Topic: NO HARD DRIVE DETECTED......

[POSTMAN477]

STARTED LOADING MY OS,(XP HOME)IT BOOTS(HOORAH)..THEN IT SAYS CANNOT PROCEDE FURTHER NO HARD DRIVE DETECTED,ITS A SATA DRIVE CONNECTED TO SATA 1 ON BOARD....IS THERE ANYTHING I HAVE TO DO BEFORE WITH THE DRIVE..... :?:

[Simon]

1. Have you checked the connections?

2. Have you enabled SATA in BIOS?

3. Have you checked the jumpers on the drive are correctly set?

4. Would you mind not SHOUTING?   :wink:  

[POSTMAN477]

I have checked the cables and connectors,how do i enable sata in the bios?
I can see any jumpers on the h  .drive...im a novice thanx for help...

[Simon]

OK, this is a bit like the blind leading the blind, as I don't know much about SATA drives, so hopefully Sandra will be along soon to help you more, as she's the expert in this sort of thing.

Having done a bit of Googling, it seems that you don't need to touch the jumpers, as the default settings should be OK.  As for enabling the drive in BIOS, assuming you know how to get into the BIOS (on most PCs, press Del immediately after the first 'beep' on bootup), you need to look for something like Drive Configurations or Drive Options, or something similar (depending on which type of BIOS you have) so just go through the menus until you find it, then make sure SATA is enabled and set to Auto Detect.  Save and exit.  There was also some mention of enabling RAID in what I found, but I don't know whether yours is a RAID motherboard or not.

Sorry this is a bit vague - as I said, I'm just going on bits of information I have found, rather then first hand knowledge.

[Sandra]

If its an early SATA motherboard then it may not be able to boot from a SATA drive, so if theres no OS installed on an IDE drive already then it wouldnt detect the SATA  

[Sandra]

Ok looks like you need to load the SATA drivers as XP doesnt have them on the cd, not even on the SP2 version.
Some later mobos have them incorporated into the bios somehow

Follow the instructions from here and let us know if you have more problems or dont understand something :


http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org/how_do_i_install_windows_xp_on_a.htm

[POSTMAN477]

Well ive followed the link and the directions,
1 copied the sata drivers ont floppy.
2 went into windows setup and requested to add drivers.
3 when it says please load disk...all that happens is that my floppy drive clicks and runs and thats it NOTHING...any more ideas...

[Sandra]

Where did you find the SATA drivers and in what form are they on your floppy as ?
Maybe the files need to be on as individual ones rather than in folders, especially if the name isnt exactly as its expecting to see it  :?

[POSTMAN477]

theres loads of sata folders on my mboard disk.......not sure which 1 to try on own.

[Sandra]

Can you fit all the folders on a single floppy ?

Or better still can you have the files from inside the folders on the floppy so that your pc can hopefully see the one it requires ?

[POSTMAN477]

no they all wont go on so ive tried a few combinations....of each..

[Sandra]

Can you tell us the make and model of your motherboard please.
Maybe we can find out which drivers are needed for it from the makers site  :?

[POSTMAN477]

ok its a biostar NF4ST-A9-AO1   version 1.0  (k8)..
appreciate all your help...

[Sandra]

Do you have a Western Digital SATA drive by any chance ?

I have found some info that says there is a problem with them not being detected.

LINK

The solution appears to be that you have to connect a jumper to pins 5 and 6.

I have just downloaded your mobo manual and will have a read through it later to see if I can see anything else in case its not the Western Digital drive that you are using.

[Sandra]

In the BIOS under Advanced Chipset Feature there is a sub menu for DRAM Configuration.
Hit enter and check SATA Spread Spectrum
This item allows you to disable \ enable the SATA spread spectrum function.
The choices: Disabled (default), enable.

Try enabling it, if its still at default disabled and see if that allows it to install
the sata drivers.

Under Integrated Peripherals theres a sub heading for IDE Function Setup hit enter and check
that the following settings are enabled (default settings) :
.

Serial-ATA A
Enables support for Serial-ATA1.
The Choices: Enabled (default), Disabled

SATA DMA transfer
The Choices: Enabled (default), Disabled.

Serial-ATA B
Enables support for Serial-ATA2.
The Choices: Enabled (default), Disabled

SATA2 DMA transfer
The Choices: Enabled (default), Disabled.

Do you know if you have a SATA 1 (A) or SATA 2 (B) drive ?
Have you got it in the correct SATA connector ?
if its a 2 and you have it in a connector for type 1 then the early solution may work.
I would be better though if its a SATA 2 to have it in a SATA 2 connector.

I hope that this or my earlier solution solves your problem