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Windows installation and Serial ATA issues

Started by mellowsailor11 · · 👁 9 views · 68 replies

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Participants mellowsailor11Benjamin King2Hannah BarnesSandra Walker7urbanotter4Michelle Ward10Alonefalcon13redheron12wiredjackal91
Sandra Walker7 Sandra Walker7 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Mar 2021
#21 ·
That would be a different issue entirely. When you boot up the PC, does the floppy drive light blink? Are you absolutely certain the driver on the diskette is functioning correctly? In my BIOS, I have OnChip SATA Boot ROM [Enabled]. You might have a similar setting on your machine. If you do, please check if it is enabled.
Of course, these are all just assumptions. I dealt with a comparable problem once, but it turned out to be an issue with the diskette driver.
mellowsailor11 mellowsailor11 NewcomerOP
3 messages
joined Jan 2008
#22 ·
image ---so if this is actually the back side of the floppy disk...

I'm looking at this side and I only see one single cable—and it’s the widest one, labeled "1." Is that actually how it's supposed to look?
1. Does that sound right to you guys? 2. And seriously, if anyone actually knows where to find the driver, please just tell me already!
3. Also—and this might sound stupid—but does a floppy drive even need its own power supply?
4. Just so we're clear, I've already made sure the SATA on the chipset is enabled.
urbanotter4 urbanotter4 Newcomer
4 messages
joined Aug 2007
#23 ·
Let's go through this step by step.

Yeah, that’s the back of the floppy drive, so you definitely have it. You need two cables for that thing. One is the power cable, and the second is the FDD cable that runs from the motherboard, just like those old IDE cables. So, to recap: you connect the floppy to the power supply and the motherboard.

Now, as for which cable goes where... I don't think I need to spell that out for you. You aren't blind. 😉

Once everything is plugged in, you should see the floppy listed in the BIOS. There’s also that "bootup floppy seek" option that makes the PC check if the floppy is properly connected during startup. Honestly, you can't plug the power cable in wrong even if you tried, but you can definitely mess up the FDD cable. I've been working on Smith machines for over 15 years and I still can't tell if I actually plugged that cable in right or not. 😳 😂

Anyway, if you turn the computer on and the floppy light stays lit constantly, you messed up. Shut the PC down and flip the cable around on the drive side. (I doubt you can plug it in backwards on the motherboard anyway). If the floppy is seated correctly when you boot up, the light should just flash for a split second and then it's done.
lonefalcon13 lonefalcon13 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Aug 2007
#24 ·
Hey everyone! I’m looking for some advice regarding a friend's laptop. It’s a relatively new forcebook—dual core at 1.8 GHz—and obviously, it doesn't have a floppy drive. We’re running into a bit of a snag while trying to install Windows XP; the machine actually came pre-installed with Windows Vista when he bought it. Does anyone have any bright ideas? I can't quite wrap my head around why it isn't detecting the disc—I was thinking maybe it's a driver issue, but if that's the case, how would one even go about loading a driver in this situation?? Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!
urbanotter4 urbanotter4 Newcomer
4 messages
joined Aug 2007
#25 ·
Look, we need to kill this myth right now: you don't actually need SATA drivers to install Windows XP SP2. It's not a requirement. You only need them in two specific scenarios:

1) If you're working with an ancient motherboard—I'm talking first-gen boards that technically have a SATA controller but zero actual support for it.

2) If you're using a dedicated SATA controller plugged into a PCI slot.

In basically any other case, the Windows XP SP2 installer will recognize your controller and the drives attached to it just fine. 🙂 I've installed Windows on plenty of "newer" boards over the years, and in the last couple of years, I haven't had to touch a single driver. Everything just works automatically.

@lonefalcon13

It’s perfectly normal that a laptop doesn't have a floppy drive. In this day and age, those things are useless and just take up space. But any modern laptop should have built-in SATA support so the installer can see the drive, just like any recent desktop motherboard. It seems weird to me that you'd even need to load a driver for a laptop.

Are you running into the same issue when you try to install Vista?
lonefalcon13 lonefalcon13 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Aug 2007
#26 ·
Installing Vista goes off without a hitch. But when I try to run Windows XP—after everything loads up just fine—I hit a wall. It pops up an error saying it can't find any hard drives at all, so the installation just stalls out right there... the only option it gives me is F3.
I mean, I get that modern laptops don't have floppy drives anymore—that's totally expected—but I'm honestly a bit stumped on how to actually fix this...
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#27 ·
mellowsailor11 said:I tried doing it—but since I couldn't find Disk 1, I used the "make disk" option along with that txtsetup file. I insert the floppy, hit F6, then 'S', and pop the disk in... but nothing happens. It just keeps saying "put floppy in A:".

Here’s the thing—take those drivers you downloaded over to a PC that already has Windows running and a working floppy drive. Just pop in a blank floppy and run makedisk.exe—that should do the trick.

The program handles everything—it'll either copy the drivers directly or unpack the disk image onto the floppy for you.
urbanotter4 urbanotter4 Newcomer
4 messages
joined Aug 2007
#28 ·
Ah, maybe that's just some built-in protection to stop you from installing anything that isn't Vista. 🙄 If I remember right, Vista installs itself onto a hidden partition on the drive, doesn't it?

Try running the installation for Windows XP service pack 2.
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#29 ·
lonefalcon13 said:Hey everyone—I'm helping out a friend with his laptop. It's a newer model (dual core 1.8...), lacks a floppy drive, and we're hitting a wall trying to install Windows XP—it actually came with Vista pre-installed. Does anyone have any thoughts? I can't figure out why it isn't detecting the disk—I thought maybe it was a driver issue, but I'm not sure how to load those if that's the case. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

With most laptops, you typically get OEM Windows versions that already have the necessary drivers integrated. Since this one arrived with Vista instead of XP, you might try checking the BIOS to see if there's an option to emulate a floppy via USB. If that's an option, you could put the drivers on a USB stick, which should then act like a floppy drive.

If that doesn't work, you'll likely need to manually integrate the SATA drivers onto the Windows XP installation CD itself.

Here are some instructions:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314479

Alternatively, you could try using a utility like http://www.nliteos.com/
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#30 ·
urbanotter4 said:Look, we really need to debunk the myth that you absolutely need SATA drivers during a Windows XP SP2 installation. You don't—not necessarily. There are really only two scenarios where you'd actually need them:

1) If the motherboard is ancient—I mean those first-gen boards that had a SATA controller but zero actual support for it.

2) If you're using a dedicated SATA controller plugged into a PCI slot.

In basically any other situation, the Windows XP SP2 installer will recognize your controller and the drives attached to it just fine. 🙂 I've handled plenty of Windows installs on "newer" boards over the years, and in the last couple of years, I haven't once had to manually load drivers—everything just works automatically.

@lonefalcon13

It’s perfectly normal that a laptop doesn't have a floppy drive; honestly, they've been obsolete for years and just get in the way. But any modern laptop should have native SATA support built-in so the installer can see it—just like any contemporary desktop motherboard. It seems strange to me that you're being forced to install a specific driver for a laptop.

Do you run into this same issue when you try installing Vista?

Stop chasing ghosts and wasting everyone's time—you're just confusing people.
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#31 ·
urbanotter4 said:Ah, I see—that might just be one of those built-in safeguards designed to block anything that isn't Vista from being installed. 🙄 If I recall correctly, Vista uses a hidden partition for its installation process, right?

Try running the installer for Windows XP service pack 2.

Take a look at my previous post—the same advice applies here, too.
lonefalcon13 lonefalcon13 Newcomer
3 messages
joined Aug 2007
#32 ·
I was running Windows XP SP2, and I noticed something weird—when I pop in a Windows Vista DVD to search for drivers, a "Boot(X:)" drive shows up alongside my other partitions under My Computer 🙂 if I remember correctly. It looks like a tiny little partition, maybe around 33MB with about 2MB of actual data, and it’s got its own Windows and My Documents folders inside...
Now, I honestly have no clue how to wipe that Vista footprint away. I'm also wondering if there's even any point in trying to install Linux, since I suspect some kind of built-in protection might just block me right at the start...?
urbanotter4 urbanotter4 Newcomer
4 messages
joined Aug 2007
#33 ·
Am I the one being confusing? That's funny, considering you're the one who suggested someone without a floppy drive try to work with a diskette. 😂

And what I said above is just a fact. All modern motherboards come with SATA support built-in, so there's no need for extra drivers or that whole F6 headache during a Windows installation.
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#34 ·
urbanotter4 said:Am I the one being confusing? That's odd—especially since you're the one suggesting someone without a floppy drive should be messing around with a diskette. 😂

But what I said above is simply the truth. Almost all modern motherboards come with native SATA support—you don't need to hunt down drivers or deal with that whole F6 headache during a Windows installation.

Hmm... I went back and looked through my previous posts quite carefully, and I don't see any instance where I told someone lacking a floppy drive to use one. Maybe try reading more closely next time?

Motherboards have built-in SATA support 🤔

I'll hold my tongue this time.
urbanotter4 urbanotter4 Newcomer
4 messages
joined Aug 2007
#35 ·
redheron12 said:Look, just take those drivers over to a machine running Windows and plug in a floppy drive. Pop an empty diskette in there and run makedisk.exe. Done.

The program handles copying the drivers or unpacking the disk image onto the floppy itself.

The guy doesn't even have a working floppy drive to put the drivers on. 😂So much for your "solution."

And please, answer me this. A friend brought his PC over recently for a quick fix. Something went sideways with his Windows setup, so he needed a full reinstall. This was his motherboard: ASRock 775i915PL. And get this—during the Windows XP installation, it didn't ask for any SATA drivers at all. It just recognized the drives connected to the SATA ports automatically. I've seen this happen with plenty of other boards too. How is that even possible? Seriously, how? 🙂
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#36 ·
urbanotter4 said:The guy can't even use his floppy drive to load the drivers. 😂 So much for your helpful post.

Please, help me make sense of this. A friend brought over his PC recently—needed some repairs. Something went wrong with his Windows setup, so we had to do a full reinstall. This was his motherboard: Asrock 775i915PL, and get this—miracle of miracles! During the Windows XP installation, it didn't ask for any SATA drivers at all; it just recognized the drives connected to the SATA ports automatically. I've seen this happen with plenty of other boards, too. How is that even possible? How? 🙂

The fact that his floppy isn't working right now isn't really the point, is it? He's asking how to actually install the drivers—I'm sure he wasn't planning on just copying makedisk.exe onto a floppy.

I can think of two possibilities here:

1. You aren't using an original Windows XP SP2 installation CD, but rather a custom version that has had drivers slipstreamed into it already.

2. Your drives are set to SATA legacy mode in the BIOS. 😛
urbanotter4 urbanotter4 Newcomer
4 messages
joined Aug 2007
#37 ·
Quote: Rain
redheron12 said:The fact that his floppy drive isn't working right now isn't really the point, is it? He asked how to install the drivers—and I'm pretty sure he didn't mean just dragging some .exe file onto a diskette.

The answer to that question was already found without needing makedisk.exe.

Look, I never said you needed to copy makedisk.exe—I have no clue where you got that idea from—and honestly, I don't see why anyone would even bother doing that in the first place. 😕 Just copy the driver from the controller onto a floppy disk and pop it in when the installation asks for it. Honestly, it’s easily the simplest way to get it done.

And obviously, the real question is whether a floppy disk actually works for the user here—because if it doesn't, how are they supposed to load the drivers during the installation?

Quote: Rain
redheron12 said:I can see two possibilities playing out here.

You don't have the original Windows XP SP2 installation CD. You've just got some random version that someone already slipstreamed drivers into.

Your drives are running in legacy mode. 😛

So it's possible. Thanks, and I'm out. 👋
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#38 ·
Quote: Rain
urbanotter4 said:The answer to that question was reached even without using makedisk.exe—it’s funny how much simpler things can be when you skip the extra steps.

I didn't say you needed to copy makedisk.exe—I have no idea where you got that idea from—and honestly, I don't see any reason why that would even work. 😕 Sometimes—and I've found this to be true quite often—the easiest way is simply to copy the controller driver onto a floppy disk and just pop it in whenever the installation process asks for it. It’s easily the most straightforward method out there.

And, of course—the real question is whether a floppy disk is even functional for the user here—because how else would anyone manage to load the necessary drivers during the installation process?

So, it’s actually doable—thanks for the heads-up. I appreciate it. 👋

Look... let me say this again—if you just take a moment to actually read what's being said, everything should become much clearer.

Quote: Rain
mellowsailor11 As follows:
I tried setting it up—though I couldn't track down Disk 1—so I used the "make disk" option instead, including that txtsetup file. I popped the floppy in, hit F6, then pressed 'S' and inserted the disk... but nothing happens. It just keeps asking me to put the floppy in drive A.
Quote: Rain
urbanotter4 said:You did a solid job—I'm just a bit stumped as to why it isn't picking up the drivers from the floppy disk now. 🤔 Does your floppy drive even work anymore? — I can barely remember the last time I actually used one.

Regarding that whole SATA drive situation—you might want to dig a little deeper into the differences between SATA legacy support and native SATA. It's worth looking into how they actually handle data.
mellowsailor11 mellowsailor11 NewcomerOP
3 messages
joined Jan 2008
#39 ·
Does anyone actually know what the power cable for a floppy drive looks like?
redheron12 redheron12 Regular
306 messages
joined Aug 2008
#40 ·
mellowsailor11 said:Does anyone know what the floppy drive power cable actually looks like?

http://www.walkerlaw.com/pham/power_cable_fdd.jpg

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