Installing XP on SATA HDD

holdenssx

holdenssx

New Member
Maybe later today or tomorrow I'll be putting together my friends computer. It has a SATA harddrive, and I havent installed XP on a SATA drive yet. I've read that you have to have a floppy drive to provide the Windows Installer with during installation. I don't have an internal floppy drive, but I do have a USB one. Will this work?

If not, what can I do...?

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128059
HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822136074

Thanks!
 
In the BIOS set the SATA controller to native mode. Once you do that you don't need to have F6 (floppy) drivers for the sata controller.
 
I don't know about that board there but two Asus 939 models in two different cases required a driver disk. The new AM2 model saw XP go right onto the same sata there without a need. It mostly depends on the board itself. Give it a try by seeing if the installer sees the sata drive itself.

If it should fail to detect the drive then a driver disk will likely be needed. With that new a board however try Cromewell's suggestion by simply running the installer and not worrying so much there.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys! I went ahead and just installed it and it all went surprisingly smooth!

Thanks again!
 
I know Intel SATA controllers have been pretty good about not needing drives since the 915/925 chipsets (ICH6). I don't know about nvidia, ati, via, sis and the like though.
 
Cromewell said:
I know Intel SATA controllers have been pretty good about not needing drives since the 915/925 chipsets (ICH6). I don't know about nvidia, ati, via, sis and the like though.
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However, I had a P5GD1 which had the 915P chipset and it required the F6 option to install the sata driver, it wouldn't see hard drive without it.
 
Different models as well as socket types will sometimes still see a need. On the Asus AMD boards between two 939 cases here one with VIA and the other with an nForce 4 chipset the driver disk was needed absolutely. On the new AM2 build with the nForce 570 chipset XP readily saw the two sata drives installed. I never had need for the driver floppy there. It seems to be a need for some boiards while not needed for others.
 
I had a P5GD1 which had the 915P chipset and it required the F6 option to install the sata driver, it wouldn't see hard drive without it.
Click to expand...
I had the same board and didn't need it.
 
Cromewell said:
I had the same board and didn't need it.
Click to expand...

I tried for hours trying to get the installation to see the hard drive and couldn't. Finally I tried the F6 method and it recognized it. after about 1.5 years the board just died on me and rma'd it for an upgrade since it wasn't available anymore. Ended up getting the P5GDC Deluxe which had the same chipset and it didn't require the F6 method So I guess some 915 chipset boards were picky and some not. Maybe yours and mine were different revisions possibly. Who knows.
 
johnb35 said:
I tried for hours trying to get the installation to see the hard drive and couldn't. Finally I tried the F6 method and it recognized it. after about 1.5 years the board just died on me and rma'd it for an upgrade since it wasn't available anymore. Ended up getting the P5GDC Deluxe which had the same chipset and it didn't require the F6 method So I guess some 915 chipset boards were picky and some not. Maybe yours and mine were different revisions possibly. Who knows.
Click to expand...

The Asus A8N SLI model 939 board on the current build did. The Asus A8V model a friend has still had problems with the sata driver disks made up. He was loaned an older ide drive until he managed to get a good driver floppy made up which he still hasn't bohtered with. The new Asus M2N-E board saw XP go right on. Sometimes it may simply be the particular board itself for some reason or the make.
 
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