XP Setup : No HD detected

Lydesia

I'm currently setting up a machine on XP home edition.
The hard drive is a western digital 250 GB on SATA.

I hit F6 and "specify additional adaptors" - insert the floppy disk i got with the motherboard. 3 Items come up in the list:

Install VIA smartX bus driver
Install VIA smartX port driver
Install VIA smartX raid driver

I choose all 3 and continue with the installation.
eventually it gets to the screen past Windows setup and says
"Windows cannot detect any hard drive...."

I also tried loading one at a time with the same result.
Has anyone got any ideas? Im really stuck :[

Explosive_Cornflake

This when installing?
When setup is launching, you need to hut F6 when its says, supply additional scsi raid controller drivers, or something to that effect. Are you doing that?

Lydesia

Explosive_Cornflake wrote:

This when installing?
When setup is launching, you need to hut F6 when its says, supply additional scsi raid controller drivers, or something to that effect. Are you doing that?

I most certainly am. :]

Explosive_Cornflake

Does the HD show up in BIOS?

Lydesia

What should it appear under?
I though SATA's did not appear in the BIOS.

Explosive_Cornflake

They do, should be under HD boot order anyway. Depends on the BIOS. Also, you need to make sure the SATA controller is turned on. Sometimes they don't be.
What mobo is it?
If you have alink to the manual i'll look at it and help you through.

Lydesia

The SATA controller...oo how do i turn that on?

This is the MB : http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=306361

An ABIT. I just checked the connections there, it is hooked up right, to SATA port 1.

AnCapaillMor

Ok if its any thing like the last a-bit i had, you're going to have to switch off the raid option if you have just one drive, for the drive to seen as normal sata.

Lydesia

What drivers do i install then? Thx for the input

Explosive_Cornflake

Page 3 -18 of the manual shows you where the option is. It's a bit hidden.

Lydesia

Cool. I checked that on the BIOS and it is enabled.

What to do now.......Do you have MSN?

AnCapaillMor

Just switch off the raid option, you should have no problems then. quick question is the hd sata or sata2.

Nevermind just saw the board spec. sata you should be fine now, once the hd shows on bios, xp will pick it up.

Lydesia

Where would the SATA show up in the BIOS...all i can see is IDE connections coming up. I left out the RAID driver but i got the same error.

Explosive_Cornflake

AnCapaillMor wrote:

Just switch off the raid option, you should have no problems then. quick question is the hd sata or sata2.

Nevermind just saw the board spec. sata you should be fine now, once the hd shows on bios, xp will pick it up.

Not if you only have a sata drive, and yyour installing to it, unless you have the drivers slipstreamed.

PM sent

Cuddlesworth

Sata drives show up as Ide in the bios

pdogs

SATA, RAID and various BIOS settings are very non-standard in the way that systems recognise them. Sometimes a good read of the manual is helpful (not always however) but if you cannot detect the SATA in the BIOS (or in a separte Controller BIOS screen with a keyboard prompt) its no good installing the drivers in the early part of a Windows Installation.

The situation is fluid and some, but by no means all, SATA drives may be identified as IDE drives in the BIOS. When this is the case there should be no need for the "F6 drivers install" since the system should have been "fooled" into believing that the SATA is in fact a PATA.

If no drive is appearing in any BIOS then recheck the connections and maybe even try another data cable.

Disconnect any PATAs and try checking with the maker's diagnostic utility on a boot floppy or CD if you still cannot "find" the drive anywhere.