Support Library

Silicon Image is committed to providing high-quality technical support to all customers who purchase Silicon Image branded chips through a Silicon Image salesperson, representative, or distributor.

MANUFACTURERS: Please submit your support request through your regional Silicon Image distributor or sales representative.

END USERS: Silicon Image designs and develops chips that are used in many products, built by many different manufacturers. These manufacturers develop the drivers, firmware, and software for their products. Therefore, Silicon Image is unable to support these products. Please contact the manufacturer directly for support.

A limited number of drivers are available for direct download from our support library. Use the pull-down menu to see if your product is included. If not, please follow the procedures outlined above. 


Product Support



Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I download the latest Drivers and BIOS updates?

The latest released device drivers, BIOS, BIOS update tools, RAID management utilities, and end user documentation for Silicon Image storage controllers and processors can be downloaded from support page.Select your controller part number, download type, your OS and click GO. End user documentation is included on the SATARAID tools download pages. BIOS update tools are included on the BIOS download pages.When installing or upgrading drivers and BIOS, be sure to always use the same type of driver and BIOS. Use SATARAID drivers with SATARAID BIOS, SATARAID5 drivers with SATARAID5 BIOS, and Medley RAID drivers with Medley RAID BIOS. Use IDE/nonRAID drivers with IDE/nonRAID BIOS. Mixing BIOS and driver types doesn't work. For best results, use the releases of BIOS and management tools recommended for the driver on the driver download page.

I can’t find the 64-bit Windows driver for my controller? Where are they? I also have an old Silicon Image product but I don’t see it listed. Where can I find more information?

64-bit Windows drivers are downloadable from Support page for the Sil 0680A, Sil 3x12, Sil 3114, Sil 3124 and Sil 3132 controllers. WHQL certified versions can also be installed on Internet-connected Windows PCs by using the option in the driver update and installation wizard to search the Internet (aka Microsoft's server) for the logo'ed driver.

Drivers for some discontinued products and no-longer supported operating systems may still be available in the Knowledge Base accessible from the left pane of the support web pages.

Which Driver and or BIOS should I use?

When selecting a driver for upgrade or installation, pick the latest released driver for your Silicon Image controller part number. Install the driver that is the same type as the BIOS you have installed for your controller.

When replacing or updating the BIOS, pick the latest release of the BIOS that provides the desired functionality. For nonRAID applications and connection of removable media drives, use the IDE BIOS and drivers. Use the SATARAID or Medley RAID BIOS and drivers for RAID 0, 1 and 10. Use the SATARAID5 BIOS and drivers for RAID 0, 1, 5 and 10. The SATARAID5 BIOS and drivers are replacing the SATARAID BIOS and drivers for the more advanced SATA controllers so they are the best choice for RAID with the Sil 3114, Sil 3124, and Sil 3132.

When installing or upgrading drivers and BIOS, be sure to always use the same type of driver and BIOS. Use SATARAID drivers with SATARAID BIOS, SATARAID5 drivers with SATARAID5 BIOS, and Medley RAID drivers with Medley RAID BIOS. Use IDE/nonRAID drivers with IDE/nonRAID BIOS. Mixing BIOS and driver types doesn't work. For best results, use the releases of BIOS and management tools recommended for the driver on the driver download page.

You can usually identify the type of BIOS you have from the BIOS boot time messages. IDE BIOS will have a message with "SATALink" during boot. SATARAID and SATARAID5 will have a "SATARAID" message. Enter the BIOS configuration menu by pressing F4 or CNTRL+S to determine whether you have SATARAID or SATARAID5 BIOS. Only SATARAID 5 BIOS has support for RAID 5. Medley RAID BIOS has a "Medley RAID" boot time message.

I installed the required Driver but the storage controller is not working?

A Silicon Image storage controller driver that is fully installed but not working is usually caused by an incompatibility between the BIOS installed for the controller and the driver. Installing a type of driver that differs from the installed BIOS type will not work. Problems with matching driver and BIOS types sometime occur because the drivers require a later release of BIOS to function correctly. Check the driver download page at Support for the recommended BIOS version to use with the driver.

When installing or upgrading drivers and BIOS, be sure to always use the same type of driver and BIOS. Use SATARAID drivers with SATARAID BIOS, SATARAID5 drivers with SATARAID5 BIOS, and Medley RAID drivers with Medley RAID BIOS. Use IDE/nonRAID drivers with IDE/nonRAID BIOS. Mixing BIOS and driver types doesn't work.

You can usually identify the type of BIOS you have from the BIOS boot time messages. IDE BIOS will have a message with "SATALink" during boot. SATARAID and SATARAID5 will have a "SATARAID" message. Enter the BIOS configuration menu by pressing F4 or CNTRL+S to determine whether you have SATARAID or SATARAID5 BIOS. Only SATARAID 5 BIOS has support for RAID 5. Medley RAID BIOS has a "Medley RAID" boot time message.

I am unable to update the BIOS. How do I install and/or upgrade the BIOS?

Please refer to the How-to Update BIOS Technical Tip  for an explanation of how to update BIOS for Silicon Image storage controllers. This technical tip includes a list of FLASH memory chips supported by the BIOS update utilities.

BIOS can be updated with the BIOS file downloads and BIOS update utilities on the Silicon Image support site ONLY for add-in card controllers that have SUPPORTED FLASH memory chips. Controllers embedded in motherboards have their BIOS integrated into the system BIOS of the motherboard requiring that you get BIOS updates from the motherboard manufacturer.

For add-in cards with FLASH memory chips that the Silicon Image utilities will not support, BIOS update tools are often available from the card manufacture or included on the driver distribution CD-ROM that came with the card.

Why is my controller reporting a smaller drive than what I know I have?

The Silicon Image storage controllers report a drive size based on the total number of accessible blocks reported by the attached drive in BINARY GB. A binary GB is 2^30 or 1,073,741,824 bytes. The marketed size of a drive is based on a marketing GB = 1,000,000,000 which usually also rounds up to the next higher multiple of 10GBs. For this reason, the controller will normally report a size of about 232 binary GBs for a drive that was marketed as a 250GB drive.  Example: 250 mktg GB / 1.073741824 = 232.83 bin GB

Can I move my functional and current RAID set to another controller?

Yes, you can move a functional RAID set to another Silicon Image controller running the same type of RAID BIOS and driver and it will work as a RAID set on the new controller. The controllers store the meta data that defines and is used to manage the RAID set on the drives which allows the RAID set to be moved between controllers and still work. Moving between embedded controllers and add-in card controllers also works.

For best results when moving a RAID set, use the same type of controller chip and as close as possible to the same releases of BIOS, driver, and management tools.

To be safe, also back up any critical data from the RAID set before moving it, especially if there are differences in controller, BIOS version or driver version.

How can I boot Windows from a drive or RAID set connected to a Silicon Image controller?

In order to boot from a SATA drive or RAID set attached to a Silicon Image controller, you must add the driver for the controller when prompted during Windows setup installation so the OS bootstrap process can load the driver to access the attached drives or RAID set during boot.

Windows setup prompts with something like "Press F6 to install SCSI/RAID controller driver" Setup only checks the floppy diskette for drivers.

To create a driver diskette, download and extract the driver contents from Support Copy the extracted contents to the top level folder of a formatted diskette. Be sure to get the type of driver that matches your BIOS. Get a SATARAID or SATARAID5 driver if you have RAID BIOS or IDE/nonRAID driver if you have "SATALink", IDE BIOS. Some of the newer drivers have a multi-level structure to support multiple OS variants. If you have problems loading the driver from the driver diskette, make sure the extracted contents on the diskette match the locations specified in the txtsetup.oem file which must be in the top level diskette folder.

What is an ADD card and where can I get drivers for one?

ADD cards are adapter cards that plug into AGP slots and provide digital video output (DVO) for connection of PC video to digital displays with HDMI® and DVI interfaces using the PC graphics controller to generate the video.

Silicon Image does not develop drivers for ADD cards. Drivers are developed by Intel, to work with Intel's chipsets on the motherboard. Drivers may be found on the Intel support web site.

Silicon Image makes many of the transmitter ICs which are used on these cards but does not make or provide end user support for the cards themselves. You can find a list of several ADD card manufacturers and more details on ADD cards at Intel website.

Help! My Computer hangs (no display) during boot after installing the controller card

Silicon Image makes and supports controller chips, not add-in user PCI cards. The maker of your add-in card is responsible for providing support for users trying to install their card.

We do have drivers, BIOS, BIOS installation tools, and tips available for self help atSupport page

If the computer hangs (no display) during booting after installing the controller card only when a drive is attached, it is usually a sign of incompatability between the controller BIOS and the drive firmware. You can often fix this by installing new BIOS for the controller or updating the firmware on the drive. Instructions for BIOS update are at SII-TT-0003.pdf document. Your drive maker will often have firmware updates and installation tools for your drives.

Where can I get schematics and design guidelines for the 9002 and 9003 PHY chips?

Silicon Image does not provide a complete schematic for these two chips, as they are each designed into boards by our IP partners. You should be familiar with the main MPEG or video processor chip which connects to our 9002 or 9003, and contact that chip company for more information. There are some brief design guidelines in the Data Sheets of the 9002 and 9003 which apply equally to most of our HDMI chips.