KWSN Orbiting Fortress

diverman · Squire Joined: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3

I have just put together my first pc build and I have a problem.
I am trying to install windows XP and it freezes just after the statement "press F6 to install raid drivers". The white bar at the bottom goes blank. I have left it for 10 minutes+ to see if it changes. This drive is a sata drive.
I then swapped this blank sata drive for one which had windows installed on it, but this was an IDE drive. As the drive boots up to start windows, the system restarts. The drive was set to master on channel 0, and the CD drive was set to master on channel 1.

The setup:Intel Pentium D 945 (new)
Asrock Dual-vsta mobo (new)
1 gig crucial ram 553
450W PSU (new)
6600GT AGP card

The system seems to be adequatly cool.

It seems that the system crashes whenever the hard drives are attempted to be read/ written to. Both drives were fully detected in the BIOS.

Any ideas why this might happen?
Many thanks

Fart in your gen direxion · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:15 pm Post subject:

I've only built a couple of PC's but it would seem to me you'd want to cover the basics first. Get the proggie memtest or something equivalent, it boots off a floppy, and let it run a while. It'll not only test the memory but also see if the CPU is capable of sustained work (does it overheat etc.) and also see if the mobo is at least partially functional.

#ni-2

Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:21 pm Post subject:

Well it has been a while since I built a comp with sata but I believe that you must push F6 and then load drivers with a floppy. Now you may have a mobo that is native sata and you could skip this step, however you must read mobo doucmentation. Also check jumpers. The default settings may not be for your config.
#ni-1

Ps: If you have a Pata drive try installling windows with that attached, and see if it will let you install to the sata in set up.
_________________
a.k.a. Licentious of Borg.........Resistance Really is Futile.......
and a Really Hoopy Frood who always knows where his Towel is...

diverman · Squire Joined: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3

I believe for this mobo I only need to install sata drivers for RAID, but not other than that.
Installing to a PATA drive gives the same problem.

Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 1:35 pm Post subject:

Are you planning to set up a Raid system. I thought that you only had one drive. And are you using the sata cable or an IDE cable on the drive in question. I really can't remember but I don't beleive that you need to set slave, master on a sata drive pluged into a sata port. I could be wrong.
_________________
a.k.a. Licentious of Borg.........Resistance Really is Futile.......
and a Really Hoopy Frood who always knows where his Towel is...

Dagger · Prince Joined: 10 Mar 2004 Posts: 2918 Location: BC Canada

When i built my first comp from scratch, (an AMD 64 3200+) i hooked it up with a single HD on a SATA cable. I set the pins on the back of the HD as master and installed the RAID drivers and haven't had any problems. The mobo had at least 2 different SATA connections, so i just plugged into SATA0.

However, i don't remember if i had to go into the BIOS settings to first tell the computer where to look for the HD as it defaults to the IDE. I no longer have that computer with me, as i gave it to my sister who badly needed a newer computer.
_________________
When in doubt, kick it until it works.

Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 3:21 pm Post subject:

Mine was a 2500 barton with a single sata drive. I had to install the raid/sata
driver with a floppy I think. that was 2 years ago. I can't remember, but since there is only one drive on each sata cable I can't see why jumpers need to be set on HD. Did you check the jumpers on the mobo to make sure that the raid # you want is properly set. Also try to see if you need a Bios update.
_________________
a.k.a. Licentious of Borg.........Resistance Really is Futile.......
and a Really Hoopy Frood who always knows where his Towel is...

Frank the Historian · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 9:22 pm Post subject:

I'm not sure I have anything new to add, but on my last build I had to install the SATA/RAID drivers regardless of whether I planned to enable RAID. Since RAID is built into the SATA controller, the drivers are required for any SATA boot HD.

bpowe · Posted: Sat Jan 06, 2007 10:18 pm Post subject:

diverman, your IDE drive with windows already loaded... If windows was installed (Win2K ?) while the drive was in another computer with different MB and everything, you will probably have to boot from the Win install disk and choose the repair option. That will initiate the hardware wizard to look for new hardware.

If it is XP, you're screwed... too many hardware changes make XP think it's been pirated and it will want a new password from Microshaft.

The only sata drive i've installed as a boot drive was a Maxtor, the install software asked if it was a boot drive and set it up for me. (Maxtor's Maxblast software is a bootdisk, so it is installed before windows is installed.)

bill
_________________
You can't leave footprints in the Sands of Time while sitting on your butt and who wants to leave Buttprints

in the Sands of Time?

JerWA · Prince Joined: 01 Jan 2007 Posts: 1497 Location: WA, USA

FWIW my experience is the same as Franks. In the BIOS, the SATA bus was being listed as "RAID" in the boot order. Despite not using RAID functionality, drivers were required for Windows to play nice with it when trying to boot SATA.
_________________

Stats: [BOINC Synergy] - [Free-DC] - [MundayWeb] - [Netsoft] - [All Project Stats]

Tenebra · Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2007 8:16 am Post subject:

First, what XP are you using? Before or after SP1 or SP2? I remember when I tried installing a version earlier than SP2 I had problems with SATA disks. (I have 2 SATA II disks)

Secondly, check mobo specifications and see if you need to change settings in the BIOS.

Then start checking every system component one by one, from memory (it could be faulty memory as well), to CPU to any other device you may have.
_________________

My Greek Blog: The Dark Side of the Force and Other Stories
My English Blog: Snippets and Other Stories from the Net

diverman · Squire Joined: 06 Jan 2007 Posts: 3

Thanks for everyones help.
Turns out I had a dud stick of ram, Memtest showed that one up.

Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 7:41 am Post subject:

Tenebra Wins, Tenebra Wins,,,,,
#ni-1

_________________
a.k.a. Licentious of Borg.........Resistance Really is Futile.......
and a Really Hoopy Frood who always knows where his Towel is...

Tenebra · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:09 am Post subject:

Well have some experience #ni-1

(faulty equipment, wrong versions, seen a bit).

Just changed CPU cooler in mine, as the CPU hit 102 Celsius! For those not familiar with Celsius, water boils at 100 degrees and CPUs burn at 120 usually. I do have the Prescott (rather Presshot) series, so even with the new cooler temperature is higher than for other CPUS. (actually quite higher... 73-76 degrees Celsius at 100% CPU usage, 57-59 at idle). I don't know whether that is the real temperature or if the Prescott series have, except for high temps, faulty temp sensors as well. the CPU is Intel 830 D (Dual Core CPU).
_________________

My Greek Blog: The Dark Side of the Force and Other Stories
My English Blog: Snippets and Other Stories from the Net

Fart in your gen direxion · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:10 am Post subject:

Tenebra · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:12 am Post subject:

Yes, you did say it first, way up Sir Farty.
_________________

My Greek Blog: The Dark Side of the Force and Other Stories
My English Blog: Snippets and Other Stories from the Net

jbyram2 · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:18 am Post subject:

We will NOT go way up Sir Farty,.
_________________
0.0 Giggly hertzes Folding!
Go Diskless..Pure computing elegance, no frills

The brain I'm wearing makes me eat chocolate and cry!!
Something Completely different

KWSN - Sir Brian C....... · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:33 am Post subject:

Tenebra,

those temps seem really high, my 805's (un-overclocked) currently run at 45C @ 100%, even when I overclocked the things to 3.2 ghz - from 2.66 ghz, they never got above 57C @ 100 %......

are you using arctic silver on the Heatsinks.... if so how much, putting too much on can have a negative affect, ie actually increase temps....

#ni-1

_________________
Oh, it's blessed are the meek!, Well I'm glad they'll get something as they have a hell of a time!

Tenebra · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 10:08 am Post subject:

Didn't put much arctic, did put the amount recommended. Just a big grain of rice.
_________________

My Greek Blog: The Dark Side of the Force and Other Stories
My English Blog: Snippets and Other Stories from the Net

Sir Papa Smurph · Posted: Mon Jan 08, 2007 8:29 pm Post subject: