Silicon Image SATA card

I was recently given a Silicon Image SiI3114 PCI to 4-port SATA150 card, and to say the instructions are confusing is an understatement. If I'm reading them correctly, I need to install the drivers, plus flash the card's BIOS and probably obtain an updated BIOS for my motherboard. Has anyone installed one of these, and if so can you point me in the right direction?

 

Were you given a disk with it? If so, install the drivers from it. If not, you should be able to download them from the maker's site.

Then all you should have to do is power down AND UNPLUG the computer from the wall. Remove the side panel then immediately touch bare metal of the case to discharge any static in your body. Do this often as you squirming in your clothes creates static.

Remove one of the expansion slot covers and carefully, but firmly insert the card and secure it with the screw. Do not connect anything to the USB ports now. Power up and Windows should yell at you that it found new hardware and should install the drivers and be good to go.

Note - when the case is open, inspect to ensure it is clean of heat trapping dust.

 

I've got the card installed in a PCI slot, I've downloaded the driver from the mfr's website, and while the "found new hardware" wizard did show up when I rebooted, after letting it finish the device manager tells me the hardware can't start (code 10.) The instructions that came with the driver I downloaded mention flashing the card's BIOS, which I need (but don't currently have) a floppy drive to do (to make a boot disk that I can run the BIOS flash from.) I'm thinking it's pretty unlikely that the BIOS was empty from the mfr, though. Maybe I'll try doing the flash in the Windows command prompt, since it'll be Monday at the earliest before I get the floppy drive from Newegg.

 

I don't understand this trend to omit floppy drives from new computers. I still put them in all my builds. A floppy drive adds just a few dollars to the cost and all motherboards support one. The site may have a CD version - but I think a floppy is easier.

I doubt the BIOS is empty, just very outdated, perhaps pre-XP even.

If still having problems after flashing the BIOS, try moving to a different slot and force Windows to find it again.