Unable to reinstall XP due to SATA?

[alexcraw]

This problem is a mixture of various factors which could enable it to be placed into many forums on here. The main thing I'm trying to do is re-install XP Home over the existing installation. Here's a breakdown of the events so far:

1. A virus crippled the PC and had to be cleaned out.

2. PC runs apparently as normal, but will not accept any AOL software or Drivers (normal AOL install stops at 71% every time and installing the BT Voyager 105 drivers crashes the PC forcing it to reboot)

3. After consulting AOL high level Tech support ( ) I was told to re-install the OS.

4. Setup does not see any HDD connected to the PC and cannot continue (HDD is SATA 145Gb).

5. I made up the SATA driver diskette and tried to install with that inserted, but it still won't recognise any HDD.


This problem is infuriating as it clearly sees the HDD in normal operational mode, but not during the re-installation of the OS. I also tried to install from the disk through My Computer, but it tells me that the current installation is newer and connot continue.

Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thank You

Alex

[alexcraw]

Sorry to hog more space on here, but I just solved the problem.

I changed the SATA operation in the BIOS to ATA. Doh!

[Statica]

* Firstly, what is your hardware? Not just the size of your hard drive, but knowing the motherboard and or any relevant hardware would be helpful.

* You obviously have a new version of XP installed, which probably means that you're using a later service pack of XP (the newest is XP SP2) while you're trying to install an original XP or XP service pack 1 from the CD. It is highly recommended that you create a slipstreamed version of XP for your installation. Not only does a slipstreamed XP SP2 avoids having to install a service pack after every installation, it also has better hardware support that might help you.
For directions of slipstreaming: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase...slipstream.asp

* What virus did you have? Are you sure it's been removed? What antivirus were you using, make sure you've got a second opinion from an online scan like http://housecall.antivirus.com

Addendum:
I see you've solved it. I'd still recommend using slipstreamed operating systems, if you havent already done it!
Cheers

[alexcraw]

Cheers Statica, I'll look into slipstreaming for future reference. Sounds interesting and could be a major time saver.

Cheers

Alex

[alexcraw]

Incidentally, here are the details of the virus and spyware trouble we had with this PC:

http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=170574

I had a read through the slipstreaming article and can see huge benefits in this for the purposes of the work I routinely carry out. Many thanks on that one.