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Help installing Win XP Pro

rivethead

rivethead

Platinum Member
We had a contractor return one of our Lenovo T61 laptops today. Before he sent it back to us, he installed Win 7 release candidate on the machine (a clear violation of our laptop user policy, but that's beside the point....guy is already back in India, so I can't do much about it).

The laptop previously had a copy of Windows XP Pro on it. When I try to reinstall Windows XP Pro (using the discs from a retail copy we have here in the office), it loads all the pre-install files (drivers, etc.) and then tells me it can't find any hard drives on this machine. I'm forced to hit F3 to cancel the install.....and then Windows 7 loads right up from the hard drive.

I'm totally lost here. Never seen this problem before. Is it a software issue (Win 7 keeping Win XP from installing?) or a hardware issue?

In the BIOS I have no problems finding the hard drive and changing the boot order. So I would think the machine knows that the HD is there and exists. But XP Pro doesn't see it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
 
Use Nlite to get the AHCI Sata drivers embedded into WinXP install disc. Don't worry, it's easy. Google 'nLite'.
 
Arkaign said:
Use Nlite to get the AHCI Sata drivers embedded into WinXP install disc. Don't worry, it's easy. Google 'nLite'.
Click to expand...

If one did what you suggest would it be possible to install 32-bit XP on other partitions while running Win7 on the main partition?

I had the same problem when a newly bought laptop came with Vista preinstalled but was incapable of running it smoothly, eventually someone told me to go into BOOT menu and change HD from AHCI to IDE and that worked.

Now I'd like a light(er) OS on some other partitions just in case I need to boot in there while also running Win7 as my main OS, if I do this nLite thing I should be able to do that without switching AHCI on/off and possibly damaging my OS installs right?
 
rivethead said:
We had a contractor return one of our Lenovo T61 laptops today. Before he sent it back to us, he installed Win 7 release candidate on the machine (a clear violation of our laptop user policy, but that's beside the point....guy is already back in India, so I can't do much about it).

The laptop previously had a copy of Windows XP Pro on it. When I try to reinstall Windows XP Pro (using the discs from a retail copy we have here in the office), it loads all the pre-install files (drivers, etc.) and then tells me it can't find any hard drives on this machine. I'm forced to hit F3 to cancel the install.....and then Windows 7 loads right up from the hard drive.

I'm totally lost here. Never seen this problem before. Is it a software issue (Win 7 keeping Win XP from installing?) or a hardware issue?

In the BIOS I have no problems finding the hard drive and changing the boot order. So I would think the machine knows that the HD is there and exists. But XP Pro doesn't see it.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

No, Win7 has nothing to do with it, the problem is that XP is practically a decade old and doesn't have drivers for the hard disk controller on the install disc.
 
imported_Jid said:
If one did what you suggest would it be possible to install 32-bit XP on other partitions while running Win7 on the main partition?

I had the same problem when a newly bought laptop came with Vista preinstalled but was incapable of running it smoothly, eventually someone told me to go into BOOT menu and change HD from AHCI to IDE and that worked.

Now I'd like a light(er) OS on some other partitions just in case I need to boot in there while also running Win7 as my main OS, if I do this nLite thing I should be able to do that without switching AHCI on/off and possibly damaging my OS installs right?
Click to expand...

Should work, but you'll have to google-fu some info on multi-booting XP with Win7. But yes, leaving AHCI on is possible with an nLite custom XP disc, if you switch the HDD controller mode chances are Win7 will be unhappy.
 
Arkaign said:
Should work, but you'll have to google-fu some info on multi-booting XP with Win7. But yes, leaving AHCI on is possible with an nLite custom XP disc, if you switch the HDD controller mode chances are Win7 will be unhappy.
Click to expand...

crap, looks like you were right. I have XP installed on other partitions fine with AHCI but Windows 7 just boots automatically.. no 30sec to choose OS

Guess it's time to google it, along with other stuff that bothers me about this Win7
 
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