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Single SATA drive XP won't install

T

Trancer

n00b
Joined
Aug 16, 2004
Messages
39
hi all.

I can't figure out what the fuck is going on.

XPsetup finds my SATA drive ok when using the driver disk... But when it comes to install XP on the SATA drive XPsetup tells me "this disk drive contants no partitions that are compatible with XP"

I don't understand what is going on. The drive is working ok, as ive used partition magic to check it out and i can write data to the disk fine. Ive tried low level formating it, but i still get the same error message. Even when there are no partitions and I let xpsetup create them.

I don't know what else to try..

any ideas please?

thanks alot.
 
Have you tried formatting through the XP disc?

BTW.. what motherboard are you using and SATA card if it is not onboard.
 
If you mean by using winxpsetup to delete any current partitions... yes i have. Then ive let winxpsetup make a partition, which it does and calls 'partition 1 (RAW)' winxpsetup fails to install to this location. At first i thought it might be a size factor, maybe the boot partition cant be this big.. so I limited the partition to 10GB.. but still it wouldnt install.

My motherboard is a K8VNXP with onboard SATA controller VT8237 with latest SATA drivers on floppy disk VIA_RAID_V300E
 
Try starting from scratch. Let windows format the whole drive as one partition. See if you can install then.

Remember to hit F6 to load SATA drivers. Also make sure you install BOTH the SATA and RAID drivers for this chip. When you are given the option to load them, scroll down. There should be 2 for WinXP. Load them both, for some odd reason it needs both, even though you are running a single SATA.

Good luck.

EDIT:Spelling.
 
hmm it looks I only have the RAID drivers :confused:

the driver floppy disk i made looks like this

Code: 
A:\
        \PIDE
            \2003IA32
                 VIApide.inf
                 VIApdsk.sys
                 VIApdsk.cat
            \Win2000
                 VIApide.inf
                 VIApdsk.sys
                 VIApdsk.cat
            \Winnt40
                 VIApide.inf
                 VIApdsk.sys
            \WinXP
                 VIApide.inf
                 VIApdsk.cat
                 VIApdsk.sys
        \RAID
            \2003IA32
                 VIAmraid.inf
                 VIAmraid.sys
                 VIAmraid.cat
            \Win2000
                 VIAmraid.inf
                 VIAmraid.sys
                 VIAmraid.cat
            \Winnt40
                 VIAmraid.inf
                 VIAmraid.sys
            \WinXP
                 VIAmraid.inf
                 VIAmraid.sys
                 VIAmraid.cat
        Txtsetup.oem
 
I gave up with it. Instead of installing a fresh install to the SATA (CRAPA) I used the SATA to back up a maxtor I got.. and did a fresh install on the maxtor... good old IDE!
 
Im having the exact same problem but I posted it in the motherboards side of the forum. Copying it here to get another documented case... http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1026477577&postcount=70

Ok, here goes...

Having a problem installing WinXP Pro on my 160GB sata hard drive with my A7N8X... This system was working just fine 3 hours ago when I had an 80GB IDE as IDE master and the 160sata was just the D: drive...

When going through the windows install, I specify Silicon Image SiI 3112 SATALink for WinXP. Everything is fine til I get to the Partition HD page. It lists the 250GB IDE and 160GB SATA drives and I try to partition the drive to the maximum size... Thats when the problems kick in and it says:

"Setup must write some startup files to:
131072MB Disk0 at ID0 on bus0 on atapi [MBR]

However this disk does not contain a WindowsXP compatible partition."

I have tried the SATA drivers from ASUS and Silicon Image's websites, but even though the drivers are slightly different, neither get me past the partition issue.


SPECS:
ASUS A7N8X2.0 Deluxe acpi BIOS Rev 1008
AMD 2100+
Western Digital SATA 160GB (Primary SATA)
WD 250GB IDE (alone on IDE1)
Pioneer 106S DVD (master on IDE2)
Liteon 52x32x52 CDRW (slave on IDE2)
ATI 9700 AIW Pro
SB Audigy Gamer (PCI 3)
Samsung ddr333 ~ 512MB
Enermax Whisper 420WT P/S
Mitsumi 1.44

Thanks for any info, guys =)

EDIT: I work in a computer store so I, um, gave myself a free upgrade to the A7N8X-E Deluxe (1012-E BIOS) mobo so I could rule it out also. I am getting the exact same problem stated above and by Trancer before me. Is this an issue of needing a plain CD of WinXP Pro/Home or a slipstreamed WinXP SP1/SP2?
 
hi Rune75, yeah thats the exact same prob.. after spending 2 days solid with it trying to sort it out... I had enough and just installed xp on a 80gig maxtor. Funny thing is the SATA drive works fine once xp is installed. Damn winxp setup.

hope you find the solution, i'll keep my eyes open aswell
 
*bump* (cause I need my puter up and runnin)

Ya cant tell me with all the A7N8X mobos out there, no one has a SATA as a primary drive?
 
Yup, I'm currently running a single 160gb SATA Seagate drive on XP.

1) I had to "prepare" the disk using a tool I downloaded from Seagate's website.
2) I had to press F6 at the beginning of XP setup so I can then load the extra VIA raid driver provided with my ASUS K8V-SE Deluxe mobo.
 
Trancer said:
hi Rune75, yeah thats the exact same prob.. after spending 2 days solid with it trying to sort it out... I had enough and just installed xp on a 80gig maxtor. Funny thing is the SATA drive works fine once xp is installed. Damn winxp setup.

hope you find the solution, i'll keep my eyes open aswell
Click to expand...

In your description of the steps you mentioned, you said you created a partition, but didn't mention anything about formatting it. Also, if your using a pre-SP1 XP disc, it will not like a partition larger than 137 GB for the system drive. I wouldn't ever use a system drive that big anyway, as I'd cut it down to 70 GB or so, and make the rest D:. I'll bet this is the problem your having.
 
just to make sure are you also formatting the partition as ntfs before winxp tries too install files?
 
JAW said:
just to make sure are you also formatting the partition as ntfs before winxp tries too install files?
Click to expand...

As long as it's NFTS or FAT32, it will install.
 
djnes said:
In your description of the steps you mentioned, you said you created a partition, but didn't mention anything about formatting it. Also, if your using a pre-SP1 XP disc, it will not like a partition larger than 137 GB for the system drive.
Click to expand...
FIZZZZUCK... There is a 50/50 chance the disk Im using is a pre-sp1 cd... Guess I take a quick lesson in slipstreaming a service pack =) I will deffinately have a chuckle if thats the issue. Thank ya guys for the responses!

~ R
 
Ok... Well, I forced it to werk... I reattached my good ole IDE drive that the sata is replacing, booted up windowsXP, formatted the sata via the disk management tool, rebooted and bypassed the need for windowsXP to format the disk. Everything is just CHAMP now with winXP on my sata, life is good.

Oh, and I cant rule out my stupidity, but I did try to make this werk using WinXP Pro Corp with a slipstreamed SP1 and later a SP2 CD so I dont see this as a 137GB limitation.

Again, thanx for the ideas guys =)
 
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