Sil3114 SATA card

[MartinQ]

My experience is  (own two silicon Image SATA cards), it is very unlikely you will get one with latest BIOS and it is better to do the BIOS re-flash in Windows environment then move to unRaid box and browse through syslog to make sure card is detected and driver is loaded.

 

Agreed. I have three of these and have successfully flashed the BIOS on all. I cannot remember if it was via boot-disk or in Windows though.

 

 

[RobJ]

Doing it in Windows tends to be easier for many, unless you are already equipped to do it by floppy or CD.  If you are, you can:

* use a Windows machine with a floppy drive

* download the desired Silicon Image BIOS and UpdFlash.exe tool

* prepare a bootable DOS floppy disk

* add BIOS and flash updater tool

* find or borrow a floppy drive and floppy cable

* make sure your unRAID motherboard has a floppy connector

* install floppy drive in unRAID machine

* boot with DOS floppy and run flash updater

 

Or you can use a CD:

* same steps as above except creating a DOS bootable CD

* find or borrow a CD drive and IDE cable

* make sure your unRAID motherboard has an IDE connector

* similar steps to above

 

You can probably see now why many just use a Windows machine:

* need Windows machine with free PCI slot

* install the card in free slot

* boot Windows

* install driver CD or download and install the latest driver package

* go to the Device Manager, locate the cards device info

* there should be a tab to update the firmware/BIOS

* reboot Windows

* [possibly optional, but I prefer] remove card within Device Manager

* shut down and uninstall card, reinstall in unRAID machine

 

This is from memory, someone who has done it more recently can correct any faulty steps.

 

Edit:  corrected slot type for 3114 PCI card

[William]

Doing it in Windows tends to be easier for many, unless you are already equipped to do it by floppy or CD.  If you are, you can:

* use a Windows machine with a floppy drive

* download the desired Silicon Image BIOS and UpdFlash.exe tool

* prepare a bootable DOS floppy disk

* add BIOS and flash updater tool

* find or borrow a floppy drive and floppy cable

* make sure your unRAID motherboard has a floppy connector

* install floppy drive in unRAID machine

* boot with DOS floppy and run flash updater

 

Or you can use a CD:

* same steps as above except creating a DOS bootable CD

* find or borrow a CD drive and IDE cable

* make sure your unRAID motherboard has an IDE connector

* similar steps to above

 

You can probably see now why many just use a Windows machine:

* need Windows machine with free PCIe X1 slot

* install the card in free slot

* boot Windows

* install driver CD or download and install the latest driver package

* go to the Device Manager, locate the cards device info

* there should be a tab to update the firmware/BIOS

* reboot Windows

* [possibly optional, but I prefer] remove card within Device Manager

* shut down and uninstall card, reinstall in unRAID machine

 

This is from memory, someone who has done it more recently can correct any faulty steps.

Thanks Rob, I will just do #3 (also you only need a PCI slot ). One question about another possible option. Can't you make a DOS boot USB drive and eliminate the need for a floppy or CD-ROM drive?

[GK20]

 

Thanks Rob, I will just do #3 (also you only need a PCI slot ). One question about another possible option. Can't you make a DOS boot USB drive and eliminate the need for a floppy or CD-ROM drive?

 

Last time i did, couple weeks ago, i don't recall i needed CD-ROM or floppy

 

 

1. plug card into a Windows PC.

2. boot up and make sure card is recognized by Windows

3. Download latest BIOS package from Silicon Image web site. http://www.siliconimage.com/support/searchresults.aspx?pid=28&cat=15

4. unzip BIOS package that comes with tool and BIOS BIN files.

5. use tool to re-flash your BIOS. If you don't want to have RAID function then just flash the "system BIOS" BIN

6. Once re-flash is done successfully, reboot your PC and make sure this card is still recognized by Windows

7. Power off your PC, remove card from PC, move to unRAID

8. Power on your unRAID wait for everything settle down.

9. Login to system through telnet, use "lspci -v" to list all PCI devices available in your unRAID, you should be able to see this new card in the list.

10. If not then browse through syslog to find out why.

 

 

[RobJ]

(also you only need a PCI slot )

You're right, I was thinking of my own SiI3132 card.

 

One question about another possible option. Can't you make a DOS boot USB drive and eliminate the need for a floppy or CD-ROM drive?

Yes, that would be easier, once you locate the instructions for preparing a DOS bootable flash drive.  I have not done it myself.

 

5. use tool to re-flash your BIOS. If you don't want to have RAID function then just flash the "system BIOS" BIN

Thanks for your helpful set of instructions.  I would like to correct the latter part of step 5 though, you do NOT want the system BIOS, just the base BIOS, which is the one that begins with b.  Currently, the one you want is b5403.bin.  The system BIOS is not for addin cards, it is only for motherboard BIOS preparers.  Confusingly, on the Silicon Image support pages, the base BIOS is often called the IDE BIOS, a strange name for the BIOS of a SATA card!

[MartinQ]

[Confusingly, on the Silicon Image support pages, the base BIOS is often called the IDE BIOS, a strange name for the BIOS of a SATA card!

 

It's not confusing once you realize that both parallel ATA and serial ATA drives are intefaced via IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics).

[RobJ]

[Confusingly, on the Silicon Image support pages, the base BIOS is often called the IDE BIOS, a strange name for the BIOS of a SATA card!

 

It's not confusing once you realize that both parallel ATA and serial ATA drives are intefaced via IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics).

 

Thank you, you are right.  I'll bet I'm not the only one that had forgotten that or never knew it, and will be confused by it!

[William]

 

Thanks for your helpful set of instructions.  I would like to correct the latter part of step 5 though, you do NOT want the system BIOS, just the base BIOS, which is the one that begins with b.  Currently, the one you want is b5403.bin.  The system BIOS is not for addin cards, it is only for motherboard BIOS preparers.  Confusingly, on the Silicon Image support pages, the base BIOS is often called the IDE BIOS, a strange name for the BIOS of a SATA card!

Good, luckily I picked the b5403 file. There was also a 3ed R5403 file but I think it's for a RAID setup.

[Chris Pollard]

I have one of these cards in a FreeBSD (FreeNAS) box and the performance is a atrocious,  720p / 1080p playback stutters if another machine writes to the disks...  Never happens with the on board SATA controller.  Not sure if the performance is better using unRAID.  (Waiting for new hardware then I think I'm going to go through the hell of migrating 10 TB to unRAID).