SATA Problems

"anonymous" wrote in message

> I have an 160GB Maxtor Sata Drive. Every time I want to
> install windows XP 64-it edition the system says that
> there's no drive found. What should I do to access my
> drive in the setup program?
> Thanx

Hi

You haven't given full details of the hardware you are using so the
instructions are going to be very general.

***Unless you have a mainboard which uses a *fully* integrated SATA
controller (e.g. Intel's ICH5 or ICHR5) which
you don't seem to have - if you did the standard IDE drivers should be
sufficient.

In order to install XP you'll need to follow a particular method to install
the SATA drivers.

You'll need to have the SATA drivers available on a floppy disk ready for
the install process - if your mainboard manufacturer has not supplied a
floppy disk with the drivers you'll find them on your mainboard CD or
manufacturers website.

Make sure that, if you need to copy onto a floppy disk, you transfer all the
files from the SATA driver folder or from the download from your mainboard
manufacturers website - special attention needed to ensure you include all
necessary files.

Check your mainboard manual for the appropriate BIOS settings for booting
from SATA.

As the XP set-up begins you will be prompted to 'Press F6 to specify
third-party RAID or SCSI drivers' - at this point you should press F6 and,
when asked, insert the floppy disk with the relevant drivers. Select the
appropriate driver when asked and continue with the setup. There may be
some delays during this process and the set-up may appear to be continuing
without recognising the key-press - so don't panic.

When successful you'll be able to select the HD to install on. If you are
not given the HD you have not completed the procedure correctly. Check you
are using the correct drivers, have any relevant BIOS updates for your
mainboard, and try again.

Hope that helps
Pete
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