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twister
08-29-2005, 02:12 AM
well i got a Sata hdd a while ago installed it as a storage drive for awhile, but now i want to install XP on it and use it as my primary drive, so i took out my IDE hdd that used to be my primary drive and i tried to install windows on my sata and the xp set up can't find it... i looked around in the bios for ata drive options but didn't really find anything. can someone please help?

specs

Abit NF7-S mobo
AMD Athlon Xp 2500+
W.D. 80gb 7200rpm sata drive
W.D 80gb 7200rpm IDE drive (took it out)
geforce 6800 GT
512 pc3200 ram

twister
08-29-2005, 02:34 AM
ok nvm guys i found a floppy in my mobo box that had SATA drives on it, so i put that in when the xp setup asked me to and yay it worked!

clocker
08-29-2005, 02:35 AM
Really now.
This is becoming old hat.

Right as you begin the install process you will see at the bottom of the screen a prompt about loading third party drivers.
You must hit F6 when directed.

A bit later, Windows install will pause and ask for the drivers.
They must be installed from a floppy.
Your motherboard should have come with this floppy and you can insert the disk and install (if I remember correctly the NF-7 uses the Silicon Image 3112 SATA controller).

Now Windows will see your drive and install to it.

Darth Sushi
08-29-2005, 02:36 AM
You must put the SATA drivers on a floppy, then when you 1st start installing XP you will see a prompt to hit the F6 key to load the drivers. XP will only load drivers from a floppy when you want a SATA as a boot drive.

EDIT: NEVERmind :P

twister
08-29-2005, 03:00 AM
ok now...i selected the SI SATA controller, found the drive and everything, its extracted files on it then after that it restarts, after the restart my bios say DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER, so i put my xp disk in and it wants to install it again. I looked around in the bios again and put:
First Boot SATA
2nd boot: hd-0
3rd boot hd-1
i did this because i have no clue what the hdd is on so right now im stuck :(

Darth Sushi
08-29-2005, 03:58 AM
ok now...i selected the SI SATA controller, found the drive and everything, its extracted files on it then after that it restarts, after the restart my bios say DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER, so i put my xp disk in and it wants to install it again. I looked around in the bios again and put:
First Boot SATA
2nd boot: hd-0
3rd boot hd-1
i did this because i have no clue what the hdd is on so right now im stuck :(
1st boot device should be CD/DVD-rom (so you can boot the XP CD), then the SATA-HD...you load the drivers during XP installation.

lynx
08-29-2005, 10:36 AM
If you've got your system working on the IDE drive, why not simply copy the system partition (with Ghost, Partition Magic etc) from your IDE drive to your SATA drive. If it doesn't work after that then the problem is obviously related to your bios setup. Make sure you remove the IDE drive from your bios IDE table.

clocker
08-29-2005, 11:43 AM
ok now...i selected the SI SATA controller, found the drive and everything, its extracted files on it then after that it restarts, after the restart my bios say DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER, so i put my xp disk in and it wants to install it again. :(
Erm, why have you taken the disk out?
After copying files to the disk, Windows reboots and the installation begins.
Prior to finishing the install you have no OS, hence the error message.

*After the files have been copied and the PC restarts...*
Leave the disk in, DO NOT "press any key to boot from CD" and let Windows install.
It may be easier to unplug all the other HDDs except the SATA you are installing to...sometimes Windows will get feisty and claim it must install files to another disk first, your disk does not have a "valid Windows partition", yada, yada, yada.
Unplugging all other drives will force Windows to suck it up and get on with it's job.