SATA hdd Windows Install

frizzl

Junior Member
Apr 23, 2006
15
0
0
Well my first post here... and its not even for me! (but i didnt sign up for this purpose)

my friend is trying to format his hdd and reinstall windows.

he formatted and the format took about 4 seconds (strange he didnt use quick format either) and then went into the red reboot thing that takes 15 seconds and it rebooted.

it rebooted back to the installer...

any ideas?
 

stevty2889

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2003
7,036
8
81
Well it would help if you were to give at least some info on his hardware..so I take it had a working windows install before, and he needed/wanted to reformat for some reason, and now windows won't install. First found out what hardware he has, so we have something to go on..
 

orion23

Platinum Member
Oct 1, 2003
2,035
0
71
You need to provide the SATA drivers for the installation.
Find out the name of the SATA controller or get the FLOPPY disk that came with his computer / motherboard.
You could also download these files and make your own floppy disk

When the Windows setup is loading, look at the bottom of the screen and it will tell you to press F6 to provide such drivers. Press F6 and wait about a minute or so, then the setup will prompt you for the floppy.
That should be it!
 

stevty2889

Diamond Member
Dec 13, 2003
7,036
8
81
Originally posted by: orion23
You need to provide the SATA drivers for the installation.
Find out the name of the SATA controller or get the FLOPPY disk that came with his computer / motherboard.
You could also download these files and make your own floppy disk

When the Windows setup is loading, look at the bottom of the screen and it will tell you to press F6 to provide such drivers. Press F6 and wait about a minute or so, then the setup will prompt you for the floppy.
That should be it!

Wrong, modern motherboards with native SATA controllers no long require you to press F6 and load the drivers..if that was neccesary windows wouldn't have seen the drive at all let alone allow it to be formated..
 

orion23

Platinum Member
Oct 1, 2003
2,035
0
71
It's a guess since we don't even know the motherboard his friend is using.

I he is using a controller, or for example and Asus a8n sli premium, he would need to provide drivers for the Silicon controller if he wanted to use those ports.
 

BadThad

Lifer
Feb 22, 2000
12,099
47
91
Originally posted by: stevty2889
Originally posted by: orion23
You need to provide the SATA drivers for the installation.
Find out the name of the SATA controller or get the FLOPPY disk that came with his computer / motherboard.
You could also download these files and make your own floppy disk

When the Windows setup is loading, look at the bottom of the screen and it will tell you to press F6 to provide such drivers. Press F6 and wait about a minute or so, then the setup will prompt you for the floppy.
That should be it!

Wrong, modern motherboards with native SATA controllers no long require you to press F6 and load the drivers..if that was neccesary windows wouldn't have seen the drive at all let alone allow it to be formated..

Correct, the default behavior for SATA ports is called "IDE MODE", where the drive simply behaves like a standard IDE port. The only time you must provide a driver is if you're using the RAID functionality.

The solution is simple for this problem. Just remove the Windows CDROM after the reboot! His BIOS is set to first boot from the CDROM drive, that is resulting in an endless loop. Just reinsert the Windows disk when the installation asks for it, then remove it on next reboot.

 

VicodiN

Senior member
May 6, 2002
576
0
0
The solution is simple for this problem. Just remove the Windows CDROM after the reboot! His BIOS is set to first boot from the CDROM drive, that is resulting in an endless loop. Just reinsert the Windows disk when the installation asks for it, then remove it on next reboot.

duh..
 

mechBgon

Super Moderator<br>Elite Member
Oct 31, 1999
30,699
1
0
And if it then gripes that NTLDR is missing, check the boot-device priority and also the hard-disk-drive priority lists in the BIOS to ensure that they're both set to point to the SATA controller and to the correct drive. If more guidance is needed on that, then post the brand & model of the motherboard.
 

bluestrobe

Platinum Member
Aug 15, 2004
2,033
1
0
As I recall you have to press a key to get it to boot from the windows XP cd. Otherwise it should just boot right to the hard drive (if the boot order was cdrom-hd). Also as said, without a list of hardware that is about the best we can give.
 

frizzl

Junior Member
Apr 23, 2006
15
0
0
sorry guys, havent been able to get on comp for a while (basketball and english exams)

his specs
3500+ MSI K8T neo2 (k8t800pro VIA chipset) 2 x 512 Kingmax Color BGA 1 x 160 Seagate Barracuda 1 x 250 WD 500W TruePower PSU MSI 6600GT 128 Sony 16x DVD RW+ -

thanks for replies, running them by him now
 

orion23

Platinum Member
Oct 1, 2003
2,035
0
71
Originally posted by: BadThad
Originally posted by: stevty2889
Originally posted by: orion23
You need to provide the SATA drivers for the installation.
Find out the name of the SATA controller or get the FLOPPY disk that came with his computer / motherboard.
You could also download these files and make your own floppy disk

When the Windows setup is loading, look at the bottom of the screen and it will tell you to press F6 to provide such drivers. Press F6 and wait about a minute or so, then the setup will prompt you for the floppy.
That should be it!

Wrong, modern motherboards with native SATA controllers no long require you to press F6 and load the drivers..if that was neccesary windows wouldn't have seen the drive at all let alone allow it to be formated..

Correct, the default behavior for SATA ports is called "IDE MODE", where the drive simply behaves like a standard IDE port. The only time you must provide a driver is if you're using the RAID functionality.

The solution is simple for this problem. Just remove the Windows CDROM after the reboot! His BIOS is set to first boot from the CDROM drive, that is resulting in an endless loop. Just reinsert the Windows disk when the installation asks for it, then remove it on next reboot.

Not all controllers are recognized under NATIVE mode. This is the case with the silicon 3114 SATA controller (not even windows VISTA recognized drives under this controller unless a driver is provided)
About RAID, even if you are not using RAID, the only way for the controller to recognize the drives plugged to it, is by providing the "windows IDE driver.

If you had an A8N-SLI Premium, you'd know!