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Kay,
So I bought a new computer the other day for a friend. It came with a SATA drive, which we had lovel problems installing and sliplining the drivers.After a few days of everything working fine, the computer won't boot up no more and leaves me hanging at a flashing underscore on a black screen, unable to input anything.
I took my friends IDE drive and loaded Sata as the second HD.
I could see the hard drive(500gb): Capacity 128GB, 477GB of Unused data.So I think, there's a hidden partition hiding that 477GB of data. When I try to reformat/reinstall WINXP, the drive reports 128GB of data and only one partition.
So I'm kinda stumped on how to fix this.
What service pack is integrated into the WinXP CD? You MUST have at least SP1 to be 48 bit LBA compliant. Original WinXP can only use the first 128 GB of the 500.
Watch the POST screens at startup for the HDrive. The HDrive should be identified by the model number there and should show the full 500GB. If that isn't happening then your MBoard may not be 48 bit LBA compliant.
If the drive DOES show correctly then the problem is with the install CD. You have two solutions. You can leave the drive as is and install SP2 which will allow WinXP to see the remainder of the drive. It won't show in My Computer. You will need to look in Disk Management. Once the remainder shows in Disk Management you can partition and format the remainder of the drive.
The other, better option would be to Slipstream SP2 into the CD.
If the CD a legal copy?
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Thats the thing.
WINXP SP1 is installed.
The hard drive model number is detected.Until yesterday this was a fully working HD with OS(Legal) and many other programs installed.
The last action on the computer was minor updates from WINXP auto-updater that required a reboot, after the initial SP2 was installed .I could install SP2, but as I said, it won't boot into WINXP.
If I was to write zeros to the drive, would that reset everything on it? I think if I could reset it, it would just be easier to re-install everything.
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"So I bought a new computer the other day for a friend. It came with a SATA drive, which we had lovel problems installing and sliplining the drivers".
Does the above mean you made a slipstreamed CD? What WinXP service pack was on the disk that you started with?
Did you partition the drive into the 128GB plus the remainder?
If not, then one of the two items is incorrect. Either you the entire drive is not showing in the POST screens or the WinXP CD doesn't contain SP1.
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I'll start again.
The WINXP CD(SP1 included) was installed The original WINXP disk does NOT include SATA raid drivers.
In order to install OS to a sata drive after some research, you have to provide the drivers on a floppy(F6 @ Dos Setup) OR slipstream them into the WINXP installation disk.The WINXP disc was converted into an ISO and slipstreamed with Nlite to include the drivers, rewritted to a CD-R, which allowed me to install the OS.
It partitioned the drive into two. One 128GB and one 477GB. It was working FINE.
Then after an MS update with Windows Auto-updater for the OS, it required a reboot, after reboot, the hard drive refused to load and now shows a flashing white underscore.
Now, I can load an IDE hard drive with WINXP installed, but when the SATA drive is brought up in Disk Management, it only shows the first 128GB partition.
The issue is not that I can't see the second 477GB partition, but that when boot up occurs, for one reason or another (assuming), it cannot pick up either partition, or something is screwing up to disallow the already working/installed OS.
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How does the drive show in the BIOS?
You have some bogus specs for the computer. Early SATA MBoards required the SATA drivers to be installed. You give no hint of what you have. I understand that you don't think this matters because you had XP running but it might.If all had gone the way it should have the remainder of the drive should have shown up in Disk management as unallocated space. The fact that it doesn't is a concern. How about some more info on the computer. MBoard, CPU, controller cards?
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Chip Type: Core 2 Quad
Processor Speed: 9.6GHZ (13.44GHZ OC)
Motherboard: Asrock (775) VIA Chipset
Memory (RAM): 2GB DDR2
Hard Drive Capacity: 500 GB (Western Digital Sata Cavier SE)
Primary Drive: DVD+/-RW Lightscribe
Features: Graphics Card (Nvidia 7300 LE PCI-E), Network Card, USB 2.0Obtained from: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....
The SATA drivers got installed... when the streamlined WINXP CD installed the OS.
This is what I mean, it shouldn't be showing only the 128GB with SP1 installed on the IDE HD, which is the only way I can get into it at all.
At boot up, it should be loading at least that 128GB partition, but it's not loading anything from the HD.
I have a utility from Western Digitals website that does a zero-fill to reset the HD and I'm hoping/wondering, if I was to zero-fill it and reinstall everything like before, but would it work? I have never attempted to do a zero-fill before and I'm unaware of what may happen.
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"This is what I mean, it shouldn't be showing only the 128GB with SP1 installed on the IDE HD, which is the only way I can get into it at all".
What do you mean when you say "which is the only way I can get into it at all"?
I don't believe the harddrive is your problem. I wouldn't bother with the zero fill. The processor specs you are posting must be incorrect. Are you multiplying the processor speed or something?
You shouldn't really install any software, let alone the OS while overclocking. I don't know if that is part of your issue of not but thought I would point it out FYI.
If you have any utilities to view the harddrive partitioning it might cast some light on things. One possibility is that the primary partition is not marked active.
Fdisk64 can show what you have and can also mark the partition as active. You can't do anything else with Fdisk64 on an NTFS drive, so don't try it. Viewing and setting the partition active are OK though.
Probably don't have a floppy drive or you would have used it to install the SATA drivers.
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Only way of getting into it:
Since the Hard Drive itself refuses to boot alone, it has to become a slave to my IDE WINXP(Fully updated) HD.
Thats the only way I can get into the folders inside it or analyze it with other utilities.Processor:
It's a Quad-Core, 2.4ghz x 4cores = 9.6GHz.
13Ghz is an OC speed, but I haven't had to chance to test this PC's overclocking abilities, so it's not being overclocked and hasn't yet. It's driving is on Normal Speeds.Partitioning:
I've checked the partitioning with utilities Partition Doctor, Cute Partition Manager.Partition Doctor reported 1 partition with the full 500GB on it, no other partitions.
The extended test came up with no problems.Cute Partition Manager reports 128GB partition and a 337GB partition. But I'm unable to do anything with either (stupid trial version).
As for floppy, no the system did not come with one. Hence the slipstreaming WINXP disk with RAID drivers.
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This goes without asking (which is why I'm going to ask it), but you DO have the latest SATA drivers slipstreamed into that CD of yours, right?
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Yes. Obtained from the Hard Drive manufacturer's website.
I'll just Zero-fill it and start over.
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