WinXP cant find hard drive - new install, WinVista finds OK?

Question

New install, pulled hard drive from laptop, installed new hard drive. Tried to install WinXP Pro but reports it cannot find a hard drive. BIOS says it is there, I am able to install WinVista just fine but do not want Vista, want XP. Laptop is dual core Intel, but XP should support up to 4 CPU's. Really strange!

Answer 1

The only way this could occur is if XP does not contain the appropriate hard drive controller driver for your machine. You can probably locate this driver at the manufacturer's website then load it (from floppy) by pressing F6 when XP boots from the install CD.



Since you have a newer machine, you likely don't have a floppy drive included with your setup to load the driver during the XP-CD boot process. Unfortunately, the only way to rectify this is to either attach a bootable USB floppy drive or slipstream an XP install disk with the correct driver included.



Good luck!

Answer 2

that could be something to do with the board driver in XP.



Silly what that it lets you install and then can't find it



I have seen this under win98 but never under XP, but then again I have seen XP install and then say that it was installed on a G drive instead of the C.

Answer 3

no matter if that's SATA HDD earlier commence setting up XP u favor to position in the SATA Drivers. that's shown down for urgent i imagine that's F8 for RAID for the time of living house windows XP setting up. on the prompt u are required to placed the respective floppy disk containing SATA drivers. no matter if it isn't with u get carry of from ur manufactures internet web site.

Answer 4

winxp before sp1 cannot be install on the lastest harddisk. dun me why, i also dunno because i have same problem as your especially drives bigger than 80gb onwards.