Problems installing XP...

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:30 pm

I'm fed up with Vista, and I'm trying to replace it with XP. I backed up all my files onto an external harddrive, and popped in my Windows XP install disk. Everything starts fine, I get past the EULA, then when it comes to the screen asking me to pick a drive to install the OS, my internal harddrive doesn't show up!

If I press "Enter", the key to start installation on any drive, it brings me to an error screen and tells me to restart my computer. Do I need a driver of some sort, or what? Please help, and thanks!

CTFan

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:32 pm

Punch it.

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:36 pm

Kurt_ wrote:Punch it.

At this point, I'm seriously considering it.

CTFan

Kurt_ · Post by **Kurt_** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:39 pm

Did you format or mess with the BIOS?

Something like this happened to me when I reinstalled windows and couldn't find my E drive. The E drive is actually a RAID. And for some reason the BIOS settings got changed so it wasn't set up for raid, and I couldn't access it.

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 6:41 pm

Nope.

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:39 pm

Bad CD? >_> <_<

What's the error?

vb_master · Post by **vb_master** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:45 pm

Sounds like you might need to load a RAID driver off of a floppy disk when the CD first boots.

Post by **Skyone** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:49 pm

Also, are you able to boot into Vista normally still?

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:11 pm

vb_master wrote:Sounds like you might need to load a RAID driver off of a floppy disk when the CD first boots.

Well, it did ask me if I needed to load any RAID or SATA drivers; what are they, and how would I get 'em? This PC doesn't have a floppy drive, anyways...

Skyone wrote:Also, are you able to boot into Vista normally still?

Yeah, Vista works fine.

CTFan

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:28 pm

BUMP! C'mon, anyone? I really need an answer, I've got some videos to edit this weekend, and I can't do it on this crappy OS with broken system files!

CTFan

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:32 pm

You could try formatting the hard drive with a linux Live CD, maybe theres something in Vista that doesn't allow you to downgrade to XP.

Post by **CronoTriggerfan** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:47 pm

Well, from what I've gathered through some research, the problem seems to be I need to install custom SATA drivers. Problem is, I have absolutely no way how to find what drivers I need, or how to get them, because I don't know what they are.

CTFan

vskid · Post by **vskid** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 6:53 pm

CronoTriggerfan wrote:Well, from what I've gathered through some research, the problem seems to be I need to install custom SATA drivers. Problem is, I have absolutely no way how to find what drivers I need, or how to get them, because I don't know what they are.

I think they're the drivers for the SATA controller. So your best bet is checking the site of your motherboard's manufacturer (or your SATA card, if its not built it).
If you need a floppy drive, you could just borrow one from another computer for the install.