S-ATA hard disk driver

  • Thread starter Thread starter Cooter
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Cooter

I recently ordered a new computer that will have a Serial ATA (S-ATA) hard
drive. I will install the operating system (Windows XP Home) since I already
have the CD. I was told by the vendor that I would have to install the
driver for the hard drive. At what point in the Windows installation do I do
this? I will partition, format, then install Windows. From the Microsoft
site it seems that Windows supports S-ATA, so does the new driver simply
make things work better? Any help is appreciated.
 
Hi,

You install the driver before you even begin setup of WinXP. Usually by
pressing F6 when you initially boot the CD.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers aka "Nutcase" MS-MVP - Windows
Windows isn't rocket science! That's my other hobby!

Associate Expert - WinXP - Expert Zone
 
More precisely, very early in the XP setup you will see a breif message
about hitting F6 for third-party drivers like SCSI and RAID. SATA is in
this same category. Hit F6 and insert a floppy disk with the drivers. The
drivers must be on a floppy. if they come on a CDROM, transfer them to a
floppy. Be sure to trasnfer all related files. For example, my ASUS
motherboard required a file called oemsetup.txt to be copied to the root of
the floppy, with the actual drivers in a subdirectory, the same as they were
on the CD form ASUS. Answer a few obvious questions and the drivers will be
saved for later usage by the XP installer.

Note that you can partition and format the disk before installing the
drivers by using the disk preparation software that usually comes with new
disks. If you did not receive such software, the XP CDROM is bootable and
its "recovery console" can be used to create partitions. This is different
than an installation of XP, which will by default make one big partition.

Finally, if the SATA controller on the motherboard is also a RAID
controller, and many are, you may need to build a RAID "array" before
installing XP and before partitioning. Although not what RAID is intended
to do, a single disk can be an array. I had to use the custom settings to
make this happen on my motherboard. If you are lucky, the PC maker did this
for you.
 
I recently ordered a new computer that will have a Serial ATA (S-ATA) hard
drive. I will install the operating system (Windows XP Home) since I already
have the CD. I was told by the vendor that I would have to install the
driver for the hard drive. At what point in the Windows installation do I do
this? I will partition, format, then install Windows. From the Microsoft
site it seems that Windows supports S-ATA, so does the new driver simply
make things work better? Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Cooter:

If you like, download and print this to use as a guide during your
install:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

The specific step you are asking about is mentioned early under
"Step-by-Step: Clean installing Windows XP (Interactive Setup)"

2. MS-DOS portion of Setup begins

Some people miss the prompt since it is down in the message bar at
the very bottom of the screen. [See the blue screen shot]

Happy trails,

Fleabus ..............

Please remove the X from my address to e-mail me.
 
As an addendum, be sure you receive a "floppy" with the SATA drivers on it,
when you take delivery of your machine. SATA drivers are not included in
the WINXP CD.

Fleabus said:
I recently ordered a new computer that will have a Serial ATA (S-ATA) hard
drive. I will install the operating system (Windows XP Home) since I already
have the CD. I was told by the vendor that I would have to install the
driver for the hard drive. At what point in the Windows installation do I do
this? I will partition, format, then install Windows. From the Microsoft
site it seems that Windows supports S-ATA, so does the new driver simply
make things work better? Any help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

Cooter:

If you like, download and print this to use as a guide during your
install:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sg_clean.asp

The specific step you are asking about is mentioned early under
"Step-by-Step: Clean installing Windows XP (Interactive Setup)"

2. MS-DOS portion of Setup begins

Some people miss the prompt since it is down in the message bar at
the very bottom of the screen. [See the blue screen shot]

Happy trails,

Fleabus ..............

Please remove the X from my address to e-mail me.
Click to expand...
 
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