vista ultimate on p4c800-e dlx promise 378 raid

here are the steps for doing an upgrade install over XP Pro on an IDE Raid
array on this motherboard. microsoft tech support will tell you that this
hardware is not compatible with vista or that you need to do a dual boot
config. rest assured, that is not the case.

the update must be undertaken by booting the DVD directly. attempts to
update from within XP fail with the message: "windows could not update the
computer's boot configuration. Installation cannot proceed." there is a
separate knowledge base article (931697) on this exact error, but even after
correcting the registry, the same error reoccurs on the next installation
attempt.

instead, boot the DVD, and when asked for the activation code, leave it
blank and select next. then select custom installation (upgrade is
unavailable on this path) and you will then see an empty list of drives
options. select load drivers and have ready your promise 378 fasttx2k.sys
drivers on a usb flash or floppy. browse to the proper directory and select
the driver. now the raid array should be visible in the drive selection
window. select the drive and proceed with the installation. after the
requisite number of reboots, your new vista system will be ready to go to
work.