Installing windows onto a SATA HD (Major help required)

[egandt]

I'm trying to install Winodws onto a WD36.4Gig 10K HD, which is running off my Promise onboard SATA378 adapter in SATA (not raid mode). First I can not get windows to allow me to boot to the disk from XP setup unless I disable my pair of Segate 200Gig HDs on the secondary IDe controller the primary contoller has my DVD+Rw drive. So I disable the 2 segate HDs and reboot entering the floppy into my USB floppy disk, I have no internal drives, as they causes to many problems. After windows starts the install and copies a few files to the HD it asks again for the foloppy disk with the SATA drivers, but can npt find the drive, (seems like a driver issue, there are no Boot level drivers for the floppy drive). I'm sick to death of this sh*t, I can install SUSE 9 on the drive without issue, but can not install windows, which is the OS I need. I'm upset at wasting a $120, for a kickass boot drive to improve speed and receive a paper weight instead. Does anyone know a way around it damn windows problem. PS the VIA8237 south bridge SATA drivers, would lock up the system, so I switched to the Promise as per another forum post.

Thanks in advance,
ERIC GANDT

 

[mechBgon]

What motherboard is this?

 

[MDE]

You should be able to install off of the VIA SATA ports without giving it a driver. You won't be disappointed in the Raptor once you get it running.

 

[egandt]

The MB is a MSI KT800 series MB, I do not remember the exact modle number off the top of my head right now. The key components are the Promise SATA378 and VIA8237 SATA controllers. I first off can not understand how unless I disable in bios the 2 200Gig Segate HDs when even I select the SATA driver as the boot drive windows switches to the first EIDE Segate drive, if I disable them in BIOS they show up under XP install (odd as they do not show up under Linux any more or on the boot screen), but I can install onto the RSATA drive. The issue, is how windows losses the USB Floppy drive after the installation starts, since it found it at the beginning and then can no longer located it after copying files. I'm trying to produce an OEM modified version of XP from the artical at this location: http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/851350 , however I can not find out how to discover what the SUBSYS_######### numbers are for the diffrent chipsets, as all the drivers include is the device indentification. Overall this is an unacceptable problem, as very few people could ever get this drive or any other SATA device to work under windows, as WD does not even describ the problem that I found on there website and MSI does not even include XP driver disks for either the VIA or PROMISE adapters, I found the drivers on ASUS's website finally. Overall this product receives a 0 out of 10 simple because it is taking over 6 hour (to date) to install. I'd return it for an IDE drive if it was not for the 20% restocking fee.

ERIC

 

[mechBgon]

Recommendation: use a normal floppy drive. It's not the Raptor's fault that Windows is being a 'tard. Is it now.

 

[egandt]

I managed to create a basteized version of Windows XP which included drivers for the drive by using information from: http://gathering.tweakers.net/forum/list_messages/851350 I also used the program PCI from: http://members.datafast.net.au/dft0802/ to gather the nessecary device information. Overall it took 10 attempts, but I now have a version of XP that not only will install on SATA, but also installs the VIA 4in1, Eithernet and Wireless networking, during the install.

Thanks for your assistance.
ERIC