Windows XP Pro Installation Problem
 

I'm trying to install Windows XP Pro from a legitimate upgrade CD onto a new home built computer. When I get to the part where it formats the partition, I get an error message stating that setup cannot format the drive and it may be damaged. It also states something about checking that SATA and RAID devices are terminated properly, but this is a PATA drive. The drive is brand new, and in fact I get the same message on a drive that works fine in another machine. Does anyone here have any idea how I can fix this error and get XP Pro installed?

It could have something to do with the ATA controller needing a more recent driver than what is found on the base WinXP Pro CD.

Try looking on the computer manufacturer's support website for mass storage controller drivers (or something of that sort). You'll probably have to put it on a floppy disk and then hit F6 after the blue screen comes up for Windows Setup.

Agree with Phlflyer, it sounds like you need the driver for the drive controller.

Looking at my motherboard manufacturer's website (ABIT-USA) I see they have a RAID driver and a SATA driver for my motherboard (AN8 32X). Since my drives are just a standard UATA and not SATA, which of these drivers would I need?

Doesn't make sense given its a PATA drive it shouldn't be looking for a SATA driver. Which abit motherboard?

Do you have a 3.5 inch floppy with the drivers? If so press F6 when it is starting the install process. You'll be prompted to insert the floppy. If you don't have a 3.5 inch floppy and it requires these drivers you're probably SOL until you get one...:mad: :mad: Microsoft still has no install from CD option for XP...

Reset your bios settings to default.

Is it possible you hooked the ATA drive up to one of the RAID ports? That might be why it's having difficulty accessing it properly.

Raid
 

Its possible, but I think highly unlikely given the different pin out. Its possible its a bad motherboard...I've only had 1 in about 40 plus machines.

Phil

My guess is a bad board or a bad IDE cable. If it's a driver issue, XP normally won't see any drives at all. In your case, it's seeing the drive but can't format it. You should also verify that the BIOS sees the drive correctly.

I have tried two different Ultra-ATA cables. I'll try the other IDE slot to see if I get better results. Failing that I'll RMA the mobo and see if that's the culprit.

RAID ports shouldn't have different pinouts.

The two ports on the mobo that I'm using (for three drives: 2 HD and 1 CD-R) are labelled IDE1 and IDE2. Could one of these be a RAID port? I have set the HD's as Master and Slave on IDE1. The CD-R works fine on IDE2.

Unplug the second drive, leaving just the HD on IDE1 and the CDROM on IDE2.

Ok well thanks for the help. I instructed the BIOS to "Load Failsafe Defaults". Now Windows copies the installation files to my HD, but the system won't boot from the HD to complete the install. It boots from CD even when I deselect teh option to boot from CD, and when I remove the CD it claims there is a bad boot device. Any ideas what's going on or what I can do here?