P5N32-SLI-SE-DELUXE Raid setup problem

I'm a bit of a noob, but i've followed the manual word for word and this is what happens:

I installed the nvdia raid drivers and all that off the driver CD, created a RAID boot disk (32bit SATA/RAID its called).

I activate NvRAID in the BIOS and under Advanced > Onboard Devices Config., set item mode to "RAID mode".

I then boot up, press F10, transfer the drives i want into the RAID and create the raid. Boot up again, go into windows setup, press F6, installed both nvidia raid drivers... i DONT install windows try to reboot and i get nothing.

i THINK my problem is that i dont do a clean install, but i'd like to keep all my data on the computer and i think i've previously done so without losing data on my old computer.

I've also tried the same process using the sil3231 method, but i can't seem to get into the raid setup screen. i press F4 and CTRL+S and it seems to ignore my commands.

can anyone tell me if it is at all possible to setup a raid 0 while still retaining all my data and if i have done anything wrong?

thank you in advance!