How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

[Guest James Egan]

When I attempt to install XP Home on a clone PC, I get to the point where

the install says something like "Setup is checking your hardware

configuration". That's when the screen goes black, the hard drive light

remains on, and it just hangs. This PC doesn't have a floppy drive, so I

purchased a USB floppy. However, during the install process, I'm never

prompted to insert a floppy disk with drivers. How can I get the

installer to recognize the SATA drive if I'm not prompted for the drivers?

 

-Thanks

[Guest sgopus]

RE: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

USB floppy won't work. unless your Bios supports it, else you would have tow

ait for windows to load and that's too late.

have you run the hardware check to ensure your pc is compatable with XP?

What do you mean clone pc?

 

"James Egan" wrote:

> When I attempt to install XP Home on a clone PC, I get to the point where

> the install says something like "Setup is checking your hardware

> configuration". That's when the screen goes black, the hard drive light

> remains on, and it just hangs. This PC doesn't have a floppy drive, so I

> purchased a USB floppy. However, during the install process, I'm never

> prompted to insert a floppy disk with drivers. How can I get the

> installer to recognize the SATA drive if I'm not prompted for the drivers?

>

> -Thanks

>

>

>

[Guest Anna]

Re: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

 

"James Egan" <jegan472@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:wNydnc2cPoULohjVnZ2dnUVZ_uidnZ2d@comcast.com...

> When I attempt to install XP Home on a clone PC, I get to the point where

> the install says something like "Setup is checking your hardware

> configuration". That's when the screen goes black, the hard drive light

> remains on, and it just hangs. This PC doesn't have a floppy drive, so I

> purchased a USB floppy. However, during the install process, I'm never

> prompted to insert a floppy disk with drivers. How can I get the

> installer to recognize the SATA drive if I'm not prompted for the drivers?

>

> -Thanks

 

 

James:

A few days ago you posted a plea for help with the subject-name "Windows XP

Hangs at Beginning of Install". As best as I can make out your present post

is identical (or nearly so) to your previous post except now you're using a

different subject-name. You had a number of responses to your prior post,

including mine. Just out of idle curiosity, did you see those responses, and

if so, do you think it would be helpful as well as considerate if you

referred to them and indicated your reaction to them?

Anna

[Guest James Egan]

RE: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:17:01 -0700, sgopus wrote:

> USB floppy won't work. unless your Bios supports it, else you would have tow

> ait for windows to load and that's too late.

> have you run the hardware check to ensure your pc is compatable with XP?

> What do you mean clone pc?

>

 

 

My BIOS does support USB floppy drives. By clone PC I mean that it's

no-name brand 3.2 GHz celeron, with SATA hard drive. Should Windows

prompt me for drivers before it checks the PC's hardware configuration?

[Guest sgopus]

RE: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

no, it will check the hardware then later in the install process it will

display a prompt saying press f6 to install drivers. even after you press f6

it will not immediately ask for those drivers, the request will show at a

later time in the install process, to insert the floppy for the drivers.

 

"James Egan" wrote:

> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 19:17:01 -0700, sgopus wrote:

>

> > USB floppy won't work. unless your Bios supports it, else you would have tow

> > ait for windows to load and that's too late.

> > have you run the hardware check to ensure your pc is compatable with XP?

> > What do you mean clone pc?

> >

>

>

> My BIOS does support USB floppy drives. By clone PC I mean that it's

> no-name brand 3.2 GHz celeron, with SATA hard drive. Should Windows

> prompt me for drivers before it checks the PC's hardware configuration?

>

>

[Guest James Egan]

Re: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:20:58 -0400, Anna wrote:

>

> James:

> A few days ago you posted a plea for help with the subject-name "Windows XP

> Hangs at Beginning of Install". As best as I can make out your present post

> is identical (or nearly so) to your previous post except now you're using a

> different subject-name. You had a number of responses to your prior post,

> including mine. Just out of idle curiosity, did you see those responses, and

> if so, do you think it would be helpful as well as considerate if you

> referred to them and indicated your reaction to them?

> Anna

 

 

I did respond to one or two. This is a different question. Now that

we've established that the problem is a lack of SATA drivers, the question

becomes how to install them.

[Guest Daave]

Re: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

"James Egan" <jegan472@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:vtadnSEBGoXS0RjVnZ2dnUVZ_vudnZ2d@comcast.com...

> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:20:58 -0400, Anna wrote:

>

>>

>> James:

>> A few days ago you posted a plea for help with the subject-name

>> "Windows XP

>> Hangs at Beginning of Install". As best as I can make out your

>> present post

>> is identical (or nearly so) to your previous post except now you're

>> using a

>> different subject-name. You had a number of responses to your prior

>> post,

>> including mine. Just out of idle curiosity, did you see those

>> responses, and

>> if so, do you think it would be helpful as well as considerate if you

>> referred to them and indicated your reaction to them?

>> Anna

>

>

> I did respond to one or two. This is a different question. Now that

> we've established that the problem is a lack of SATA drivers, the

> question

> becomes how to install them.

 

Actually, I agree with Anna; your problem is most likely *not* due to a

lack of SATA drivers. And even that was the problem, starting a new

thread is not helpful to those who are trying to help you.

 

Have another look at Anna's post; you really need to answer those

questions if you want to receive the highest quality assistance.

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

"James Egan" <jegan472@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:wNydnc2cPoULohjVnZ2dnUVZ_uidnZ2d@comcast.com...

> When I attempt to install XP Home on a clone PC, I get to the point where

> the install says something like "Setup is checking your hardware

> configuration". That's when the screen goes black, the hard drive light

> remains on, and it just hangs. This PC doesn't have a floppy drive, so I

> purchased a USB floppy. However, during the install process, I'm never

> prompted to insert a floppy disk with drivers. How can I get the

> installer to recognize the SATA drive if I'm not prompted for the drivers?

>

> -Thanks

 

The prompt you're missing, which never mentions the word "floppy", is well

before hardware detection. It's just after Setup starts, and in IIRC the

lower left of the screen says "press F6 to add drivers". You will then be

prompted again for various things and finally the system will look for

drivers on the A: drive.

 

However, I've found that sometimes this doesn't work, on the system I'm

writing on at this moment, for example.

 

It's sometimes necessary to set the BIOS to use the SATA drives in a

non-AHCI or "legacy" mode, which will reduce performance and allow the

install to proceed normally. Once Windows is installed properly, you

re-install the SATA drivers from within Windows, then reboot to the BIOS and

change back to AHCI.

 

Note, however, that XP includes support for some SATA controllers and you

*do not need* to add drivers. You can tell if this is the case very

easily; Setup will fail just after loading files when it can't find a hard

disk to install to.

 

So, if your system got to the Setup phase where the GUI hardware detection

occurs, it's already found the SATA drive and doesn't need drivers. The

problem is something else entirely.

 

It looks to me like your system has a basic hardware defect or

incompatibility, and it isn't the SATA drive.

 

HTH

-pk

[Guest Patrick Keenan]

Re: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

"James Egan" <jegan472@comcast.net> wrote in message

news:vtadnSEBGoXS0RjVnZ2dnUVZ_vudnZ2d@comcast.com...

> On Mon, 21 Jul 2008 22:20:58 -0400, Anna wrote:

>

>>

>> James:

>> A few days ago you posted a plea for help with the subject-name "Windows

>> XP

>> Hangs at Beginning of Install". As best as I can make out your present

>> post

>> is identical (or nearly so) to your previous post except now you're using

>> a

>> different subject-name. You had a number of responses to your prior post,

>> including mine. Just out of idle curiosity, did you see those responses,

>> and

>> if so, do you think it would be helpful as well as considerate if you

>> referred to them and indicated your reaction to them?

>> Anna

>

>

> I did respond to one or two. This is a different question. Now that

> we've established that the problem is a lack of SATA drivers, the question

> becomes how to install them.

 

From your description, I personally do not think that the problem has

anything to do with SATA drivers or a lack of them, because if XP Setup

actually needs them and doesn't have them - it won't find a hard disk and

Setup will abort with a very clear message that there's no hard disk to

install to.

 

There's no way to be mistaken about the cause, the message is explicit.

Setup does not hang if drivers are required, it halts and tells you why.

 

XP Setup will not allow you to get to the point you seem to be getting to if

it can't find the hard disk, and if it does find the hard disk and begin the

install, it doesn't need SATA drivers.

 

Therefore, if you are getting to the point I think you are, SATA drivers or

lack of them are *not* at issue. If it's actually copied files to the

disk, SATA drivers aren't the problem.

 

If you want to be sure to exclude SATA drivers as an issue, go into the BIOS

and turn off the AHCI support, which will put the drive into a "legacy" mode

that doesn't require any drivers. Add the drivers later after Windows is

running, and then reboot to the BIOS and turn AHCI back on.

 

You can be sure that if turning AHCI off doesn't resolve the problem, the

problem has nothing to do with SATA drivers.

 

HTH

-pk

[Guest Bruce Chambers]

Re: How to be prompted for SATA drivers during installation?

 

James Egan wrote:

> When I attempt to install XP Home on a clone PC, I get to the point where

> the install says something like "Setup is checking your hardware

> configuration". That's when the screen goes black, the hard drive light

> remains on, and it just hangs. This PC doesn't have a floppy drive, so I

> purchased a USB floppy. However, during the install process, I'm never

> prompted to insert a floppy disk with drivers. How can I get the

> installer to recognize the SATA drive if I'm not prompted for the drivers?

>

> -Thanks

>

>

 

 

Don't wait for a prompt. As soon as it says "Setup is checking....,"

press <F6>. (Oh, and be sure Legacy USB support is enabled in the BIOS,

just in case, since you're using a USB floppy.

 

 

--

 

Bruce Chambers

 

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