You all do the spelling error.
It is SiI, not Sil or SiL. Double i like sii (silicon image)

And, yes. I also have problems in my 486.
SATA 120 GB disk:
DOS = no problem
Windows 9x = problem not solved yet
Windows 2000 = no problem

Base BIOS for SiI 3114

Repo Man11 wrote on 2026-07-16, 21:37:

I removed the SiL card and used a Startech SATA to IDE adapter instead and reinstalled Windows

Ultimately, I, too, arrived at this very method as the simplest one.

Well i have a startech arriving today and some other unkown converters I got off ebay. I tried to install XP, just as a test, but you cant run setup from the dos prompt. I was going to try to install xp using plop, but the adapters will be here and I didnt get the time.

The souncard issue is wild! I am using a dell mobo with built in sound, i have no idea what sound chipset it is (have had bigger concerns, like getting w98 to install), but i bet it is pci! I dont think i can disable it in the bios though 😒. I really hate oem mobo bios'es.

rwGast wrote on 2026-07-17, 13:27:

Well i have a startech arriving today and some other unkown converters I got off ebay. I tried to install XP, just as a test, but you cant run setup from the dos prompt. I was going to try to install xp using plop, but the adapters will be here and I didnt get the time.

The souncard issue is wild! I am using a dell mobo with built in sound, i have no idea what sound chipset it is (have had bigger concerns, like getting w98 to install), but i bet it is pci! I dont think i can disable it in the bios though 😒. I really hate oem mobo bios'es.

Up to Longhorn you can run setup via DOS prompt. Boot off a 98SE medium (boot disk or CD), navigate to i386 folder and use winnt /b.

So i tried starting winxp install, and the computer locked up!

My ide converters came today, I installed the startech on the back of the ssd and all my problems went away! Drive formated fine and win98 set up started.

When i get some more time im going to try to swap the drive back on to the sii3112, now that it is all set up, and see if windows will boot. If not i think i will try to use slackware and dmesg to troubleshoot. I would like to use a controller card if i can.

If the motherboard only supports UDMA33/66, then the Silicon Image controller certainly looks preferable.

Ya its only a ata33 mobo, the ssd is still so much faster than a hard disk, even when chocked so bad. Windows just refuses to boot from the sii3112, idk why. I can install the card and connect cd roms and secondary disks, everything is great, just cant boot windows or dos from it!

Good to see it is working. Did you check the DMA checkbox in Device Manager yet?

Thanks for reminding me, i kept getting micro stuttering while using the pc during heavy disk usage, dma made that go away!

rwGast wrote on 2026-07-18, 23:11:

Windows just refuses to boot from the sii3112, idk why.

A SATA 3 SSD generate a greater load on the controller than an HDD.
At least because it processes commands faster and doesn't have a significant latency (for head movement) .
The nameless addon card may simply be faulty, for example, due to the PCB tracing.
Testing with a slower HDD SATA1/2 is necessary to ensure that the controller is at least somewhat functional.

I dont have a slower ssd, sata ssds are getting hard to find. I tried two identical sii3112 cards and they behaved the same way.

Is there something i should be doing about trim, etc.. since 98 doesnt know how to wear level an ssd.

rwGast wrote on 2026-07-19, 04:53:

Is there something i should be doing about trim, etc..

Do nothing.
If you don't work on Windows 98 24/7/365, then TRIM is practically unnecessary.
50 days off (optimistic) * 4 hours (very optimistic)
What will happen to the SSD after 200 hours of operation per year?

I admire your persistence, but I've come to the conclusion that SiI SATA adapters are junk. I'd much rather figure out a way to use the chipset controller (even if it's a slow PATA interface with an 8GB limit) then deal with SiI.

I've had much better luck with a Via SATA adapter, but even it has some issues. I hardly ever use it except to experiment.

Was going through the BIOS on my NF7 2.0 and this setting showed up. Abit knew the SIL controllers had issues back in the day (as did everybody else).