*** list parts - new and used - stock heatsink, etc ***


!!!! installing factory CPU cooler one of the little nylon
prongs didn't quite line up with motherboard hole and when
I pushed it down, one of the two sides of the split prong
bent sideways on top of the mother board.  Loosened that one
prong (90 degree unscrew) and managed to straighten it 
without removing cooler.  It went back in OK then - monitor
CPU heat!!!!


connected front panel in HD audio mode


** note sata layout in mobo docs is incorrect 

>>>> draw a picture


boot to BIOS using PX2 kbd and usb/rf mouse

set all sata to ahci

HD0: raptor sata1
HD1:
HD2:


dvd/Blu ray sata5
dvd sata6


boot knoppix cd and run memtest....  running... ran 3 passes OK

L1 Cache 32K 1333639MB/sec
L2 Cache unknown
Memory 6135M  35168MB/sec (!!!)

>>> reboot immediately to BIOS and look at hardware monitor:

CPU Temp 42C, 107.5F
(same showing as Mobo temp - ??)


*** see if knoppix will boot up...  

yow - these are hyperthreading cores, so 8 processors showing

it boots up to the LDE - maybe later check LAN & ???

** build partitions on raptor w/knoppix, or boot vista DVD
and see if it allows partitioning... (test that)

(It does - i didn't want to build the main NTFS partition with
knoppix or on my P4 via USB - since Vista may have some of
its own tweaks to NTFS - let it create and format the partitions
and see if they are sane - w/fdisk)

** spinning up the VB64 DVD to see if it offers partitioning
options...  long time looking at the background w/mouse arrow
then clicked "install now" option...  please wait... 

enter key... select custom install... 

shows Disk 0 unallocated 279.5GB, select "drive options (advanced)"
then "new" and create 150G partition for VB installation

(i could have created additional partitions, but maybe not
formatted FAT32...)

select that partition - and hit next to install... let it run...

installation and later part formatting blazingly fast...

from vista, create 30G BIG FAT,  30G FAT SCRATCH, 75G NTFS SCRATCH

>>> create B.F./boot/grub and copy in menu.lst from P4, boot
knoppix, install grub to MBR, see if menu boots, see if VB boots...

copy /boot before rest of big fat so it is low in partition???

>>>> investigate boot from USB fob - i didn't see it in boot
priority -- booting in general is weird...

grub installed, but failed at boot w/wierd flashing chars on
screen ---- go back and make sure versions are the same...

they weren't!  files in /usr/lib/grub/i386-pc on knoppix 6.0.1
were different sizes from the ones I had installed in HD - so
when I did grub > setup, i was using mis-matched versions

TRY AGAIN - but I still have no idea why all my SATA drives
suddenly disappeared!!!!!!  ALL OF THEM - not just the HD


**************** this is really weird

after installing grub, no hard drive appeared in BIOS - AND -
the CD drives didn't either.  i could boot knoppix part way to
a black screen and mouse X, but not to the desktop

@ boot time, bios says NO HARD DRIVE DETECTED! - but is that
only because I have the CD higher in the boot order, or is
the BIOS going crazy AND WHY DO THE CDs DISAPPEAR?????

i somehow got them back - maybe by resetting BIOS and then
setting ahci again - but something is really weird

>>>> UPDATE THE BIOS?????

(Before that - at boot first it says no HD detected, then
goes to CD - no media - then boots grub OK, grub AND THAT
BOOTS VISTA OK  so that's nice

BUT WHAT HAPPENED TO THE SATA CHANNELS???  google this!!!!!