Guest rwbyshe Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their tech info. Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB hard drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me a Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP Pro disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then fdisk once again. The hard drive is fine. I've reseated it several times and it allows me to reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on this PC. Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. -- Dick Just another self taught PC geek :-)
Guest Carey Frisch [MVP] Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Re: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... You don't use fdisk. Instead, boot from the Windows XP CD and create a new partition, then format it NTFS. You'll have to check with Gateway support and see if they have Windows XP drivers for the Laptop's SATA drive controller which must be installed during setup. If none are available , you'll need to reinstall Windows Vista. -- Carey Frisch Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience --------------------------------------------------------------------- "rwbyshe" <rwbyshe@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:F42E8546-1343-4B55-ACE4-B0EAAC77EC0A@microsoft.com... Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their tech info. Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB hard drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me a Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP Pro disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then fdisk once again. The hard drive is fine. I've reseated it several times and it allows me to reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on this PC. Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. -- Dick Just another self taught PC geek :-)
Guest R. McCarty Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Re: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... The drive controller ( BIOS Setup ) is using AHCI. XP natively has no support for AHCI. If your BIOS supports it you must toggle the controller mode to Legacy mode. "rwbyshe" <rwbyshe@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:F42E8546-1343-4B55-ACE4-B0EAAC77EC0A@microsoft.com... > Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. > > I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their > tech > info. > Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. > > 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB > hard > drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me > a > Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. > > 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP > Pro > disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: > > Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. > Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to > your > computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. > This > may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. > Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. > > I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then fdisk > once > again. > > The hard drive is fine. I've reseated it several times and it allows me > to > reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on this PC. > > Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? > > This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. > -- > Dick > Just another self taught PC geek :-)
Guest David Webb Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Re: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... The lack of sata drivers for Win XP may be the problem. Here's my standard advice for this downgrade conversion: Whether you intend to replace the Vista installation on your system or setup a dual boot configuration, there are some major issues you should be made aware of. The deal breaker in either case is if you can obtain Windows XP drivers for a system designed for Vista. See issue item 1 below. Here's my standard pitch that I post to those wanting to dual boot: There are some major issues to overcome in order to dual boot with Vista and WinXP (with OEM Vista preinstalled). They are: 1) Obtaining WinXP System drivers for your system. 2) Finding a Dual boot setup procedure. 3) Loss of System Restore points in Vista when WinXP is installed. For item 1, you'll need to do some research to see if this system is a good candidate for WinXP. Whether trying a dual boot configuration or a clean install of WinXP, you'll need to have all drivers, which may include SATA drivers, if required. In many cases of newer systems, the hardware devices were developed for Vista only and there are no WinXP device drivers available. During the early transition period, some systems were sold with WinXP installed and the mfg offered an upgrade to Vista when it was released. This type will/should have WinXP drivers available. For item 2, see the procedure in the following link. How to dual boot Vista and XP (with Vista installed first) http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp Note, you will need a Vista installation DVD or a recovery CD in order to repair the Vista bootloader and then complete the dual boot section with the EasyBCD utility. For item 3, see this article for detailed info including some workarounds: No restore points are available when you use Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 in a dual-boot configuration together with an earlier Windows operating system http://support.microsoft.com/kb/926185 Good luck! "rwbyshe" <rwbyshe@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:F42E8546-1343-4B55-ACE4-B0EAAC77EC0A@microsoft.com... > Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. > > I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their tech > info. > Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. > > 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB hard > drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me a > Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. > > 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP Pro > disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: > > Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. > Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your > computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This > may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. > Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. > > I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then fdisk once > again. > > The hard drive is fine. I've reseated it several times and it allows me to > reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on this PC. > > Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? > > This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. > -- > Dick > Just another self taught PC geek :-)
Guest Steve Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 RE: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... Since you can re-install Vista, have you tried installing Vistall with no partition, then re-formatting? "rwbyshe" wrote: > Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. > > I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their tech > info. > Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. > > 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB hard > drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me a > Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. > > 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP Pro > disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: > > Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. > Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your > computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This > may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. > Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. > > I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then fdisk once > again. > > The hard drive is fine. I've reseated it several times and it allows me to > reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on this PC. > > Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? > > This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. > -- > Dick > Just another self taught PC geek :-)
Guest HeyBub Posted October 6, 2008 Posted October 6, 2008 Re: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... rwbyshe wrote: > Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. > > I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per > their tech info. > Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. > > 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the > 160GB hard drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it > only givies me a Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. > > 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the > XP Pro disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as > follows: > > Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. > Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected > to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is > correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic > or setup program. Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. > > I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then > fdisk once again. > > The hard drive is fine. I've reseated it several times and it allows > me to reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on > this PC. > > Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? > > This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. Where'd you get the XP installation CD and what release level is it? The original XP (pre SP1) would not support drives larger than 132Mb(?) and wouldn't support SATA drives at all. If you do a Google search for [Gateway MT6840 XP] you'll find the obstacles to overcome to get XP installed on your machine.
Guest Bruce Chambers Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 Re: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... rwbyshe wrote: > Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. > > I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their tech > info. > Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. > Whatever for? A simple formatting of the partition would have been more than sufficient. > 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB hard > drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me a > Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. > FDisk is an old MS-DOS utility that is not designed for use with WinXP or Vista. Nor is it capable of handling today's larger hard drives. > 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP Pro > disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: > > Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. > Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your > computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This > may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. > Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. > Just as one would expect. Remember SATA didn't really exist (or at least wasn't commercially available) when WinXP was initially developed. Very early in the boot process, just after having booted from the WinXP CD, the screen will display the words to the effect: "Setup is examining your system." Press <F6> when this happens, and have the *manufacturer's* WinXP-specific drivers for your SATA controller available on a floppy disk. > I've run fdisk several times and have run fdisk/mbr also and then fdisk once > again. > `Repeatedly using the incorrect tool isn't going to help; it's still the incorrect tool. FDisk is an old MS-DOS utility that is not designed for the use to which you've put it. > The hard drive is fine. How do you know, after all of the unnecessary "treatments" you've given it? > I've reseated it several times and it allows me to > reinstall Vista, but the owner really wants to use XP Pro on this PC. > That may or may not be possible. First and foremost, if the specific computer model in question was designed specifically for Vista, there may well be no WinXP-specific device drivers available to make the computer's diverse components work properly. Consult the computer's manufacturer about the availability of device drivers. Secondly, removing an OEM-installed operating system and replacing it with another will almost invariably void any and all support agreements and, sometimes, even the warranty. You would, at the very least, have to re-install Vista before getting any support from the manufacturer. Again, consult the computer's manufacturer for specifics. Thirdly, there may be the additional cost involved in purchasing a WinXP license for this new computer. After backing up any data you wish to transfer to the new OS installation, simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.) HOW TO Install Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941 http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm Then, assuming you were successful in obtaining WinXP-specific device drivers so that the computer can be made to work with WinXP, the backed up data can be restored and applications (those that are WinXP-compatible, that is) re-installed. > Has anyone encountered this and have a fix for it? > I suggest you have the owner take the computer to someone who knows something about computers. > This laptop doesn't have a floppy in it. Only the CD drive. One will be necessary to proceed, if the other existence of all other necessary device drivers makes doing so feasible. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot
Guest VanguardLH Posted October 7, 2008 Posted October 7, 2008 Re: Downgrade from Vista to XP Pro problems... rwbyshe wrote: > Am working on a Gateway MT6840 laptop with a SATA hard drive. > > I've already erased the hard drive with Gateway's GW Scan512 per their tech > info. > Have also run Killdisk and written all zero's on the HD. > > 1. I'm unable to format it to the size or nearly the size of the 160GB hard > drive. Each time I run fdisk and specify a new format, it only givies me a > Primary Disk Partition of 15262 MB. Marketers use the decimal prefixes to specify size since they make the drive look larger than when using the binary prefixes. 160MB (where 1 megabyte = 1 x 10^6) is 152.6 mebibyte (where 1 mebibit = 1 x 2^20). Because of this confusion, and because the decimal prefixes existed before computers, new terms were created for computer prefixes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mebibyte. FDISK is using the binary prefix of megabyte but using the old confusing term where megabyte was 1 x 2^20 bytes instead of the proper decimal prefix where megabyte is 1 x 10^6. FDISK is showing 152.6 MB which is really 152.6MiB which is 160MB that the marketers like to use to make the drive look bigger. Computers are binary. Humans prefer decimal. > 2. XP Pro does not recognize the hard drive at all. When I let the XP Pro > disk boot up in the CD drive it gives me an error message as follows: > Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. > Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your > computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This > may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. > Setup cannot continue. To Exit Setup press F3. You will need to hit the F6 key when you are told to do so at the start of the setup program and then later insert the floppy that has the SATA driver on it. The setup program will actually try to install multiple mass storage device drivers in an attempt to find your hard drive. If your laptop doesn't have a floppy and if you don't have one that plugs in and you don't want to buy one (and because, I believe, the setup program doesn't let you choose from where to find the SATA driver media except from floppy), you'll have to create a slipstreamed copy of your Windows XP install CD that incorporates the SATA driver. If you go the route of slipstreaming, use nLite (http://www.nliteos.com/) to facilitate the process. Also read http://news.softpedia.com/news/Install-Windows-XP-On-SATA-Without-a-Floppy-F6-47807.shtml (a correction should be that a CD-R is required, not a CD).
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