sata PCI controller

[syco123]

Hi I have and old HP 8756C with a 40GB IDE HDD and a 500GB SATA drive connected to a rosewill rc-212 PCI IDE controller.

I've just installed Ubuntu 7.10 server edition and then the xfce desktop. The IDE controller is throwing an error on boot

"expansion ROM not initalized - PCI mass storage Controller in slot 2"
Bus:01 Device:09, Function:00
Press <F1> to set up, <F2> to resume

This PC is supposed to be a file server. Can I use Ubuntu or am I forced to go back and set this up as a WAMP server instead? I would really like to get this working in Linux.

Is it possible to use an RC-212 or am I screwed? I'm happy to move to another distribution if anyone thinks I would have sucess.

[syco123]

Hi, still having this problem although I've determined it's not directly Linux related. But if you think you might be able to help I'd really appreciate it.

I've updated the BIOS to the latest I can find 2.10
BIOS update for MEW-AM motherboard*HP Pavilion 8756c Desktop PC (US/CAN)

Taken out the unnecessary PCI cards leaving just the network and SATA controller.

Swapped the SATA controller into another PCI slot. Previously a fully operational wireless card was installed there so the slot is definitely OK.

Check all connections plugs are well seated.

I've even gone to the desperate measure of re-installing XP and trying to install the software that came with the card but nothing is working.

Can anyone help?

[jdsanchez]

Have you ever had this card working before, this definetly doesnt seem to be a problem with linux, if you are having problems with it before even booting the OS.. your best bet would be to contact tech support for the card since this is a low level, hardware error, not an issue with compatibility or drivers etc....

on a side note you would be much better off getting a pc (or just a new motherboard) that supports SATA devices, you won't get the speed benefit if your going threw a pci slot.

[syco123]

on a side note you would be much better off getting a PC (or just a new motherboard) that supports SATA devices.

I would have said try slipping that past the wife , lol. .. but I just inherited another motherboard from a guy at work with SATA so I might be able to get around this.

Thanks for the reply.

[jdsanchez]

great, hopefully you will have better luck. im feeling outdated with my IDE hard drives, seems like everywhere i go you cant even buy them anymore, its al sata now.

[syco123]

Yea, I've had SATA in external cases for a while now, well before I had a board that would support them. USB data transfer speeds suck though.