Can't see HD when using XP 2

[RDM2]

A customer asked me to "Scrub" the HD on a Dell Inspiron 1525 and install Windows XP in place of Vista.

Sounded straightforward enough. Thought the worst I would encounter would be to have to deal with the MBR during the install.

PROBLEM: When the install reaches the decision point of "Repair" or go ahead and "Install", both choices yield a message "There are no hard drives seen on this system" (Paraphrase). I have tried booting with CDs from every version of XP and '98 and find that hard drives are not recognized with any of them. Meanwhile the Vista Home Premium version works beautifully. What am I not seeing or thinking of? I am a bit frustrated at the moment.

TIA

Ralph

 

[smah]

I believe that it's F6 to load additional drivers. Most likely the system has a SATA drive that would not have existed at the time XP was created - you'll need to install the correct SATA drivers to use the drive.

 

[linney]

Among other things this also mentions "AHCI- which I understand is only for Vista", or later, and IDE compatibility settings for a SATA drive. So the answer may be in your Bios Settings?

Why is Format greyed out in WinXP 'Manage' ?
thread779-1509384

 

[BadBigBen]

as mentioned, you will either have to supply the SATA driver for XP, or set the BIOS setting for the SATA ports to LEGACY MODE (also called IDE Mode in some BIOS's)...

if for some reason, e.g. no floppy drive etc., you are unable to insert the driver before install, then slipstream the SATA driver onto the install media, nLite comes to mind for this job...

Install Windows XP Pro

http://www.petri.co.il/install_windows_xp_pro-new-2.htm

Ben
"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."
How to ask a question, when posting them to a professional forum.
Only ask questions with yes/no answers if you want "yes" or "no"

 

[goombawaho]

USB external floppy drive for the win. But only certain models are supported!!

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916196

Also, have you verified that there are full drivers for XP??? If not, you may have non-functioning devices such as sound/video if there are no XP drivers for the hardware in that model. You cannot ASSUME there will be, though there might be full support.