Windows XP Installation Cannot See SATA Drives

T

the_general

Member
i have a gateway. when i try to install xp it says there is no hard drive to install it on. but if i put a vista cd in it will install rite on the hard drive. is there any way to get rid of the no hard drive nag when you put a xp cd in. i want to get rid ov vista all the way. i know how to set a dual boot up. i have vista and xp on my desk top that came with xp on it. but this lap top will not recognize xp. or the cd does not recognize the lap top.
how can i say there is no hard drivev to install the cd on?
 
It sounds like you haev SATA hard drive and a XP Disc that doesnt recognize them. So you have to get CPUz to find out the make and model of your mother board. From there you ahve to google and find the drivers, then you ahve to get nlite and slipstream the SATA driver onto you XP disc to allow it to find the hard drives and install.

It is a pain but fully worth it when done.
 
i found and installed a hard drive driver that said its compatible with vista and xp. also i have found a bios update that said it was compatyable with xp and vista and i still get the same thing. is there some other driver i need to find for it?

this is my mother board id
motherboard id = DMI
here is some other info on my computer

front side bus properties
bus type = Intel AGTL+
bus width 64 bit
real clock 133 mhz (QDR)
efective clock 533 mhz
band width 4267 mb/s
------------------------------------------------------------------------

mem bus properties
bus type = dual DDR2 SDRAM
bus width = 128-bit
DRAM:FSB Ratio 8:4
real clock = 267 mhz (DDR)
efective clocxk = 533 mhz

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Memory Module Properties

MEMORY TYPE BRAND, SAMSUNG
mem type = DDR2 SDRAM
MEMORY SPEED = DDR2-533(266MHz)
64 BIT
MODULE SIZE = 1024 MB (2 RANKS 4 BANKS)
dimm 2

Memory Device Properties
Form Factor DIMM
Type DDR2
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 533 MHz
Total Width 64-bit
Data Width 64-bit

dimm 1

Memory Device Properties
Form Factor DIMM
Type DDR2
Type Detail Synchronous
Size 1024 MB
Speed 533 MHz
Total Width 64-bit
Data Width 64-bit
Device Locator DIMM 1
Bank Locator Bank 0, 1

is there any other info i can get that would describe what i have? i really appreciate it if you can helm me figure this out.
Device Locator DIMM 2
Bank Locator Bank 2, 3
 
The problem is that when you boot from teh Windows XP disc the drivers are not there. It is great taht you have drivers for you BIOS and all that. But the Windwos Disc itself doesnt have the drivers. You ahve to slipstream the drivers onto the disc itself in order fo rhte setup to see the drives.

So what you ahve to do is get nlite:
nLite - Deployment Tool for the bootable Unattended Windows installation - Download
install it and run it. Use your current XP disc and create a folder on yor desktop called XP. From there it will copy the files from the disc to that folder. Then continue on. You will need the drivers that you have previously downloaded that were XP and VIsta compatable. From here you add them in with nlite. It will add them to the XP disc. After you do all that you can burn the disc. Make sure you use the bootable disc option.

There are guides available at the stie:
nLite - Deployment Tool for the bootable Unattended Windows installation - Guides

If you need further instructions let me know. I will do it myself and take screenshots to show you.
 
i have downloaded nlite and the guides. i guess i will read tomorrow and see if i can figure it out. i like to learn new things but the bad part is i usually don't understand what i am doing until i am done doing it. lol.
i really appreciate your help so far but i might take you up on further helping me. i will be back tomorrow to let you know if i figure anything out. you are very kind to take your time to help others. i am a super moderator on a sat site but i am not as good with computers as i woukld like to be.
 
It is my pleasure to help you out. Like i said if you need any extra help don't be afraid to hit me up for more info. We all have to learn sometime. I have had to do it myself before. So i know how tough it can be.
 
ok i opened nlite and i merged the drivers from the xp, vista hard drive driver file i downloaded. they all had the word sata in them so i merged them all. is that all i have to do now is make it an iso and burn it to a disc and it will install? or is there some other sata driver i needed.
it seems to simple.
 
I think it should work - never tried it myself though, so I could be wrong. You'd be best off waiting for Mak though :smile:
 
Yeah just make the ISO, make sure that the ISO is bootable. That is a big thing. If it isnt bootable it wont work for you. So make sure that you have it be bootable.

Then make the ISO. Burn it. Your all set to go. As long as they are the right drivers.
 
a6.jpg


As you see from this shot that is a option you can choose. It is the last one on the list but it is the most important in my opinion. I have made the mistake before of not checking it and had a image that was no good to me. :wink:
 
I too am blessed with an accursed GW comp
first time I clean installed it was discovered I had the same issue

as a workaround I enabled legacy support for the SATA drive in the BIOS
that enabled me to install XP then after the install I made sure the chipset drivers were installed (found on C: in Drivers folder with their OEM installation) then shutdown and enabled SATA , saved changes and all was well

not that slipstreaming a disk wouldn't be a grand idea, mind you
just that I never bothered to take the time

best of luck!
 
That is a option in some cases. Where the BIOS permits. Some OEM machines dont allow for that kind of tweaking in the BIOS. My Dell has very limited functionality. I can turn on my SATA drives and that is about it. I cant configure nor can i modify anything else in my BIOS. So a slipstream was the only way.
 
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