Windows XP Formatting

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Accidently posted in AV...Sorry

Hey there, New to the forum but looking for help (we've all to start somewhere)


When I try to format the computer I get to the Windows XP (Professional) setup screen and it says "Setup did not detect any hard disks installed within this machine" (or something to that effect) and as a result of this it won't let me continue with the setup. Also sometimes when I'm trying to install it it is coming up with the dreaded blue screen of death with the error STOP 0*00000007 and everytime I get to this point again it does exactly the same thing. It's kind of urgent as I'm trying to format it to get rid of it for sale as I'm mostly using my Laptop.

Spec of the PC is as follows;

AMD 2600 XP (2.1Ghz)
768Mb *DDR* Memory
120 Gb Hard Drive (Maxtor)
128mb GeForce4 Graphics Card
Sony DVD Reader
Pioneer 4x DVD-RW Writer
TDK 52x CD Writer

Many thanks for help
 
Oh, here you are....

You have to establish a dialogue with the ****thing
If there is no OS, then the machine should boot directly to the BIOS menu.
This assumes NO disk in the CD/DVD drive. With the XP in the drive, you would need to keep pressing F2 right after you hit the power. In windows, pressing F8 is booting into "safe mode". No need for that yet. When you get the BIOS screen up, use the arrow keys to navigate the screen along with "enter" (use judiciously until you get the hang of it. Use "Escape" to get out of any screen. On the advanced tab you'll see Hardware. This is where you'll find which HDDs the system recognizes. First thing to check is whether the HDD mode is set to "IDE".
Even if you have a "SATA" drive, you must run it as IDE. If you tell the system you have SATA it will ask you to install RAID drivers. You don't want this. If the computer BIOS tells you that there are no drives detected, then you will need to reset the CMOS. Why don't you try to get the feel of navigating in BIOS (Basic Input Output System, If you care). Then tell us what you've learned. It's only of minor importance, but this post might be more appropriate for the "Windows OS" forum, or maybe "Other Hardware".
 
Primary master is Set to IDE, Even when I start with no CD's in the Drive it automatically starts windows set up, then this is where I get the "Windows can't detect any hard disk" etc
 
Okay......

But where do you think the Windows files are lurking, if there's no Windows CD in the CD drive and it can't detect a hard drive?
 
captaincranky said:
You have to establish a dialogue with the ****thing
If there is no OS, then the machine should boot directly to the BIOS menu.
This assumes NO disk in the CD/DVD drive. With the XP in the drive, you would need to keep pressing F2 right after you hit the power. In windows, pressing F8 is booting into "safe mode". No need for that yet. When you get the BIOS screen up, use the arrow keys to navigate the screen along with "enter" (use judiciously until you get the hang of it. Use "Escape" to get out of any screen. On the advanced tab you'll see Hardware. This is where you'll find which HDDs the system recognizes. First thing to check is whether the HDD mode is set to "IDE".
Even if you have a "SATA" drive, you must run it as IDE. If you tell the system you have SATA it will ask you to install RAID drivers. You don't want this. If the computer BIOS tells you that there are no drives detected, then you will need to reset the CMOS. Why don't you try to get the feel of navigating in BIOS (Basic Input Output System, If you care). Then tell us what you've learned. It's only of minor importance, but this post might be more appropriate for the "Windows OS" forum, or maybe "Other Hardware".
if you have SATA it will ask you to install SATA drivers- not RAID.

RAID is not SATA although RAID can be run with SATA. Don't confuse the two.
 
Hey, It's the Intel thing again

Sorry, It's the Intel handicap rearing it's ugly pointed head again. I think the SATA controllers are built into my board, Intel G965WM. However, Without installing SATA raid, It either auto-configures, or forces you to configure to "Run as IDE". If you plug 2 SATA drives into this board then it auto-configures to "install 3rd party SATA drivers". The plot is simple if you don't want RAID, (Intel
"Viiv" technology is only supported with raid) < (That is a big who cares!) Then unplug the 2nd HDD while installing the OS. Sorry if the terminology doesn't jibe or confuses anyone. I'm confused and I suppose that since misery loves company, why shouldn't well all be. <just kidding on that one.
The only Sata driver that Intel supplies for this board is the "Intel Matrix Storage Technology RAID Driver" , a floppy, which is as it's name suggests, a SATA RAID driver. I swear I bought this thing retail, it's not like it fell off the back of a spaceship or something.
 
Will the real HDD please stand up.....

To answer my own question of earlier: But where do you think the Windows files are lurking, if there's no Windows CD in the CD drive and it can't detect a hard drive? They have to be written to the hard drive somehow, somewhere.
I'm counting 4 drives, and this is presumably, and must be of necessity on 2 IDE channels: This is correct 3 optical drives, and 1 HDD ?
120 Gb Hard Drive (Maxtor)
Sony DVD Reader
Pioneer 4x DVD-RW Writer
TDK 52x CD Writer
Is this a built or bought machine? And what (if any) OS was in it before? Would you consider unplugging 2 optical drives and just leave the HDD and the drive you're using as the installer?
 
It's a built machine, It was built about two years ago. I could try unplug two of the optical drives and leave one, I don't really think that it will make much of a difference though...
 
Let's start over...

Was this working before? Did it have another OS installed. This advice on system problems at first start up is generally considered sound (not just by me): plug in only what is absolutely necessary to have a working computer. Then, plug in the rest of the stuff, piece by piece until you break it. Try resetting the CMOS. The SATA issue is this, you need drivers installed to run it. Is Windows offering to let you install them by pushing F6? Intel offers a different solution, whereby the BIOS configures the drives to run as IDE, thus utilizing the native disc drivers present in Windows. This obviously may not apply to other board/BIOS situations. I'm regretting bringing this, even as I type. If this is a SATA drive and your motherboard doesn't offer a solution such as Intel's then you probably have to install drivers before the new drive is recognized.
 
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