Sil3132 not working in Dell T20

[jknight]

Hi all.  I recently got a Dell T20 to replace my old unraid box.  I had 2 Sil3132 cards in my old box, but neither are working in the new box.  My old box was running unRaid 5, and now am running unraid 6.  Any thoughts on why its not working, or what I can do to try to diagnose the issue?  Thank much - Jeff

[hernandito]

Not an expert at all on this... but try in your bios to disable anything dealing with virtualization and see if that makes it work. Had a similar issue, and this is what solved it.

[jknight]

Thanks.  I tried that and disabling a few other things I would not need and that did not help.  Of course I don't want vm stuff disabled as I want vm abilities.

[RobJ]

Silicon Image chipsets have always been compatible with unRAID, all versions.  But there have been reports that multiple SiI3132 based cards, especially if off-brand, could be a cause of silent data corruption.  Have you tried with just one card installed?  (I assume the system works fine with neither card installed?)

 

BIOS virtualization settings should not matter to SiI based chipsets, just Marvell based ones (as far as we know).

[jknight]

I have only tried one card at a time in the new system and neither work.  My other drives hooked up to the motherboard sata ports work fine.  But there are only 4 ports and I want at least 1 more port.  Dell recommends "PEXSAT32 2-Port PCI Express SATA 6 Gbps (SATA 3.0) Controller Card from StarTech.com".  Its only about $25, so I am happy to buy that one.  Is unraid OK with this board?

[RobJ]

I have only tried one card at a time in the new system and neither work.  My other drives hooked up to the motherboard sata ports work fine.  But there are only 4 ports and I want at least 1 more port.

I have never heard of any problems with any SiI chipsets on v6, except that they are older and a little slower than alternatives.  If they worked on v5, then they should be fine in v6.  Can you verify the exact chipsets on them?  Did you update the firmware on them, to a newer non-RAID firmware?

 

Dell recommends "PEXSAT32 2-Port PCI Express SATA 6 Gbps (SATA 3.0) Controller Card from StarTech.com".  Its only about $25, so I am happy to buy that one.  Is unraid OK with this board?

That board is based on the "Marvell 88SE9128" chipset, which is MUCH more likely to be a problem in v6, especially if you want virtualization (see this).

[jknight]

How do I check the chipset?  Read whats written on the chips themselves?  And I have never changed their firmware?  Do you think  upgrading that might help?

 

And for the PEXSAT32, is there a fix for this problem if I do run into problems?

[jknight]

I checked and I did order the card from MonoPrice on 2/28/2011.  Not sure if that helps.

[RobJ]

How do I check the chipset?  Read whats written on the chips themselves?

If you install the cards in the server, then boot and get the diagnostics (and attach it here), we can see what the system sees.  If they don't show up, you may need to physically identify them, by the chipsets or by the model and vendor name.  Why do you think they are SiI3132's?  Do you have a copy of the invoice or receipt?

 

And I have never changed their firmware?  Do you think  upgrading that might help?

I haven't heard it mentioned in a long time, but we used to flash them with the latest from Silicon Image, a non-RAID version of the firmware.

 

And for the PEXSAT32, is there a fix for this problem if I do run into problems?

Some Marvell based cards do work, so it's possible they have a newer patched firmware.  Otherwise, I don't know of a fix.  Did you read the Marvell link I posted?

[jknight]

Here is what is written on the chip.

 

Silicon Image

Sil3132cnu

Q2w794.1-1

Ad02kx2

 

And the sticker on the back of the card is Sd-sa2pex-2ir,  and yes, I have the invoice from monoprice.

 

So should I try updating the bios to the non-raid version.

 

A part of me is wondering if the motherboard is bad and not seeing PCI boards that are plugged in.  I think I will borrow a couple of boards from work and plug them in to see if they work.

[jknight]

Dell support said these cards are probably not supported and that's why they don't work.  I had figured PCIe cards/slots were pretty universal.  For now I will try the one they recommend, the PEXSAT32, and hope that works with Unraid/VM.  Fingers crossed! 

[RobJ]

Dell support said these cards are probably not supported and that's why they don't work.  I had figured PCIe cards/slots were pretty universal.

It will be the first time I've ever heard of a problem running a SiI3132 card, in either v5 or v6.  I'm running one myself, in v6.  And yours worked on the same board in v5, right?  But no matter, I can't explain why it's not working for you.

 

For now I will try the one they recommend, the PEXSAT32, and hope that works with Unraid/VM.  Fingers crossed! 

I really can't recommend that card, on v6 with virtualization.  I like the 2 port ASM1061 based cards, very compatible and faster and cheaper.  Bought mine on eBay for about $11.

[jknight]

It's not unraid with the problem, it's between the computer and the card.  I have already ordered the card, so will report back on how it works.  If not, I will try the one you mentioned.  Thank much for your help!

[jknight]

I got the PEXSAT32 card today, and it works and VM works too.    So I am happy now.