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SATA...need windows to be installed first?

L

LTOwnalot

Member
I'm building a new computer for my family, and even though I've always built my own computers this is the first time I decided to use an SATA hard drive. So I got a WD Caviar 250 GB SATA 3 GB/s hard drive and a MOBO that supports SATA 3.0 GB/S (an ASUS A8N-VM).

After I finished the computer won't boot up at all. I checked the jumpers on the mobo and the various connections, but I concluded that either something is wrong with the MOBO, which I don't expect from ASUS...or the hard drive has issues. I read the manual for the mobo and it said "please make sure to install windows before using SATA."

To those that are way more experienced with SATA then I am, does that mean I can't just put in SATA and hope to install window on that as I would do with any PATA hard drives? How then can one use an SATA as the primary hard drive?

Any help is appreciated!
 
Depending on your motherboard, SATA must be enabled in the BIOS first.

When you install Windows, you need to make sure you load your SATA drivers first before you continue with installation, or the computer will not boot.

If you're installing XP, you have to press F6 during setup (It's the first thing it asks you) when you're installing it. Once you have it, load your appropriate drivers.

To answer your question directly, no, Windows can not magically just use Sata. It was a pain for me at first to, but I got the hang of it after a while.
 
Hmm right now the computer won't even start up (as if there's no power). Before when this happen it's usually a jumper (pwr switch jumper) in the wrong place or the PSU not turned on. But in this case those aren't the problem.

From what u said, the SATA hard drive would not be the reason the computer is not powering up then, since it sounds like I should still be able to get into the BIOS and do stuff.

Right now when i push the power button the power led lights for a fraction of the second and goes away. Same as the devices, I can kind of hear them go on for a fraction of a second but goes off again. This would not be caused by having a hard drive that is not detected then?
 
Check the back of your PSU and make sure it's not on the "230" setting.

Without hard drives, your computer will normally boot into BIOS and then continue normally, eventually getting to a

DISK READ ERROR
ABORT, RETRY, FAIL

This sounds like a power thing, so re-check your cables and look at the red switch on the back.
 
you prob. have a short or something. I would try and take the mobo out of the case and see if it would boot that way. If it does then the case is touching the mobo somewhere causing a short.
 
the voltage switch (red switch) was correct and it definitely wasn't a short. I solved the problem now, thanks to Algae Eater in pointing me to the right direction tho. It was a PSU to mobo connection problem that is now solved.

Oh and it turns out that the MOBO does detect the SATA right away without any drivers, despite what the manual says. It detected my hard drive and I was about to install XP onto it.

THanks for the help guys.
 
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