Installing Windows XP w/SP2 on a SATA Drive without any drivers?

[dguy6789]

I am wanting to make the jump from PATA to SATA on my next system. I have heard that you have to use a floppy with the sata drivers on it for Windows to be able to be installed on it unless you have a certain kind of motherboard.

This is the motherboard I am planning on using:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16813131540


When I setup my pc and everything for the first time and just plug everything in, would it be possible for me to install windows on a sata drive on this board without the need to use a floppy? I am not doing raid, just using a single Sata drive.

I need 100% accurate info, as I don't want to go through the pita that it is to send the drive back for an EIDE one.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Green Man]

I installed XP on a NF3 ultra on a SATA drive without needing a driver floppy. If you don't need RAID, you probably won't need a floppy on an NF4 either. If you do, it's no big deal...the driver cd comes with an idiot proof utility for making the driver floppy.

You're buying a $200 motherboard so I KNOW you're not too much of a cheap smack to spring the 5 mother freaking dollars for a freaking floppy drive.

 

[dguy6789]

I could get a Floppy drive if absolutely necesary, but I try to avoid buying tech that will break very easilly and maybe never used more than once or twice.

 

[andrewER]

I have that motherboard, it rocks

But yea you need a floppy drive

 

[ND40oz]

use nlite and slipstream the drivers into your xp cd

 

[imported_Kensai]

If you connect it directly to the NF4 ports without using RAID, you won't need drivers.
If you're using the Silicon Image controller, you'll need it.

 

[dguy6789]

Are there any performance benefits of having the Sata over the EIDE one?

 

[mircea]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Are there any performance benefits of having the Sata over the EIDE one?

Yeah... better air flow??

No real performance yet. But you do get less power usage and the posibility of real good cable management.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Cables are really thin I hate IDE cables, they're so bulky...

 

[Mesix]

While on the subject. How about Pro x64?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Originally posted by: Mesix
While on the subject. How about Pro x64?

Still very immature, and there aren't enough good drivers available. You don't get a performance increase anyways, so x64 is useless until 64-bit apps are release.

 

[imported_LoKe]

You can do it, but don't you have a secondary system lying around with a floppy drive?

 

[ryanv12]

If you're going to buy a new HDD, you should just get SATA anyways. I don't know about you, but I tend to keep hard drives for a while, even if it's just as a storage drive. At some point, IDE will be limited on newer motherboards and there will be plenty of SATA ports.

Anyways, I had no problem installing XP Pro SP2 on my SATA drive without putting any disks in. I made a RAID 1 array later on without a problem either.

 

[Mesix]

Originally posted by: t3h l337 n3wb

Originally posted by: Mesix
While on the subject. How about Pro x64?

Still very immature, and there aren't enough good drivers available. You don't get a performance increase anyways, so x64 is useless until 64-bit apps are release.

I didn't ask for your opinion on the OS. I wanted to know if it required RAID drivers to install.