WinXP Setup Doesn't Detect Hard Drives??

[xelizer]

hey guys

here are my specs before i start:
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
Gigabyte GA-K8N Pro Motherboard
1gb DDR RAM
2x 80gb Maxtor SATA (RAID 0)
1x 120gb Maxtor IDE
ATi Radeon 9800XT

i recently came back from a 2 week vacation to brazil, only to find my computer was not booting up. the windows xp logo would come up after the usual boot. but then the desktop would not show up, and only a cursor was there. so i was like wtf..i called my tech support after checking inside the bios and inside the computer. they did some tests and shit but nothing worked.they were going to send me 2 new hard drives, because apparently they were the problem. instead, i went to the computer tech support place and showed them my comp. i told them everything that happened.

instead of formatting the hard drives or swapping for 2 new ones (i didn't want to lose data), we put in a 120gb IDE hard drive. (IDE is on master, SATAs on slave) So then I installed XP on that IDE (while my SATAs were unplugged) and installed the Raid drivers, etc. I plugged in the SATAs, restarted the comp, and started Windows on my IDE. I moved over all my data to the IDE drive..and everything is fine. But now I am stuck yet again.

After taking all my data from the SATAs, I formatted the drives. Now they are wiped clean. However, I want XP to load from the SATAs, not the IDE hard drive. So like the tech support guy told me, I moved the IDE onto slave (it was master before). I booted from the CD and went into Windows Setup. However, the damned Windows Setup is not detecting my X: drive (the 2 SATAs configured Raid 0). I don't know what to do...help! I need some way to move all my data and install WinXP on my X:\ drive, so that I can format my IDE hard drive and use it for Linux & backup.

thank you very much and i hope its not too confusing..

 

[xelizer]

ok update on this problem:

when I go into Windows Setup I press F6 then S and put in my RAID floppy. the same screen asking for the floppy keeps coming up (its not detecting the drives on the floppy). so I used a different floppy and redownloaded the driver off the website. I formatted the floppy with a WinXP machine and put the drivers on it exactly how the readme says to. Still no luck. I tried another floppy drive, still nothing.
If I skip the RAID driver and go to setup a fresh install of Windows, Windows Setup will not detect my 2 SATA hard drives. I also tried unplugging the IDE and seeing if it would work, same thing though.
One more thing to note: floppies are not being detected in IDE's Windows either. each and every floppy insert into the drive are not being read. when I click A:\ it will say "This disk is not formatted properly, would you like to format now?" I click "yes" An error comes up shortly after "This disk cannot be formatted" I stick that same floppy into another WinXP machine and it works fine.
Something is very wrong here and I am completely stumped. help!

 

[Leadman584]

I'm guessing here, so bear with me. When you enter the Raid configuration bios, does it detect the drives connected? allow you to build the array? And go through a very long spiel about formatting? Even a low level format will do. Are you selecting the proper drivers during F6? I have 6 available on 1 floppy, and have chose "unwisely", on a couple of occasions. Alcohol and Windows installs do not mix well...lol. Anywho, do you have the latest drivers from MB manufacturer? I can't get the one's from Intel to work for shit, but the one's I got from Abit work perfectly. Was there data on the drives that might impede an install? Like an MBR, that was not removed? I've made most of the mistakes you can possibly make, while installing RAID0, RAID0+1, and RAID 5. Hate getting smart this way, but you do remember you're msitakes.

 

[xelizer]

1. Yes the drives are shown in bios during boot
2. I have deleted and recreated the array for the RAID 0
3. I could do a low-level format on the 2 SATAs but I have already formatted them through windows...should I do it anyway?
4. The proper drivers are on the floppy, but I do not even get to the point where it detects the drivers on the floppy. I get this screen over and over: http://www1.jpn.hp.com/support/customer_advisories/images/cato030421_01_6.jpg
5. I have the latest drivers from the mobo manufacturer (Giga-byte).
6. I'm not sure if anything could be impeding the install...I formatted through WindowsXP so I don't know if the MBR is still there or not.

I think the motherboard floppy controller is broken and the mobo needs to be replaced.

 

[Leadman584]

You insert the floppy, hit enter, and nothing happens? You should see a list of drivers on the floppy. May be a much cheaper solution. Check to insure floppy is properly connected, Data and power. Silly power connector is easy to knock loose if your's are in a tight spots like both of mine. When you insert a floppy the light on floppy drive should come on. Another thing to try if you want to check the floppy for functionality (proper data transfer) insert a DOS boot disk. Does it boot into DOS? Before I'd blame the MB, I'd look at possible failure of the floppy drive. Most likely, when you installed the HD's you knocked something loose.

This is still a lot better than knocking a SATA connector loose with a hot system. Bye, Bye Data on a RAID0 array.

I know this all sounds very basic, but you'ld be surprised how easy it is to overlook the obvious when you get frustrated. Unfortunately, you need the controller drivers, whether you RAID or not, to install windows onto a SATA drive.

PS. This will sound very silly, but I've done it. Do you have the right floppy in the machine? A blank one will give you the problem described. Verify the drivers are actually on that floppy.