SATA drive install - Drivers needed or NOT?

[ukdave]

I am confused as to precisely how to install ONE SATA hard drive 300GB (Maxtor 7B300SO). Operating system will be Windows XP Professional and the motherboard is the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe.

Now I have had a look round the Internet and to briefly (and I mean briefly) summarize what I seem to have found.

(a) If I am installing ONE SATA drive - no RAID drivers needed (but presumably some are needed?) - from somewhere....

(b) If RAID is involved then I need to load the drivers from a floppy, if I can get them on to my floppies - which are 1.44MB. Is there a way to load one floppy after the other until these drivers were finally put on the disks?

Well that hardly tells the story I know. So a few more observations from myself. Firstly I did look on the Intel site and what appeared to be the appropriate driver (.exe file) amounted to 1858KB and my floppy size is about 1.44MB. This just confused me more.

Nevertheless I carried on and visited the Asus website and downloaded the appropriate driver for the motherboard for this problem and this was 7692KB and is a WINZIP file. When extracted it is 15.5 MB.

So I feel from the above, most of you will realize I need a lesson in dealing with the situation. Obviously I am not reading matters the way they should be. There are probably many out there that are going to come across this SATA problem so it would be very helpful to get a precise order of installations procedure with regard to the operating system, recognition and formatting of the SATA hard drive. In respect of both base 1 drive and maybe 2 other drives on what is called RAID. (and I must add of which I have absolutely no knowledge other than it exists!)

Maxtor make it plain on their website that [quote] "Maxtor does not supply drivers for ATA hard drives" [endquote], which surprised me, but I am sure there must be valid reasons for their not doing so. It just seemed the obvious place for a layperson such as myself to head for - as they manufactured the hard drive and are aware of the popular operating systems. But there you go....http://maxtor.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/m...hp?p_faqid=403

Over to you and I hope for my little one hard disk - the ANSWER!!
Thanks.
.......David

[wedor]

There are no hard drive drivers so Maxtor is quite correct.

The motherboard should have come with a RAID (it is not relevant that you are or not using RAID, you are still using the controller) controller driver disk or one should be available on line, the program needed to create the disk, probably an .exe file (drivers are not .exe files), may well be larger than a floppy, you need to press f6 while loading XP (it does propmpt you for this) to load the drivers.

All of this should be clearly outlined in the manual for the board.

[RJ]

(a) Correct. RAID works only with multiple hard drives, so you don't need RAID drivers if you install only ONE hard drive

(b) If RAID is involved, you do need drivers. However, RAID is only an option, and you decide whether to use it or not. Multiple hard drives doesn't automatically mean you have to use RAID.
And when you use RAID, I believe you need to set it up in the RAID BIOS first .. actually RAID is a whole story for itself.

So as long as you don't use RAID, no matter how many hard drives you have: If you want to install a SATA drive, you do *not* need drivers as long as you use the two native ports. Just plug it in, and Windows will see it.

If you install a hard drive, no matter whether it is PATA or SATA, on a port that is controlled by an external controller, then you also need drivers.
But for native ports, regardless whether they're PATA or SATA, you don't need drivers.

RJ

[ukdave]

Originally Posted by wedor .... the program needed to create the disk, probably an .exe file (drivers are not .exe files), may well be larger than a floppy, you need to press f6 while loading XP (it does propmpt you for this) to load the drivers. All of this should be clearly outlined in the manual for the board.

Thanks for that wedor. Can you just explain a little more for me please something that I still don't quite grasp. Where you agree that the files may well be larger than a floppy -- how then do we get them on to a floppy in the first instance to load the drivers.

I am sorry if I am missing something here - but I definitely cannot understand this point. Many thanks for your help.

And also RJ - all fully understood and will work accordingly. As I mentioned to wedor above - this loading files larger than the floppy is puzzling me. I feel sure when the answer comes back - it will be glaringly obvious to me then. I am learning so much since I joined as a complete newbie in August this year!

...David

[glc]

You do not need to load the entire driver package onto a floppy. What you NEED for the press F6 routine will easily fit on one floppy. The extracted driver package will have either a floppy disk maker or one folder with the required files. Look on the CD that came with your motherboard, readme files and Adobe PDF documents can be very helpful.

[ukdave]

Thanks GLC - will do. What you have said makes it clear to me now. I was going down the wrong path. Fully understood.
Regards.
....David

[MaxRat]

Hi
Everyone hear is right. If you are installing just a sata drive in a new build wether it be base or raid configuration you will nead sata driver (so windows will see the drive)
You will need access to another,working,pc. pop in the motherboard cd and locate the sata drivers open that folder and send the needed files to the floppy drive...some manuals are not as defined as others so if you have issues call the manufacture of the board while sitting in front of a working pc with the cd and a floppy (formatted) and they usually know a trick or two to magically put the drivers on a floppy with very few key strokes...good luck

[ukdave]

Appreciate that *gsrat* - Thanks for the post.
....David

[wedor]

"So as long as you don't use RAID, no matter how many hard drives you have: If you want to install a SATA drive, you do *not* need drivers as long as you use the two native ports. Just plug it in, and Windows will see it."

This is false, Windows does not have native drivers for many (if any) SATA controllers, I just built a number of systems and had to f6 for drivers on all of them during installation.

The location of the ports is not relevant in this case.

[RJ]

This is false, Windows does not have native drivers for many (if any) SATA controllers, I just built a number of systems and had to f6 for drivers on all of them during installation.

Nope, it's not false. I have a SATA drive myself, so I do know it's right. For onboard PATA or SATA, you do not need any drivers.
For external controllers you need drivers, and you need them on a floppy if the drivers are not integrated in Windows.

And we're talking about the P4C800 here, which has the same southbridge as my P4P800 (the ICH5), so I know for sure that there is no floppy needed.

RJ

[mrmister1]

As RJ said if the SATA is onboard you will not need drivers. But if if is a SATA card, you will need to install the drivers.

[glc]

It all depends on the exact SATA controller. Windows has native support for *some* but not all. If you boot with the Windows CD and it does not see a hard drive to install Windows on, you need drivers on a floppy for the F6 routine. You cannot generalize in this case, RJ. I *do* know for a fact that to install Win2000 on an ICH5R on an Intel brand motherboard with an 865PE chipset, even with RAID disabled, you need drivers (Intel provides a floppy with the motherboard) - and when the selector window comes up, there are drivers for 2K, XP, and 2K3 on the floppy. I can't speak for XP or Asus.

[RJ]

Well, that is strange. I just booted from my old Windows 2K CD (and also from my Win2K + SP4 CD) and both times it recognized my WD SATA hard drive.
My board has the ICH5R chipset, RAID disabled.
I can't imagine why it should be different on other mainboards with even the same chipset, as I always thought it's the chipset that matters

RJ

[wedor]

Well I have a number of other motherboards with onboard SATA controllers and they are not recognized by Windows so my comment about your statement stands.

[wedor]

I believe SATA portion of the chipset you mention is made by Adaptec and that may be why there are native drivers for it but I find that more the exception than the rule.

[RJ]

Well I have a number of other motherboards with onboard SATA controllers and they are not recognized by Windows so my comment about your statement stands.

Then you misunderstood me. I was talking about the native ports, not any external controller.
For an external controller you do need drivers, that's right. But that's not only with SATA, that applies to PATA as well.

RJ

[wedor]

It appears that you are misunderstanding me as well, by native ports are you referring to onboard controllers? I am not speaking about cards here but rather controllers mounted to the motherboard.

The only time a driver will be available is if whoever made the controller has gotten approval from MS and they have "graciously" included it in Windows.

The location of the controller is not relevant in this case. I have external controllers that have the drivers in Windows already.

[MaxRat]

I think both of you are right?

It is the chipsetset that matters! very few chipsets are recognized by windows...
I have the silicon Image chipset on my board and it was not recognized by windows and I had to F6 during install and, it is onboard sata! As the time goes on I am very confident that windows will see all and load evrything from the cd as they are making life just to easy for us ( but hey they should all the money we spend for there product) Terry

[glc]

By "native ports" I believe he is referring to ports controlled by the motherboard southbridge - such as the ICH5/ICH5R on the Intel 865/875. The Silicon Image controller is not "native" - even though the chip may be on the motherboard.

Whatever - if Windows doesn't see a hard drive when you try to install, it needs drivers.

[wedor]

Then his statement is still false and mis-leading, not all "native" controllers have drivers in Windows, I do have systems here with native controllers and I had to f6 to load XP.

[ukdave]

Hi guys

I have just come back to my original thread "just to see" if anyone else had posted!! Wow...

Great debate and thoroughly enjoyed reading and taking in all various points of view.

Wedor, you defended your strongly held position very well, and GLC could see both sides, his comments assisting me understand more about the differing points of view.

RJ - thanks to you for your posting - which I am thankful for. Your comments being relevant to my particular case, because that is the basic motherboard I have - the Asus P4C800-E Deluxe.

And, finally to you all "thanks for taking part" in an extremely interesting and informative thread as far as I am concerned.

Regards.
.......David

[Aplustech]

Originally Posted by MaxRat I think both of you are right? It is the chipsetset that matters! very few chipsets are recognized by windows... I have the silicon Image chipset on my board and it was not recognized by windows and I had to F6 during install and, it is onboard sata! As the time goes on I am very confident that windows will see all and load evrything from the cd as they are making life just to easy for us ( but hey they should all the money we spend for there product) Terry

just want add my point here...

I have a Gigabyte mobo- GA-K8N Ultra - Sli, Chipset -
Onboard sata RAid nforce4sli chipset and Silicon Image Sil31114.


Its been a nightmare trying to install 1 single Sata hard drive (still havent won)
As far as Gigabyte tell me this mobo has onboard Native support for Sata(single drive) and i do not need to install drivers. Only if i want to Raid, then install drivers
But this is not the case, having tried installing Windows it doesnt detect any hard drive is installed? Therefore that gives me reason to believe maybe i do need to install the sata driver (f6) for windows to detect the hard drive.

This is all confusing!!!!!

[glc]

This thread is over 2 years old - please start a new thread for your issue.