Installing Windows XP on a SATA Drive

[arrow547]

Hi,

I just got a SATA drive and I've been trying to install Windows XP Pro on it. Currently I'm running windows off a 40 gig IDE drive. If I unplug the IDE drive and try to boot off the XP CD it will say "Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware configuration" but wont ask me to "Push any key to boot off the CD". If the IDE drive is plugged in I boot off the XP disk and push F6 when prompted and load the drivers off a floppy disk. I choose to install windows onto the SATA drive when asked and get to the part where it says "Your computer will reboot in 15 seconds". The computer reboots and the screen just stays black. Ive tried setting the SATA drive to 1 on the boot priorities list with the same result.

[rong]

I think you have to set the CD/DVD drive to first boot to get it to install on the SATA drive.

[arrow547]

I think you have to set the CD/DVD drive to first boot to get it to install on the SATA drive.

Tried that and same result.

[Scarecrow Man]

Pressing F6 before the setup process is only for RAID or SCSI controllers. If you are just using straight SATA, you should not need this step.

It is a good idea to leave the IDE unplugged while installing XP on a SATA drive, but you mention already doing that. I am puzzled.

[Spaz]

Try a different ribbon cable, and sata cable. Make sure your BIOS settings are set correctly. Also, if your bios states (Hard Drive) rather than Maxtor [serial Goes here]. Then there's a problem with the connectivity. Same applies to your IDE drives.

You can try to update, or flash your BIOS to make sure your hardware is compatable with it. Reset CMOS and start from scratch.