IDE Controller Adapter Card »
