Loading ...Windows on a SATA Drive
I recently upgraded my rig to a swanky Dual Core chip with a Geforce 8800. The only components I shipped from my old hog was the dvd rom and my backup drive which was the normal PATA IDE drive. I decided on the spot to go with a SATA drive and put WinXp on it.
Anyway I just want to include few pointers for anyone wanting to put an OS onto a SATA drive. Assuming you have a sata drive & a ‘copy’ of windows ready to go, you will need the following:
*Floppy Drive
*Another computer lying around with a CD Rom
*A few hours to spare
*Internet (Just in case)
This was a brand new sata HD, straight out of the wrapper. I had some trouble installing Windows on the SATA with my slave IDE connected so I disconnected that. It took me the whole day to figure out what was wrong and I won’t embarrass myself further by explaining it, so I’ll just give you the short version with all the correct moves included.
You’ll have to search your mobo disk for drivers for the SATA drive before you go installing windows. I found them in the chipset folder if I recall. The two drivers were called “NVIDIA RAID driver controllers” & “NVIDIA nForce Storage Controller”. Putting them on a floppy I then turned to begin the Windows Installation. You will either have SATA ports onboard or else you’ll have to buy a SATA PCI slot Controller, depending on your mobo.
When you boot from the CD on your new computer and the windows setup starts, immediately keep a careful eye on the bottom of the screen for a line like :
“Press F6 to install Third Party SCSI or Adapter Drivers” Or something to that affect. Press F6 and then a prompt will appear after a sec or two to insert the disk. After all this, you’ll go on to the partition and format options. The Comp will reboot and then carry on with the Windows Installation.
And that’s that. I had serious trouble installing windows at the time I didn’t know that I had to install drivers before installing windows on the sata drive. All this is necessary if you want to put an operating system on your sata drive. Hope this was of some use!
When in doubt go to www.techsupportforum.com
Those guys are very handy when it comes to computer problems!
Well as I explained…I have obviously done the above before…..but have no recollection of it at all!!!!
After I re-installed I just got lucky as I did not format….so the drivers were still on my hard drive…..and windows went straight on!
Would’nt it be a HUGE help if the SATA HDD people just put a tiny inlay stating you will need to install the controller drivers before trying to install windows!
Comment by Justin — March 9, 2007 @ 10:07 am