Hello everyone.

Run into alittle snag. Decided to swap my 40gb dedicated for windows 7200rpm hdd for a 40gb sata 10000rpm hdd for windows.

I already have a sata hard drive installed, thus was only apart of attaching the device to the pci card, which works well not a problem picks it up fine.

Now the problem is althoguth presssing f6 during windows installation installing the drivers for the card does show up the hard drive. The drive is unpartisioned.

Ok fair enough windows can partision this for me right? nope, it does but not to a format windows can be installed on.

Ok so i grab my fdisk disks. But fdisk dosnt detect the drive, only detects my ide drives.

So how can i format this to NTFS from dos only (or boot disk)? Tried many things but i cant simply plug the old hdd in also and boot form that and format from within windows since the old hdd has been given away to someone more needy. So im stuck without being able to install windows. Yes i can install it onto annother hdd but i dont want to i want it on there.

Surgestions?

Hey there curver and welcome to PCHF, we have a great team here and I am sure we can figure out a solution to your problem.

Would you be able to provide us with a little more information to help us diagnose the problem:

1. Could you give us the specs of your machine
2. What is the make/model of the new Sata drive?
3. What is the make/model of the PCI card?

Could you confirm that the when you install the drivers (using F6) that it does detect the hard drive, the only issue you have is that the drive is unpartitioned.

If the answer to the above is yes then you can actually partition the drive during the windows setup, take a look at the following guide:
Windows XP Pro install from CD

Hi curver, welcome to the forum.

Just another quick question.

The 10000rpm drive is a Western Digital Raptor drive.
Was your old drive a SATA drive also?

If you haven't already done this, i suggest doing it.
Put the new hard drive on the motherboard SATA port, and install windows (won't need extra drivers (f6))

then once you have windows installed, install the old hard drive on the pci card.

In regards to the partitioning issue.

In the Windows XP setup, it should give you the option to create a partition automatically.

ps. fdisk was designed for FAT16 and FAT32, it only recognises NTFS as "non-logical" drives. You need a utility called Gdisk (i believe it's called) which is similar to fdisk for DOS partitioning of NTFS drives

dont get me wrong i know what im doing in these things just this problem seems to have me stumpted for the time being.

Spec is:

AMD 64 3800+
2GB RAM
X850 XT AGP graphics
Abit AV8 motherboard
Sillicon Image Sata controler card
IBM 40gb IDE hdd
180GB Maxtor (i think) IDE hdd
Western Digital Raptor 36gb 10000rpm Hdd * One im having problem with.
120GB Sata HDD


Only problems im getting it with the western digital, its not that the device is not being detected because it is and with the correct load of the drivers i nwindows for the card windows also detects the hard drive. Problem is its not partisioned, non of it is. And since i dont have a windows system to connect it to to partision it with one of the many programs available im stuck to boot programs. Fdisk dosnt detect the **** thing. Im trying to aquire with the floppy disk version of partision magic today however.

When windows creates a partision on the hdd it makes its FAT which it cant instlal onto (which is some use).


PS. Motherboard to my knowlage dosnt have SATA conenctors. Hence the PCI card.

Great to know that you have a good knowledge of computers, that will help us when we communicate with you. With this in mind don't bite my head off for the following statement but just need to double check something.

Which version of windows are you trying to install?

If it is Windows XP you should have the choice of formating the drive using FAT or NTFS, could you confirm what options you get?

Zimbo beat me

Hello,

Now this gets more confusing. Under going my own investigation, today swiped a copy of partision magic from my uni (they odnt mind honest) and ive installed two partisions on the drive.

Whay i thought problem solved... not so. I load up windows, and again not reconiseing the partision as ntfs.. Hmm i think so i go back try it again. Nothing.

So i format to fat32. This time i get further as windows detects the drive as fat32, so i think great now it will work. Nope, Still same screen.


What happens is the following.

Windows loads i press f6 to load drivers.

I load driver of the RAID card.

Windows then loads, i press enter to continue then f8 to confirm licence.

The the following screen arrises:






Ok so this is a normal screen, since the 36gb one is the one i want to use and ive set a special partison or it, i press enter on C: drive.

The following is stated:



Ok, so i press enter (only option available) and i deleve C: partison and make a new one by following the on screen selection. However it makes it "raw" format, no screen to select the format like you have displayed.

So, i delete that partisions i have already created, leaving unpartisioned space (duh)
I make windows make me a partision, i select the unpartisioned space on the sata drive, and press c to create one the following apprears:

WINDOWS XP PROFESIONAL SETUP

So i create it using the whole drive coz by now im sickof this just wanan install it on this drive. Press enter, I go back to previsou screen this time the drive says:

35300 MB Disk 0 at ID 0 on bus 1 on si3112 [MBR]

I select this partision, and same screen as before. AGH

So after many times of trying partison magic, NTFS, FAT, FAT32 back and forth into windows same problem, same screen. I am stumped.

So just now what i thought was, "right, i cant install on here.. i wonder if it will let me install on the drive i know are working atm", so i select the other raid device, same screen. I even select the IDE device. Same screen. Now something is wrong i think. It should let me install onto them disks.

So what you think it could be?