Windows setup could not detect hard disk

[lataak]

I have Toshiba Satellite A205-S5871 laptop which runs Ubuntu 9.1 currently. I want to install Windows XP as dual boot on another partition. The problem is that Windows setup could not detect my hard disk even if the hard disk is just fine. Setup goes some way and says "Windows could not detect hard disk ...". How can I solve this problem? Why do you think this is happening?

Thanks in advance for your response.

 

[mailpup]

What I think is happening is you are probably using a SATA hard drive and for Windows XP you have to install SATA controller drivers at the beginning of Setup using the F6 procedure. However, the F6 thing needs a floppy drive and since you probably don't have one, you have to try something else. Go into the BIOS and see if you have the option of setting the controller mode to IDE rather than SATA/AHCI. If you can set it to IDE mode, Windows Setup should recognize the hard drive without installing SATA drivers.

 

[lataak]

I went to BIOS but there is no such option to set controller to IDE mode. The only thing I found is an inactive list which displays the type of controller. It is not changeable however. My BIOS is Phonenix.

 

[mailpup]

Okay, then you will have to make a slipstream CD that basically is a copy of the Windows XP CD with the SATA drivers inserted into the correct folders so they will self-install during Windows Setup. Google for the procedure.

 

[lataak]

Never heard of slipstreaming before. I googled and found the procedure. Does that mean I have to download SATA driver and put it on the installation CD?

 

[mailpup]

Yes, sort of. You make a new CD from the original Windows CD and the downloaded SATA driver.

 

[jmjsquared]

Slipstream Windows using Vlite

Mailpup's advice is great, not only for this immediate situation but to also allow you to save time updating WinXP after installation. In addition to the SATA drivers, you can add Service Packs, Language Packs, etc., to the slipstreamed installer so you won't have to do it later.

You will need a few resources to proceed. Please start here for a great tool:
http://www.vlite.net/help/index.html

You will also need this: Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=136976 ; and this ReadMe:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd349350(WS.10).aspx.

I've used both to slipstream Sp3 into a WinXP Sp2 installer and found the process pretty straightforward and quick.

Good luck.

QUESTION to Mailpup: Could Lataat have installed XP first and then 7 to avoid this problem? I ask because, as you know, Vista/7 designates the installation source as "x drive" and because XP usually installs on a SATA drive without any problems. Thanks. ---JMJ

 

[mailpup]

Except that lataak wants to install Windows XP with Ubuntu already installed so I don't think that would apply.

 

[lataak]

Thanks both mailpup and jmjsquared. I have Windows XP on virtualbox running on Ubuntu 9.1 and using that I tried to use nLite to create the disk. But I think I didn't succeed. I will try it one more time and see if I could do it.

Thanks again.

 

[jmjsquared]

Oops! My hasty reading had me "seeing" Vista rather than Ubuntu. Please excuse me. However, I have clean-installed XP-Sp2 on any number of SATA drives with no problem and without having to 'F6' my way in. So, I, too, am confused as to the cause of Lataak's problem.

Lataak, would a virtual installation of XP on Ubuntu be satisfactory, using something like VMWare? I have never tried it myself but the literature says Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10, etc. are supported.

Please let us know how things works out.

---JMJ

 

[lataak]

Lataak, would a virtual installation of XP on Ubuntu be satisfactory, using something like VMWare? I have never tried it myself but the literature says Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10, etc. are supported.

---JMJ

I have Windows XP installed on Virtualbox for more than two months now. It works fine actually. But now I want to install XP on another partition as dual boot. The main reason is I am working with CSLU toolkit for speech recognition and hence didn't want to work on virtual machine.

I will let u know if I succeed. Thanks for your response anyway.

 

[lataak]

I succeeded to create Windows XP CD with SATA driver using nLite. When I boot from the CD, it could detect the driver now. However, XP doesn't detect that there is an Ubuntu installed already. So I am afraid to install XP because it could make my Ubuntu unfunctional even if it is not deleted being on different partition.

 

[lataak]

For those of you who are ready to take risk and try to install XP, I think there is a way to do that without losing Ubuntu. When XP is installed, it overwrites the GRUB bootloader and automatically loads Windows without giving option to select OS. To solve this, it is possible install GRUB from Ubuntu liveCD after installing XP. For detailed steps, you can google "Install GRUB". After GRUB is installed, it gives the OS option to start.

 

[drsim]

you need to include SATA RAID drivers into windows setup. use nlite tool for that.very easy and handy.