SATA driver problems with clean install of windows xp

[rossmaylor]

Specs:
amd athlon 64 3400+
1gb ddr400 crucial ram
pc chips m870 sis964 mobo
western digital 300gb sata hd.

This is absolutely baffling me.

I try to install xp on this setup with a modified xp dvd with sp2 and extras built in. i press f6 to add 3rd party sata drivers (downloaded off the website- not even clear which drivers to use as not told in manual, but ive tried all and am now sticking with the sis 964 drivers), i then get a message from xp telling me the drivers on the disk are older than the drivers on the xp cd. if i tell xp to use the floppy drivers anyway, it installs, then when it first restarts to go into GUI mode i get to "starting windows xp" and get a STOP 0x0000007B error. however, i get this same error message even if i press f6 and then tell xp to use the drivers off the cd. ive tried using all different types of sata drivers, i get the same error message.

i also have a no frills version of windows xp, without sp 2 and extras built in. if i try pressing f6, and add the sata drivers, windows doesnt tell me that the drivers on the floppy are older, and lets me add them. so far so good. however, when i continue, and it tries to install xp, i get the error message "cannot copy the file sisraid.sys, press enter to retry or esc to skip the file." if i press enter, i just get the same message. if i press esc, it goes through all the files on the floppy tellin me it can't copy them. it then proceeds to install and when it restarts i get the same STOP 0x0000007B error message.

the funny thing is i had a different mobo for this machine originally, was using a msi k8mmv-3 with a via vt8237 chipset. i got exactly the same problem, whatever i tried i still got that stop 0x0000007b error. ive looked on the microsoft website, none of the solutions work. ive tried different sata data cables and power cables, the settings seem correct in the bios, and ive even tried the hard drive in another machine with sata. it works on that machine.

however, trying this hd in another machine gave a strange error message. in this other machine i have a pci sata controller card, and have the exact same hard drive running windows xp on it. i installed xp using the xp dvd with built in sp2, that im using now. added the drivers from the floppy and had no errors whatsoever. however, when i tried to do that this time it told me it couldnt copy the files again, however this time it was on the built in sp2 xp dvd instead of the no frills xp cd. so this was the first time i got this error message with this version of xp. however, if i just installed xp without pressing f6 (if i press f6 im told the drivers are older on the floppy again) then it proceeds to install xp fine and i get no stop 0x0000007b error, and it restarts fine into the GUI part of windows xp setup. so the hard drive is fine. i already knew this tho, i had it running on the msi mobo, running windows xp off an ide drive. xp picked it up first time in my computer, no problems.

so what i really dont understand is why with 2 diff mobos i get the same error message, even tho theyre 2 diff chipsets. the hard drive is fine, the mobos are fine, the cables are fine. but it still wont work!

any help would be MUCH appreciated as im reachin the end of my tether.

 

[kjv1611]

Have you tried this with no other unnecessary hardware attached (any PCI card slots, USB connections, etc) just to make 100% sure it's the hard drive and not some other hardware conflict?

Also, have you made sure there are no necessary BIOS updates or anything else for your motherboard to make the whole setup work correctly?

For your SATA driver, are you going by what you find on the motherboard manufacturer's website for the SATA drivers, or the chipset manufacturer's website, or some other?

 

[wolluf]

Question - have you tried installing XP on to an IDE drive in the same setup? Your problem does sound likely to be hardware related (ANY of the hardware in the machine).

btw - that SP2 install Cd - have you also incorporated SATA drivers into it? Did you do the slipstreaming/incorporation yourself - or use something like nlite? And is the no frills CD an orignal XP CD - or a copy?

 

[rossmaylor]

i got it working! i downloaded another version of windows xp (just sp2 built in without the extras) and it worked fine. it actually told me it was loading the drivers from the floppy and went through the individual drivers as it was loading them at the bottom of the screen which it didn't do last time.

can't believe it was that simple. i might actually try updating the bios anyway, because they do have an update on the website.

Thanks so much for your help though.

 

[kjv1611]

One word of caution: Unless you are having problems, make SURE you want to update the BIOS. Because, if you get Windows running fine with no BIOS udpate, and you don't have any other problems that may be related to the BIOS, then you probably do not need the update. I have updated mine with no problems in the past, but everyone isn't so lucky.

My brother once upgraded his BIOS, and it rendered his motherboard inoperable. Firmware and BIOS updates do have this possibility, so always keep that in mind. That is why the hardware manufacturers usually have a warning in the BIOS and firmware update sections.