I want to install Windows XP additionally on a notebook (vista is already on)
and it will ask for a third party Sata driver from Floppy drive (which I
don't have).
Will XP professional SP3 work without Floppy drive at installation?
thanks
PETER
I wonder why you think that third party SATA drivers will be required to install
XP.
My experience with SATA drives is that you ONLY need a third-party driver if you
plan on using RAID. Installing them will not improve disk access, anyway.
I've never been required to install such a third-party SATA drive, since I do
not use RAID, having only a single internal HD. I really doubt that you will
ever need to use RAID on your laptop. Consider: Creating a RAID array on a
single drive is kind of redundant, don't you think?
After all, the purpose of such arrays is to be able to COMBINE them into a
SINGLE LARGER LOGICAL volume, which you would already have anyway, if you only
have a single HD with a single partition in your laptop. Dividing a HD into 2
or more logical volumes will only take away from the total free space,since
there is an additional overhead for each volume added. It is only wise to use a
SATA driver IF you have MORE than a single physical volume, and you plan on
creating a RAID array for them.
Currently, XP SP3 Release Candidate 2 does not require a floppy(or any need to
install a RAID driver) for installation, since it is installed via Windows
Update. I am sure there will eventually be a link to a standalone version of
the Service Pack, in which case, a third-party RAID driver on a floppy (or
CD/DVD, or USB Flash drive, if your motherboard supports it, or an external USB
or Firewire drive) will ONLY be necessary if you plan on using RAID on your
laptop.
For your general information, Windows no longer requires a floppy for
installation in any case, since USB, CD/DVD, or other block devices work just as
well.
If you must have a RAID driver, put it on a CD, and have it in the drive when
you start the installation. However, I've never had to install a HD driver when
applying a Service Pack, so your perceived problem is a new one for me.
NOrmally, Service Packs are applied to installations of Windows which already
have such necessary drivers installed, since they are usually installed, if
needed, when Windows is initially installed.
Donald L McDaniel
Please reply to the original thread.
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