Hey there, people...

I'm having a spot of bother reinstalling Windows XP. I was actually trying to do a 'repair install', but my problem is the same for both.
I have a DFI NFII Ultra B motherboard and a 1 Seagate S-ATA 160gb hard drive (model: ST3160023AS).
I should just say that Windows was working, barring some audio/codec problems, before I started out on doing this, but I needed to 'repair' rather than do a clean installation as I needed to keep my personal files in place.
So, anyway, I booted from my Windows CD and went through the motions, pressed F6 to install SCSI or RAID driver, I get to the screen with a choice of pressing S to add another device or press ENTER to continue letting Windows load it's files - I'd previously downloaded from the Silicon Images website: Silicon Image Sil 3114 SATALink Controller for Windows XP/Server 2003 - only 1 available from Silicon Images website as far as I can tell) and got that ready on a floppy disk - I pressed S, inserted the floppy disk and was presented with 2 controllers on the floppy (1 for XP and the other for NT/2000), obviously I chose the XP 1 and pressed ENTER. The next screen tells me: Setup will install the following mass storage device: Silicon Image Sil 3114 SATALink Controller for Windows XP/Server 2003. Pressed ENETR to continue setup and get to 100% on the progress bar, then it says it'll reboots itself. It does that ok, but when the initial Windows logo screen appears (black background displaying "Windows XP Home Edition") it appears dim gradually getting brighter and the loading/scrolling bar undernearth is very sticky. It'll appear to move along freely then stops, starts again, then stops, starts again then freezes entirely. It's at this point where I am now.

What I need to know is: am I doing it right, and more importantly am I using the right controller? Have I got it completely wrong and need something entirely different to get the hard drive going?

It's very strange to me, I'm by no means any type of expert, so could someone with a bit more know how enlighten me?...

Thanks in advance of any help...

JJT

Did you originally install XP on this system? If so did you use the Silicon Image Sil 3114 SATALink Controller?

In general only RAID setups require such drivers. If you are not installing XP onto a RAID configuration these drivers should not be necessary.

You might try running the Repair install again without loading any F6 drivers. You might also be beyond going back to this. Worth a try anyway.

If you have to go to a Clean install I would first try with no F6 drivers.

Originally Posted by jephree

Did you originally install XP on this system? If so did you use the Silicon Image Sil 3114 SATALink Controller?

In general only RAID setups require such drivers. If you are not installing XP onto a RAID configuration these drivers should not be necessary.

You might try running the Repair install again without loading any F6 drivers. You might also be beyond going back to this. Worth a try anyway.

If you have to go to a Clean install I would first try with no F6 drivers.

Hi again,

On your 1st point: No, i didn't originally install XP on my system - I built it from the ground upwards - but when I came to switch it on the very 1st time the motherboard was faulty. So i took it back to the place where i'd bought all the parts from (PC World in the UK) and asked them to replace it. They did this, BUT, whereas I'd originally bought the DFI LanParty NFII Ultra motherboard, they replaced it with DFI LanParty NFII Ultra B motherboard. Now I have all the disks from the original motherboard, but as they replaced it with the Ultra B (also they set Windows up for me and got PC working), they never gave me any software/drivers, etc for the new motherboard. I don't know if that's important or not? I must just say this was roughly 3 years ago when all this took place. So, going back and asking for such stuff just isn't going to happen

On your 2nd point: I've tryed numerous times to just let Setup running without pressing F6 or anything else. This is when Setup says it can't even find a hard drive attached to the computer. It's only if I press F6 and add the SIl 3114 controller that I can proceed with Setup, which gets through 100% of the progress bar then reboots (I've obviously taken the floppy disk out, but left the XP CD in), and then when the Windows XP Home Edition logo screen appears, that's where it all stops.
I've been to the DFI site, Silicon Image site, Seagate site and not really found any help for this sort of problem.... I've got to be missing something....

Your last point: A clean install would get the exact same result I expect...

Again, if more spec is needed for further help, just ask.

Thanks,
JJT

Edit:

I can get into the Recovery Console, and log onto the Admin account and see what drives are listed (diskpart) and my NEW back-up external USB HDD is listed. So, can I copy my entire Z: partition (where my personal files are (original Windows installation is on C)straight to the external HDD via the COPY command?
If so, what do I type?

This would be a great work-around as it's the files not the HDD that I really need.

COPY
copy source destination
Use this command to copy a file. In the command syntax, source specifies the file to copy and destination specifies the folder or file name for the new file. You cannot use wildcard characters indicated by an asterisk (*), and you cannot copy a folder. If you copy a compressed file from the Windows CD-ROM, the file is automatically decompressed at the same time it is copied.

The source of the file can be removable media, any folder in the system folders of the current Windows installation, the root of any drive, the local installation sources, or the Cmdcons folder.

If destination is unspecified, the default destination is the current folder. If the file already exists, you are prompted whether you want the copied file to overwrite the existing file. The destination cannot be removable media.

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;314058

If data recovery is a primary desire you can always slave this drive in another working desktop. If you want to copy an entire partition you will probably need third party software or else copy folder by folder. Some disk imaging software here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%20di...ing%20software


There are many conditions where a standard XP setup will not see a SATA hard drive.

First make sure that the drive is plugged into SATA0 or SATA1 and not SATA2 or SATA3 which are RAID ports.

Next make sure that SATA is the BIOS setting rather than RAID.

Also remove any other hard drives (including IDE/ATA as well as USB) during installation.

Originally Posted by jephree

http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;EN-US;314058

If data recovery is a primary desire you can always slave this drive in another working desktop. If you want to copy an entire partition you will probably need third party software or else copy folder by folder. Some disk imaging software here:

http://www.google.com/search?q=%20di...ing%20software


There are many conditions where a standard XP setup will not see a SATA hard drive.

First make sure that the drive is plugged into SATA0 or SATA1 and not SATA2 or SATA3 which are RAID ports.

Next make sure that SATA is the BIOS setting rather than RAID.

Also remove any other hard drives (including IDE/ATA as well as USB) during installation.

Sorted it. Thanks for all your help!
I didn't do anything different that I hadn't done before. But it works and that's all I care about. I've got full access to all my data and Windows is running stable.

Thanks for the update and the thanks!

Let us know if we can help further in the future.

If you want this thread reopened just PM me.