Help needed with Asus A8V and sata setup

[eboi]

Hello all

This is my second time building computer and very new to sata hd's as my first ones were IDE. The problem I am having is getting XP Pro to recognize my hd. At first I had the hd plugged into the mobo labeled as sata1 (black connectors) which are the VIA controllers from what I've heard. I've also tried the Promise raid controllers and still no luck Pls correct me if I'm wrong. As for the bios I have it configured to IDE mode and the onboard sata enabled. When XP setup starts I know that I have to press f6 to install third party drivers or something. This is where the problem starts because when I press f6 nothing happens and setup just continue to installs saying no hard disk was found. If anyone can help me I'd really appreciate because I'd like to get my system running. Thanks!

Sys specs
Asus A8V Deluxe
AMD 64 3500
160 gb maxtor sata
1 gig Corsair XMS
dvd rw
cd rw

 

[Bozo Galora]

the f6 option goes by very quickly - you have to be fast to catch it
you must have your sata/raid drivers from mobo put on floppy ready inserted in slot so XP setup can search and find them
Do not put any HDD on IDE yet.
Boot order - CDROM then SCSI/SATA
turn off raid for now

 

[mechBgon]

Does your keyboard happen to be one of the new style where the F-keys don't function as F-keys until you press an F-lock button? Logitech uses that a lot, for example, and some Microsoft keyboards too. That could explain it ignoring your F6 key. Another possible cause is that the keyboard's not plugged into the purple port (purple for keyboard, green for mouse).

I recall someone having tips for setting up SATA on the VIA SATA plugs, I'll see if I can find that.

 

[mechBgon]

Check the last post in this thread, looks like it's not impossible to use the VIA SATA controller with a single SATA drive.

 

[eboi]

after trying the via controllers to no luck i decided to switch to the promise controllers. i also made the necessary changes in bios like onboard promise controller enabled and operating mode to onboard ide operation and still no luck. the message to press f6 comes up and nothing happens xp just continues to install saying no hard disk found. ill try to changing the operating mode to Raid Mode instead of onboard ide operation and see if it works. as for the keyboard it doesn't have an f lock so no luck there. BTW thanks for the timely responses. ill update if there is any progress made with the new settings.

 

[eboi]

right now the hd is on the promise controller. bios settings are onboard promise controller Enabled and Onboard Promise controller Enables. it boots up but nothing happens when i try to press f6 when prompted.~@#^%$@&#@^!

 

[mechBgon]

Try a different keyboard. If you can't get it to register that you're pressing F6, nothing else is going to matter. Work on Problem #1 here.

Welcome to the Forums, by the way 🙂

 

[eboi]

i've already tried another keyboard not a new one but i know it works and still nothing happens. I've heard of people pressing f2 but that button runs ASR automatic sys recovery on xp. any other suggestions will be helpful. I decided to try the forums seeing other people solve their problems hoping I could get mines fixed too.

 

[mechBgon]

And your keyboard is in the purple port and not green, correct? They're function-specific. If you're using a USB keyboard, try a PS/2 keyboard (round plug). If that doesn't work, take the motherboard out of the case and lay it on cardboard for a benchtest like shown down the page here.

 

[eboi]

Just got back to working on my computer sorry for the delay. My keyboard is connected in the purple port and its pa/2. ill try the benchtest in a little

 

[eboi]

i browsed viaarena forums and followed some procedures. i was still unable to press f6 when prompted but xp setup started. i pressed "s" chose the sata driver from the list and now xp is loading. I'm not sure by not press f6 will give me problems later but ill keep you guys posted. Thanks for all the suggestions.