If you want to avoid having to use a floppy drive, use an XP setup CD
slip-streamed with the Via SATA drivers. Here's a simple way to go about it :
1. Get DriverPacks Base ->
DriverPacks.net > DriverPacks > DriverPacks BASE
2. Get DriverPacks MassStorage (driverpacks for audio, graphics cards, LAN etc also exist if you want) ->
DriverPacks.net > DriverPacks > DriverPack MassStorage
3. Extract the DriverPacks Base setup file to some folder , say 'DP'
4. Copy the 7-zipped (.7z file) DriverPacks MassStorage file to the DP\DriverPacks\ folder .
5. Insert your XP setup CD, and copy all the files from that CD to a temp folder , say C:\Temp\XP\
6. Run DPs_base.exe .
- Press the ">" button to proceed forward through the steps
- When you come to the step 'Select location of platform', select disc. Click Browse and point it to the C:\Temp\XP folder you created.
- On the next step, put a tick next to DriverPacks MassStorage (and any others you had downloaded). Also make sure the DriverPacks MassStorage text mode is ticked.
- Rest of the steps fairly self explanatory, leave them at their default options.
- No need to bother with the Optional settings. Once you're through, hit the "Slipstream" button at the bottom.
7. Once the Slipstreaming is done.. Download, Install and fire up nLite ->
nLite - Deployment Tool for the bootable Unattended Windows installation - Download.
8. Proceed to next step "Locating the windows installation" -> the same C:\Temp\XP folder
9. Proceed through till you reach Task Selection. Deselect all unless you're interested in customising your installation. The *only* option you would need is "Create : Bootable ISO "
10. Next step, click Make ISO.
11. Once your ISO is ready, burn the ISO image to a CD.
P.s: Would be good if your XP is an SP2 version or you slip-stream the SP2 version prior to slip-streaming the SATA Storage drivers
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I would agree with Switch. Change your SATA cable if you have been frequently connecting/disconnecting your drive.
Also i find it odd that Windows XP setup isnt able to detect your drive. Your BIOS has the option to set the SATA between IDE/RAID .. when set to IDE it *should* detect it. I recently installed XP on a Gigabyte K8VM800 board (with the same Via 8237 southbridge) and had the BIOS set the SATA port to IDE mode. However i also used the above mentioned ^^ slipstreamed SATA XP setup CD, so not sure which helped! :lol:
Even weirder is the fact that after installing XP, your drive still isnt detected without drivers.