Vista back to XP Pro

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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
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Here goes...

I agreed to put XP on my dad's Toshiba p205 s7469 laptop that came with Vista. I didn't think it would be an issue, but damn was I wrong. I'm getting the "no hard drives detected" error when trying to boot from the XP disc - apparently due to XP not supporting SATA drives natively.

What I've tried - downloading nLite and slipstreaming SATA drivers into a new XP install disc. Didn't work.

Using nLite to slipstream SP3 into the XP install disc. Didn't work.

Looked in BIOS to change SATA mode to Legacy, IDE, or something along those lines. Couldn't find any such setting to change anywhere within the BIOS.

The only thing I have left to think is I didn't get the correct SATA drivers slipstreamed the first time. (I have no clue why SP3 wouldn't resolve this, though.) I've looked on Toshiba's website and obviously they don't have XP SATA drivers because that would make things too easy.

I'm about to tell him to just buy Windows 7, but we have a stack of 10 unopened XP Pro discs that he got form work so it's preferable to use those. Does anyone have any experience with this?
 
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DrGreen2007

Senior member
Jan 30, 2007
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Sp3 didnt include any Sata drivers in it.
If you have the correct AHCI drivers, put them on a floppy and use a USB floppy and F6 during the XP install.
Are there XP drivers for the wifi video and sound?
It'd be easier to just get 7
 
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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
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Yes, I suppose SP3 having Sata drivers would be too easy as well.

I'm almost positive I have the correct drivers (selected ICH8M SATA AHCI Controller when slipstreaming), but since it didn't work who knows.

I pulled drivers for WiFi, video and sound from a few other forums and have them ready to go on a flash drive. Figured I'd start with square one and shoot for the hard drive first.

Unfortunately I don't have a USB floppy drive available to me otherwise I would have already done it. I'm going to try nLite one more time and if it doesn't work I'm just going to tell him to go Win7. Knowing my luck I'd get XP going but the wifi/video/sound wouldn't work and he'd have to upgrade anyway.

Thanks for the reply. :)
 
dave_the_nerd

dave_the_nerd

Lifer
Feb 25, 2011
16,992
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I've heard of netbook owners running into this problem.

Any ATA/IDE emulation mode in BIOS you can switch to?
 
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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
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Dahak - I got a different set of ACHI drivers from the Intel site. I believe the recommended ones from the Toshiba link JeffreyLebowski posted. Still no dice.

JeffreyLebowski - That was the main source of information I originally used when trying to pull everything together. Through all the different threads I read it seemed like ATA/IDE emulation mode in BIOS was the most consistent...

dave_the_nerd - Which leads me to your post. I was hopeful this was a possibility but I wasn't able to find any such setting in the BIOS. I don't know what specific version was on it but it seemed to be stripped down quite a bit compared to other BIOS screens I've dealt with.

After multiple hours of researching and failing I convinced him to go with Windows 7. Even if I was able to get it to recognize the HD and install it sounded like a lot of the other devices would need special drivers too, none of which are on Toshiba's website for that model on XP. I didn't feel like searching through tons of threads that are 1-5 years old looking for alternative drivers that work, especially for a laptop that isn't even mine.

As far as I'm concerned this thread is closed. I just hope the install/conversion from Vista 32-bit to Win7 64-bit goes a LOT smoother. Thanks for all your help guys!
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,125
10,589
126
Why not stay with Vista? It's a fine O/S. Regarding the smooth "conversion" to 64bit; it isn't gonna happen. You need to backup, and fresh install if you go that route.
 
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JeffreyLebowski

Lifer
Aug 23, 2000
15,509
1
81
SnipeMasterJ13 said:
Dahak - I got a different set of ACHI drivers from the Intel site. I believe the recommended ones from the Toshiba link JeffreyLebowski posted. Still no dice.

JeffreyLebowski - That was the main source of information I originally used when trying to pull everything together. Through all the different threads I read it seemed like ATA/IDE emulation mode in BIOS was the most consistent...

dave_the_nerd - Which leads me to your post. I was hopeful this was a possibility but I wasn't able to find any such setting in the BIOS. I don't know what specific version was on it but it seemed to be stripped down quite a bit compared to other BIOS screens I've dealt with.

After multiple hours of researching and failing I convinced him to go with Windows 7. Even if I was able to get it to recognize the HD and install it sounded like a lot of the other devices would need special drivers too, none of which are on Toshiba's website for that model on XP. I didn't feel like searching through tons of threads that are 1-5 years old looking for alternative drivers that work, especially for a laptop that isn't even mine.

As far as I'm concerned this thread is closed. I just hope the install/conversion from Vista 32-bit to Win7 64-bit goes a LOT smoother. Thanks for all your help guys!
Click to expand...

I'll look when I get home. I was able to find an XP driver pack someone made for my Toshiba that came with Vista and wasn't supported with XP on it. IT cane be done, The drivers are out there.

Have you made sure it has the most current BIOS on it?
 
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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
lxskllr said:
Why not stay with Vista? It's a fine O/S. Regarding the smooth "conversion" to 64bit; it isn't gonna happen. You need to backup, and fresh install if you go that route.
Click to expand...

Apparently some work website and/or program he needs is not compatible with Vista. Personally, I have no issues with it; I run it on my desktop because I'm too cheap to upgrade. It's only a 2.6GHz duo core with 6GB of RAM but it's fast enough for me. His laptop is an older 1.5GHz Duo Core with only 2GB RAM, though, so it's pretty damn slow. He got it from Best Buy as a gift and it has a ton of extra stuff on there which doesn't help.

I was researching the upgrade/install steps earlier today because I know he'll ask me to do it and I saw that the backup and fresh install is needed if we go 64-bit. He's already got all the files he wants to save on a jump drive because I told him it's better and easier to do a completely fresh install. That way no unwanted garbage gets carried over and he can start with a clean slate.

Lebowski - Thanks for the link. I'll definitely keep it handy in case the Win7 plan blows up. Having all the drivers in one place is beyond helpful. It's definitely appreciated.

You guys rock!
 
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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
JeffreyLebowski said:
Just found this:
http://notebookblogonline.com/en/request-toshiba-satellite-p205-driver-for-windows-xp/
Has XP drivers for:
a. Intel mobile chipset 945GM drivers
b. Ethernet controller
c. Mass Storage Controller
d. PCI Device-PCI (modem device audio bus)

I can't verify the download link here at work.
Click to expand...

Just checked the link - does not exist or is not available. Now that I look at it I might have actually seen that a couple nights ago. Coincidentally enough I think that's the exact time I gave up all hope on finding an all-in-one download that would work!
 
lxskllr

lxskllr

No Lifer
Nov 30, 2004
60,125
10,589
126
If his program doesn't work in Vista it's unlikely to work in Win7, unless you intend on using it's virtual XP option. In any case, I'd try to test it out before spending money.
 
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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
lxskllr said:
If his program doesn't work in Vista it's unlikely to work in Win7, unless you intend on using it's virtual XP option. In any case, I'd try to test it out before spending money.
Click to expand...

That was my initial thought as well. Last I heard my brother is checking into getting a cheap copy from college so it wouldn't be that much "wasted" on it if it doesn't work. I'm just crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

Now if I could only get him to understand I haven't worked PC support in over 6 years so he should stop asking me computer questions. A man can dream I suppose...
 
mvbighead

mvbighead

Diamond Member
Apr 20, 2009
3,793
1
81
Just to confirm, when you slipstream using Nlite, you are loading the TXTSETUP.OEM drivers, and not just the driver component for the SATA controller, right?

If you're not loading the TXTSETUP.OEM driver, it won't detect the disk. Also, on some systems, it seems a Vista/Win7 partition doesn't seem to play to nice with XP, and a low-level wipe of the disk is necessary to be able to work with the blank disk. Couple of things worth trying. Obviously you will lose data with a low level format, but that's the best way to rebuild a system anyway.
 
Dahak

Dahak

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2000
3,752
25
91
mvbighead said:
Just to confirm, when you slipstream using Nlite, you are loading the TXTSETUP.OEM drivers, and not just the driver component for the SATA controller, right?

If you're not loading the TXTSETUP.OEM driver, it won't detect the disk. Also, on some systems, it seems a Vista/Win7 partition doesn't seem to play to nice with XP, and a low-level wipe of the disk is necessary to be able to work with the blank disk. Couple of things worth trying. Obviously you will lose data with a low level format, but that's the best way to rebuild a system anyway.
Click to expand...

I had run into the issue with the partitions once before as well, don't need to do a low level format, but was able to use gparted and delete all the partition information
 
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SnipeMasterJ13

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2004
1,005
0
71
I don't recall TXTSETUP.OEM specifically. I followed this walkthrough for nLite - http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...d-disk-drives-during-windows-xp-installation/ and made sure I selected "Textmode driver" vs. "Regular PNP driver" when it got to that step. I'm not sure if that creates the TXTSETUP.OEM file automatically or not.

I did see quite a few different posts about hard drive size being an issue, some not recognizing if it was over a certain size and others requiring it be wiped beforehand. With so many different variables I was just trying the more popular "this fixes it for sure" method. If the Win7 method doesn't pan out I'll definitely double-check the text file thing as well as the HD size.

I appreciate the European site suggestion, too. You guys sound like me - taking it personally and being stubborn when something doesn't easily work for you, haha.
 
Dahak

Dahak

Diamond Member
Mar 2, 2000
3,752
25
91
Those steps that you followed should have worked, you had selected the right mode with is the text mode driver, im getting as confused as you are :)
 
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