you guys are gonna love this XP installation story

[ipam45]

today i decided to install a fresh copy of windows onto his computer. i delete the two partitions (big mistake) using partition magic. when i tried to install it again it says that it cannot detect the harddrives. what can i do now? i'm trying knoppixs right now...But i really need some help.

[Direwolf20]

Did you re-create the partition(s) after deleting them? As one big partition or two again?

[ipam45]

...no...
how can i go back and do that.
after i deleted it and rebooted it sort of just said that no OS found

[Direwolf20]

Was partition magic on a boot CD? If so, use that to create a new partition. If NOT,

Do you have a Windows XP CD? Boot off of that and you should be able to create a partition on the HD. I think.

[digital_exhaust]

Use a GParted (http://gparted.sourceforge.net/) live cd to recreate the partitions, and yes, it will work with ntfs.

[markt435]

today i decided to install a fresh copy of windows onto his computer. i delete the two partitions (big mistake) using partition magic. when i tried to install it again it says that it cannot detect the harddrives. what can i do now? i'm trying knoppixs right now...But i really need some help.

it sounds like you got a copy of xp already...just boot off it and then make a new partition.

[ipam45]

Gpart didnot work...wondering if i can get a better explaination for that.

i think i just need a new way to creat a partition and i should be fine.

xp loads all the way up to the :

install

recover

exit with out install

Page

but when i install it it says that it cannot find a harddrive.

[ipam45]

it sounds like you got a copy of xp already...just boot off it and then make a new partition.

...how? :p

[digital_exhaust]

Gpart didnot work...wondering if i can get a better explaination for that.

Why didn't it work?
What exactly did it do when you booted from the cd?

[markt435]

When you get to the install screen...(have to remember this off hand...)

Should say Welcome to Windows Installation blah blah. Press Enter. Should pop up with the EULA, press F8. Then it should come to the partition screen since you deleted the previous partitions. Follow the instructions on how to make a partition.

[ipam45]

When you get to the install screen...(have to remember this off hand...)

Should say Welcome to Windows Installation blah blah. Press Enter. Should pop up with the EULA, press F8. Then it should come to the partition screen since you deleted the previous partitions. Follow the instructions on how to make a partition.

that would be nice but it never reaches that step...before that it just says it cannot detect harddrive and taht i should press f3 to exit setup

[ipam45]

Why didn't it work?
What exactly did it do when you booted from the cd?

when it booted it showed a lot of stuff and then just stopped at {dos}A/>
or something like that

can i take out the HD and put in a external case and then put a partition in it?

[digital_exhaust]

Use this (http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm) to re-burn the image, boot from it, and at the first prompt (boot..) hit enter. It will ask a few questions, just select the ones that are already highlighted, and it should load fine.

Most GParted problrms are a bad burn.

[markt435]

that would be nice but it never reaches that step...before that it just says it cannot detect harddrive and taht i should press f3 to exit setup

Can't detect hard drive? Hmmm do you need to install a raid driver or anything like that? You can do that by pressing F6 i think right when the blue install screen comes up and it starts loading from the cd.

[ipam45]

this is a laptop, so i don;t think there is any raid

[ipam45]

i just need to creat a partition in there for the setup disc to recongnize it

i got knoppix started but i can't seem to creat a partition with it, or install partition magic onto it...DAMN

[markt435]

this is a laptop, so i don;t think there is any raid

Well I had no idea. You haven't given us much details to help you with anything really other than you can't make a partition. But from what I gather many posts later...

You deleted the partitions using Partition Magic, now the hard drive is no longer recognized by ANY program including Windows setup. Correct? Have you tried an Ultimate Boot CD?

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

You may be able to fix your problem with a tool on it as it comes with MANY tools.

[ipam45]

Well I had no idea. You haven't given us much details to help you with anything really other than you can't make a partition. But from what I gather many posts later...

You deleted the partitions using Partition Magic, now the hard drive is no longer recognized by ANY program including Windows setup. Correct? Have you tried an Ultimate Boot CD?

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

You may be able to fix your problem with a tool on it as it comes with MANY tools.

thank you very much!!! trying it now.
BTW: the computer is a fujitsu c1320
but it seems customized by my friend

[tiuk]

Any idea if the laptop uses SATA for the HDD? With XP, you need to load SATA drivers manually, or it won't detect your hard drive.

[ipam45]

i'm pretty sure that it;s just a micro IED

i need to get a way to creat a partition on a unallocated HD

[ipam45]

anybody have any ideas?

[OldMX]

If the disk is already messed, try DBAN on it, let it run for some minutes, then restart and let windows create/format partitions.

If the disk still is SATA try nlite to add the proper drivers for windows setup, it takes like 2 minutes to do that :D

[digital_exhaust]

If you can't format using your XP install disc, Partition Magic or GParted, well, then no, I don't have any ideas.

I have never once been un-able to sucessfully format a disk with GParted, and I've used it exclusively for a long time. If it's not working for you, you have a bad image/burn, or your doing something wrong, or your disk is fucked.

[ipam45]

okay
i took out the disc and it;s a SATA drive and i connected it to my desktop, i think i will try the drivers.

Thank you all for your suggestions, and if anyone has any idea please help!

[ipam45]

but my computer can't seem to detect this drive for me to do anything with it...this is getting more and more frustrating.

[tazman4]

Any idea if the laptop uses SATA for the HDD? With XP, you need to load SATA drivers manually, or it won't detect your hard drive.

I'm with tiuk on this one... need some drivers man.
Do what OldMX suggested with nlite a few posts back.

[dbwillis]

"but my computer can't seem to detect this drive for me to do anything with it...this is getting more and more frustrating."

Did you give the drive a drive lette in disk management on your PC?

If its Sata, then when you install, youll need to provide the sata drivers I think
(why delete the partitions in Partition Magic? shoulda done it with XP..then everything woulda been fine since it wouldnt have been able to see the drive/partitions)

[dawp]

fujitsu c1320

I'd say go to the Fujitsu website,lookup that model and see if they have a sata driver for that system,download it and follow the sugestion,if any, on that site.

try looking here:
http://support.fujitsupc.com/CS/Portal/supportsearch.do

[jnex26]

I'd say go to the Fujitsu website,lookup that model and see if they have a sata driver for that system,download it and follow the sugestion,if any, on that site.

try looking here:
http://support.fujitsupc.com/CS/Portal/supportsearch.do


for the C1320D there is a sata driver for that machine download it, put it on a floppy disk and boot into the windows installation press F6 to install any third party drivers (It says when in the bar at the bottom) follow the prompts to load the driver and you will beable to see your partition.

[ipam45]

that;s what i;m trying to do, i ran out of time yesterday and just got back from school

i'm gonna try the floppy driver thing.

wish me luck

...where did i put my floppys

[ipam45]

this laptop doesn;t have a fucking floppy drive

will a sd card work?

when i got to the F6 part it just skipped over and didn;t react when i pressed f6

[SkullE]

OK #1.....does the bios detect a harddrive (F2 or maybe del key).

Cause your dead right there if it doesn't.

[coolie_d]

Okay, you said the drive is SATA; and you were able to hook it up to your desktop, but Windows setup just couldn't see it, right? And we know the laptop NEEDS an F6 driver floppy, but has no floppy drive. Does your DESKTOP have a floppy drive? What you need to do is, find out what F6 drivers your desktop uses; and try doing the Windows install onto the laptop drive via your desktop..... Follow me so far? Once Windows is finished installing, what you want to do is shut down the desktop, remove the laptop hard drive, and reinstall it into the laptop. At this point (unless you are REALLY lucky and your desktop and the laptop use an identical chipset) you will probably have a perfectly working hard drive with a useless copy of Windows (for said laptop) on it...... it will more than likely keep rebooting over and over if you try and boot with it..... this is okay, here's where the next step comes in...... set the laptop to boot off of the CD and press a key when the "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD........." prompt comes up...... and let it do its thing...... at some point after you do the F8 thing to accept the license; it will tell you that you have an exisiting install, the 2 options will be to hit "Esc" to install new; or 'R" to repair the install...... pick the "R" option and it will run through the Windows setup all over again, at the end of this the laptop should boot and you can go ahead and configure it as normal..... Hope this helps, and cuts down on your frustrations.

[ipam45]

well i got to connect it to my desktop,

i like where you are going, my interpertation if it.

take out my laptop HD, put in the desktop, use the floppy, get the xp to start installing, then move it back to the laptop, and finish installing XP.

[Lyquist]

Any idea if the laptop uses SATA for the HDD? With XP, you need to load SATA drivers manually, or it won't detect your hard drive.

This isn't always true. I have a gigabyte ds3 motherboard with SATA drives and I didn't have to install any drivers...but you might have to on older boards. Someone can tell me if this is true.

[coolie_d]

This isn't always true. I have a gigabyte ds3 motherboard with SATA drives and I didn't have to install any drivers...but you might have to on older boards. Someone can tell me if this is true.

i believe that some chipsets are okay with SATA drives and no drivers, others aren't; I believe part of it lies in whether or not the drive emulates parallel ATA or uses AHCI; not sure of the specifics but I am pretty sure AHCI uses a driver, as well as RAID

[coolie_d]

well i got to connect it to my desktop,

i like where you are going, my interpertation if it.

take out my laptop HD, put in the desktop, use the floppy, get the xp to start installing, then move it back to the laptop, and finish installing XP.

basically........ but you actually want to COMPLETE the install on the desktop; use the Windows shutdown command, and then put the drive back in the laptop...... you will then be following the procedure to install Windows all over again, except you won't need to do the F6 thing, and once it detects a Windows installation you will hit "R" to repair it instead of "Esc" to install a new copy...... this will basically 'fix' the drivers....... In other words, AFTER putting the drive back into the laptop, perform the following steps:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

[ipam45]

do i need the cd in there too... just doing a repair installtion?

[ipam45]

i completed the install and shut down, removed the HD and put it into the Laptop, when i pressed R it still said that it can't find a harddrive. the bios show the HD

starting without the CD, it just gives me the blue screen of death!!!

it doesn;t seem to work either way...

[coolie_d]

i completed the install and shut down, removed the HD and put it into the Laptop, when i pressed R it still said that it can't find a harddrive. the bios show the HD

starting without the CD, it just gives me the blue screen of death!!!

sorry I disappeared, I was in transit from work to home; anyways; here's one more thing you can try....... put both the F6 drivers on the floppy disk (laptop ones and desktop ones); pop the drive back in the desktop, reinstall windows from scratch doing the F6 thing but when the screen comes up to select the drivers from the floppy; go through the process with both sets of drivers, and then when you go to do the repair install portion on the laptop, its F6 drivers will already be loaded in; at least in theory...... or to save some hassle, you can just borrow a USB floppy drive from somewhere if you can, and do the whole install on the laptop....... if I was physically there i'd probably be able to get you up and running in 30 minutes or so, but it's sort of hard fixing these things over a forum; the fact that the laptop even DOES bluescreen is a good sign though, that means it IS starting to boot XP, it just can't make sense of the SATA driver (wrong chipset)...... you could also research a program called nLite; which will make you a custom XP CD with all the needed drivers already on there; it's sort of involved and complicated if you don't understand all of the steps but Google is your friend with that one, there are some good tutorials out there....... the basic problem is that the Laptop's original recovery CD/routine probably already had the needed drivers whereas a basic XP install disc doesn't..... and since Microsoft was still stuck in prehistoric times back in 2001 the opted to make the F6 driver install a floppy-only affair....... I am not sure if floppy emulation on a USB stick would work (USB stick shows up as floppy A: drive) or not, but if the laptop supports that mode of USB operation it wouldn't hurt to try that either, but to end my long-winded spiel here, the USB floppy drive or nLite Windows CD would probably be the 2 simplest options...... Hope this helps somewhat and good luck with your project.

[ipam45]

tried it by just installing again, it keeps on saying that windows cannot find my disk, i know the disc is working, just the computer can't detect it. it shows up in the bios.

just some more info i decided to share with everyone now!!!...this computer was bought in Korea i really don;t think it matters, but just throwing that out there.

[maven]

In order for the drive to be seen it must have a "FAT" formatted partition. Go to the Seagate site and download their floppy boot software which includes a utility to partition the drive and do a quick format. You don't have to have Seagate drive for it to work.

[coolie_d]

In order for the drive to be seen it must have a "FAT" formatted partition. Go to the Seagate site and download their floppy boot software which includes a utility to partition the drive and do a quick format. You don't have to have Seagate drive for it to work.

you know, that might just work; I am ALMOST sure that everytime i've tried to install on an exisiting SATA hard drive partition, I haven't needed drivers UNLESS the partition was NTFS, it seems to me Windows was able to see the FAT32 ones..... I am just going from memory though; if I had a spare SATA drive to expirement on i'd try it; but I don't want to have to set up my Longhorn Server domain controller again as i've just finished setting up my AD tree and DFS............... now for some beta testing...........

EDIT: I still think a cheap USB floppy drive and the native F6 drivers would be the best avenue for the OP to persue as it will greatly simplify things in this case, if he had known how much time this was going to take him; he would have probably been money ahead to grab a USB floppy.........

[coolie_d]

ipam45, here is one more thing to try, and this might just be the ticket; I did a little research on the laptop and the BIOS settings in particular and here is what you want to try: when you turn the laptop on and the Fujutsu logo appears hit F2 to go into the BIOS settings program. Hit the right arrow key to go over to the advanced menu, and go down to the "Internal Device Configuration" menu using the down arrow..... Hit Enter, and the second option down under where it says Serial ATA Controller should say "AHCI Configuration"...... put the selector bar on AHCI Configuration and hit the space bar to change that from "Enabled" to "Disabled" and then hit F10 to save and exit...... then, boot up from the Windows CD and try to do the partitioning, this time it should see the drive.... here is a link to the BIOS manual for that system:

http://www.fujitsu-pc-asia.com/uguide/bios/winter05/c1320_21bios.pdf

it is a .pdf file, so make sure you're running Acrobat Reader before clicking the link.

EDIT: Yup, this should work, according to Microsoft, disabling ACHI will put the device into Parallel ATA emulation mode, and make it act like an Intel ATA controller, which IS supported by Windows

[ipam45]

i will try that...Thank you Very Much!!!

and yes ACHI configuration was enable and i just chaged it to disabled and now is installing

It worked...Thank you very very much!!!

[coolie_d]

ipam45, you are very welcome; I figured if I looked up a couple of settings we'd be able to fix this thing, as soon as I saw it was an Intel chipset, and not running RAID, I knew we had some hope to get this fixed..... On a laptop I would just leave it set that way for ease of doing a reinstall and not having to worry about this issue ever again. I can't see a laptop hard drive being high enough performance to really take advantage of anything the native AHCI interface has to offer, the drive is the bottleneck, not the interface.

[Finn]

Yep the SATA HD can be a pain on a laptop if you don't want to use the proprietary install discs.