XP won't install on SATA Raptor. Help please

Ok,
been wrestling this Raptor for like 3days.
I can finally get into it with a win98 boot disk, FDISK it, create the partition, and then format it. It shows as active.

It shows in the BIOS as well. It's set in the boot order also.

System is a Soltek EQ3401 with onboard ICH5 SATA controller (no RAID)

I can create directories from a DOS prompt as well. Yet when I try to install XP (from 2 diff disks even) it goes through the caching o fteh drivers like normal and then I get a BSOD with 'UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME'

What the hell?

IDE Bus Mastering is Enabled as well.

Use F6 at the beginning of the windows install to search a floppy for drivers for your RAID chipset. It will come back asking you if you want to specify a device, you do. Select the appropriate driver from the floppy.

You should be able to download the drivers from Intel or your motherboard manufacturer.

Also, don't use fdisk. It's obsolete. Use the built in windows disk utility, it works well enough.

Well it wasn't an F6 issue. Thsi wasn't the ICH5R chipset. Since there is no RAID part, Windows doesn't need it. On my 3rd XP disc it worked.. go figure...
Thanks..

It's not that it's RAID; you just need to load drivers so that Windows knows the controler is there at all.

Actually that isn't the case ameoba. The ICH5 Southbridge handles the ATA calls simply hsows as more IDE channels. There are ZERO drivers needed for the NON-RAID version of the iCH5 southbridge.

correct a driver is not needed.

windows 9x does not support beyond 4 ide devices. you have to use windows 2000 or xp to have access to the 6 total pata and sata devices

i think the steps you are doing are in the wrong order and possibly wrong way. if the drives are setup physically the way that you want. when presented with the available disks/partitions you should see the raptor. create a partition and then reboot. follow the step again and then the raptor, since the priority should take place, will be c: then format and install xp.