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Cant install xp on new sata drive

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Antcomp

Technical User
Apr 23, 2005
35
US
i got my new drive formatted and now it reads in bios and in my computer. i tried to install windows xp on it but the drive letter didnt show up. all i saw was my exisiting drive. how can i install win xp on my new drive. ive heard of ppl using ghost prog. is that any good? i really would rather do a clean install though. please help.
 
I'm not sure if I understand. How did you get the drive formatted? If you want to install Windows on the SATA drive, you need to install the SATA driver from a floppy disk as Windows begins to copy the system files shortly after booting from the Windows CDROM. You'll see at the bottom it will ask you if you want to load a third party driver, at that point press F6. You'll then need the SATA driver on a floppy to access when Windows install gets to that point and asks for it. The SATA driver should be on the motherboard driver disk, or from the motherboard website.
 
i already did that. that was the first problem i encountered and i installed the drivers. after that i startd windows normally and the drive was not showing. i went into disk management and found it but it wasnt active so i set it active. then i ricghclicked and formatted it. now i went to restart and load the xp cd again and i went into setup to reinstall windows only this time on the new hd. i already have win xp on my current drive. i want to dual boot so i can copy info from 1 to the other. is this possible. someone was telling me i can only load a different os besides xp.
 
If all you want to do is copy info back and forth, do really don't need XP on both drives. That said, you should be able to install XP on the SATA drive. Try disconnecting your other drive, then boot from your XP CD and try to reinstall Windows on your SATA drive. Make sure you have the correct SATA driver, because quite often I have found numerous drivers show up on the list that gets copied onto the floppy. Also, make sure in your BIOS that all settings are correct, that SATA support is enabled. If trouble continues, check the hard drive and motherboard websites for any FAQ that may be relevent to this type of install. Good luck.
 
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