need some help setting up my sata drive on soltek sl-k8an2e-gr motherboard

[jksillsn]

i've been out of the hardware loop for a long time and as a result, i'm having a problem setting up my sata drive.

here are the specs of my system:
A64 3200+
soltek sl-k8an2e-gr
1gig corsair
9800 pro
dvd writer
1 WD 80gig
1 seagate 200gig sata

i had a HUGE reply typed out but scrapped it, at least for the time being. what it comes down to is this:

i can't install my sata drive without xp having a problem with my hardware. xp won't detect/config my hardware properly the way i set up my sata drive.

this is what i did to set it up:

- i'm fairly certain my bios is set up correctly but maybe it isn't. both HD's are detected in bios
- promise controller is disabled on the board and in bios
- sata drive is plugged into the sata1 on the nvidia header. i've got my WD as the master on IDE channel0 and my optical as master on IDE channel1.
- hit f6 during xp setup and used the nvidia raid driver floppy
- installed all components of the nvidia all-in-one drivers

after that point is where all the problems start. can someone walk me through the steps to properly install the drive because after spending 2 days on this problem, i can't seem to do it myself.

thanks

 

[mechBgon]

Ok, to clarify: you're not just trying to add the drive to an existing WinXP computer, you're trying to set up WinXP on the SATA drive as a fresh installation. Is that right?

 

[jksillsn]

correct

 

[mechBgon]

Disconnect your PATA drive, leave it disconnected, and try running WinXP Setup without the F6/floppy routine at all. Some nF3 250/250Gb boards will work that way, provided the drive is indeed on the nVidia SATA jacks like you've got yours. Good luck and if it works then I'd suggest going in this order:

Windows service pack 2 installation first (gets you DirectX 9.0C as well)

nVidia motherboard driver package second

video drivers third

This might mean suffering with a nasty-looking display for a while. You can find a link to the full SP2 download if you click the top link in my signature. It may be worth looking at the anti-worm info there too if you don't have a hardware firewall protecting your system.

 

[mechBgon]

Oh, and while I'm at it: if you didn't already, I would make sure the memory is getting at least 2.6 volts (most boards default to 2.5).

 

[jksillsn]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
Disconnect your PATA drive, leave it disconnected, and try running WinXP Setup without the F6/floppy routine at all. Some nF3 250/250Gb boards will work that way, provided the drive is indeed on the nVidia SATA jacks like you've got yours. Good luck and if it works then I'd suggest going in this order:

Windows service pack 2 installation first (gets you DirectX 9.0C as well)

nVidia motherboard driver package second

video drivers third

This might mean suffering with a nasty-looking display for a while. You can find a link to the full SP2 download if you click the top link in my signature. It may be worth looking at the anti-worm info there too if you don't have a hardware firewall protecting your system.

and if installing xp on the sata works, i reconnect the pata and make sure that works properly, correct?

any reason for the sp2 other than the security reasons?

 

[mechBgon]

SP2 also has the DirectX 9.0C installer incorporated, and I don't know about you, but I really liked its popup blocker and other IE tweaks

The reason I suggested having the PATA drive unplugged is because Windows seems to want to give PATA drives the letter C: if they're present. Some people even have C: heisted by their memory-card readers And I think most of us want C: to be the boot drive. Once you're set up, you can go ahead and add the other drives again. Good luck

 

[DoobieOnline]

Did you have the SATA drive set as the boot drive in bios? krose posted a fix for something like this in the Unofficial Soltek SL-K8AN2E-GR thread on page 3. Go to Advanced Bios Features, then Hard Disk Boot Priority, and then move your SATA drive to the top of the boot order with the "+" key. HTH!

doobie