Hard Disk Gone Missing?
After booting from the Windows XP setup CD the blue setup screen appears and goes the through the usual process of installing it’s drivers.
When you reach the Welcome Screen and choose to install Windows you are presented with the error “Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer” similar to the screenshot below.
Some Common Symptoms
- You are presented with the error message: Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer at the point in the setup where you are asked to press ENTER to “setup Windows XP now”
- You are presented with the error message Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer after pressing ‘R‘ to “repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console”
Explanation
This error will appear most often when your hard disk is on an SATA or SCSI controller and Windows setup does not have a suitable driver.
In most cases these days you won’t have a floppy disk either to load the drivers.
There are a few ways to deal with this ranging from the very simple (hopefully says you!) to the long and somewhat difficult. See the solutions below for more.
Solution 1 – Set Your SATA Controller to Compatability/IDE/Standard Mode
- Enter your BIOS/Setup Utility
- Locate the Serial ATA or SATA configuration section
- I’ve seen this section called ‘On Chip Config’ on some Phoenix Award BIOS
- On Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads it’s in Config > Serial ATA (Sata)
- Change the mode of the SATA controller from AHCI to IDE or Compatibility
- Save & Exit
- Reboot and begin the Windows Setup again.
- If Windows Setup successfully detects your hard disk this time then go ahead and perform the Windows Setup.
- When Windows setup completes change the mode back to AHCI in the BIOS
- If your problem still exists after changing this option then change it back to AHCI and proceed to Solution 2 below.
Solution 2 – Load your SATA drivers using a Floppy Disk (or CD)
UPDATE JAN 2011 – Create A Custom Windows XP CD with your SATA drivers as an alternative to using a floppy disk. If you need help finding your SATA drivers see the article How To Find Your SATA Drivers
- If you already have a floppy disk drive in your computer then great, proceed to Step 2. If you don’t, click here to get one
- Go to either your computer manufacturers support website or if you have a custom build then go to your mainboards manufacturers support website and download the SATA driver package. Some popular manuafacturers are listed below:
- Extract the downloaded driver to a blank floppy disk
- DO NOT insert the floppy disk into the computer that you are attempting to run Windows Setup on
- Insert your Windows XP CD and start your computer, press any key to boot from CD if requested
- As soon as the blue setup screen appears press F6 on your keyboard. The message to press F6 will disappear and be replaced by a message requesting you to press F2 for ASR. Do NOT press F2.
- After the “Setup is loading files” part is complete you will be presented with the screen below
- Insert the floppy disk you created and press S to Specify Additional Device. Windows will load your driver and you can now continue Windows Setup as normal.
Thanks for the post.
Very useful info.
I solved my problem by reading it.
Cheers!!
Saurabh
You may try to disable the SATA mode at the BIOS.
It worked for my HP 540.
Hi,
Change the mode of the SATA controller from AHCI to IDE or Compatibility…I’m not able to find the option.Model HP.
Great(: it solved the problem
Thanks
Disabling the SATA allowed me to continue Windows XP Home Edition on my Compaq Preserio N5000. Thanks a Bunches!!!!
Worked on Acer Aspire 5315 Thanks DUDE
how did u solved ur problem…my bios setup is locked…i don’t have manufacturer cd….now plzz tell me how to install xp…hard drive not found is problem….tell me how to use sata driver to load hard disk….thank uu..waiting for the solution…
when i press f3 and system restart and write press ctrl+Alt+Del to restart when i press this no response
Worked for me on an HP Compaq nx7400 when i was trying to put in a new 320GB HD.
THANKS SO MUCH!!!
exact same laptop model and drive size and it worked. disabled native sata mode in bios and xp setup did not complain.
THANKS!!!
This also worked on my laptop
Also works for me, I set SATA native mode to “disabled”. (HP Compaq nx7400).
Interesting.
Times are a changing.
I like XP but it can be tough to fix sometimes. (But it is still easier for me to understand than NT!)
Thanks for posting.
Saw this during my Thursday night web searches. Amazing what stuff you can find doing a search XP repair ideas.
Kind of caught me off guard.
Thanks for posting.
Hey man, good post but It doesnt work for me because i dont have that option in my BIOS i have phoenix version f.38, any ideas?
HI Jaye,
Try the following:
In BIOS:
Onboard Devices -> Flash Cache Module -> Set Off
Onboard Devices -> SATA Operation -> Set ATA
Let me know it works as I will update the article.
Cheers
Rosco
I too have a problem with this I have pentium 4 old PC I don’t have the prescribed options in my BIOS plz advice
I have the similar problem, i found this article via google, I am stuck just like this same problem, I am going to try this method and let you all know if it works, Thankyou
I can´t get into my BIOS, it seems it ignores the tab “DEL” Is/are there any other method to solve this problem, please. PC is Chilligreen. Wanted to upgrade with a 320GB SATA HD.
GOOD NEWS, yep it worked i tryed the first method, where i needed to change the option
AHCI to IDE, than it worked, but when i go back to change it after installtion, and restarted the pc, it doesnt load the OS anymore, i guess i would have to keep it on IDE option
i installed Microsoft Windows XP XP3 in my Acer Aspire 5720z Laptop, All GOOD
THANKYOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIPS AND TRICKS, it worekd flawlessly.
For step 1, I can’t find those settings in my BIOS… I have Phoenix 75.06…. Help please?
Worked great. Ty for taking the time to post this great info.
Again, I really need help. I need this computer being I’m starting college at the end of this semester, and I don’t have the money for a new one right now.
Like I said, for step 1, I can’t find the settings you mentioned in the BIOS…..My BIOS are Phoenix 75.06. Help, please.
thanx it work!!! I just change the AHCI to IDE then I save then REBOOT….. thanx…
Worked for me on Acer Aspire One. Thanks a lot.
changing the sata from ACHI to IDE in my BIOS worked for me. thanks you!!!!!!!! (installing win 7)
Hello !
Couldn’t find these settings in my BIOS. I have a HD Toshiba MK4018gas-(pm).
Thanks for helping.
dude just disable SATA native support, and will work like a charm hope this work for you!
Thank You Xavier…It works for compaq presario
Fair play brilliant work sir. Had me baffled for a couple of days now.
Cheers
K
Hey , i have faced this problem majorly on toshiba machines but never solved any…
now the floppy disk drive you talk about is not available on these laptops…
in this case, can i use a disk to extract these drivers?
i mean like a memory stick that uses usb..
thanks big.
First one solved my problem – working on a lenovo :). Thank you alot.
Set to compatibility if IDE don’t appear on option (Only Compatibility) // True Story
Thanks! Changing Sata settings in BIOS worked with my Lenovo T61 and solved the problem. Great post!
There is no compatibility option in lenovo K series desktops.Only DISBALE,IDE,ACHI,SCSI Options available there? how can i solve
problem?
Thnx,
RAJ
Hey, Thanks a lot buddy!
I’m not so good with computers and was having trouble with this for a long time. It really helped a lot ^_^.
Many thanks!! Step 1 solve my problem on a Acer Aspire ONE!
OOOOOIUYTREWQ
Perfect .. thanks for the lead. Have an HP and only had an option to Disable SATA Native support from BIOS but it worked a treat.
Thank you so much! I am working with an older IBM Thinkpad (Levono x60) and after I ran Active Killdisk and tried to load it with WinXPSP3, I got the same error. Setting the SATA config to Compatibility mode worked like a charm! I love the internet!
Thanks MATE AWESOME…
Thank you!
Hello,
Thank you very much for the answer. its very valuable.
Thanks for your generosity.
Regrds
Benny
Hello,
I’m still cant solved my problem!
HP Compaq Presario V3000 dont have a AHCI or IDE at BIOS.
Still get the message “Setup did not find any hard………To quit Setup,press F3.
Could u please help me.
TQVM.
Hi Johnorean…sorry for the late reply…
Do you still have this issue?
Let me know and I’ll assist if possible.
R.
he r i m also facing same problem
pls tell me what can to for same
Hi johorean im also having same problem in same laptop if u have solution reply me or mail me nikhil.rg22@GMAIL.COM PLEASE
Hey Johorear
Has same problem, just Disable SATA in Bios and it works for me
AWESOME! It worked! I disabled SATA in gthe BIOS..
Thank you for posting this!
Hi Daryl, What’s your pc model/bios details?
Can you share with others?
Thanks
R.
I have the same problem after using DBAN. I don’t know what to do to fix this problem. I have a Toshiba Satellite L40-14Y Originally with Windows Vista. I triying to install Windows XP.
Hi Nhikol…DBAN wipes hard disks so it’s likely that you’ll get this error after using DBAN.
What’s your current situation?
R.
you have saved me loads of money. I was almost buying a new hard drive. Thanks loads loads
Hey Kelvin…glad a saved you a load of money….feel free to give it to me
Don’t thin hard drives cost a lot these days anyway….I would think it saves hassle more than money….all that transferring of data, reinstalling windows…what a pain eh.
Thanks for stopping by http://www.proposedsolution.com
Rosco
you are number 1
Thank you for posting this!
You’re welcome Edin. Glad it worked for you.
R.
Kinda shocked I’ve never ran into this problem before. Thanks. Changing the SATA to “Raid/ATA” on a dell worked for me.
Lenovo Think Pad … solved at step 1 … Many thanks ..
i am trying the first step…but when i couldn’t located AHCI to IDE or Compatibility. I found AHCI in the bio, but when i click on AHCI, there is no option for me to change to IDE. my laptop doesn’t have a floppy disk hard drive.
plz help…what else can I do?Thanks in advance.
Hi Ktt, What’s your make/model of laptop?
thanx you so much!! it work on my ASUS laptop!! so much time to research on how to fixed this kind of problem…. thank you so much!!!
trying to install windows after the cannot find bootable device. How did you do it?
Worked for me! Thank you
well not worked for me
have tried but i cant get the option of sata drives.. system bios are shadowed.. how to change this??
ktt i tried simple:i disabled achi and there is all right,try that
this is cool, thank you dear, it works!
a ha .. now i get another error …. Fatal Error: Data Error (Cyclic Redundancy Error).. wha tis this?
this is funny … i changed the boot-able CD .. however both were burnt from the same source but the other one worked … funny, isn’t it?
Hi Noman,
This error is most likely relted to the CD/DVD that you’re using. Make sure it’s clean and scratch free. If it is, try to use a different CD/DVD drive (borrow an external one if possible).
Rosco
I have a Dell Precision T7400. In BIOS, there is only ATA and AHCI (no IDE). I have it set to ATA otherwise it BSODs when loading Windows XP 64 bit disk. I loaded SATA drivers from Dell’s website for XPx64 to a floppy but there are too many options. There are about 16 total different options when in the 3rd party SCSI or RAID driver screen. How do you know which one to pick?
Thanks for this. You’re a lifesaver. It was a very big help for me. I used it on a Compaq Proliant ML370 server.
thanks for the support, unfortunately i had phoenix bios on my compaq laptop, nad coldnt find the sata settings, only option for enable or disable, so i disbaled the sata and it worked…
just sharing for future reference…
this worked for a Lenovo T60 on first try. Thank you for the tip.
Thanks Rosco for your post. It worked for me, have dv8000- xp pro.
Changed, SATA native mode to Disable ( don’t have option for ACHI, IDE etc.)
Yep the BIOS option (disable SATA) worked a treat on a HP compaq nw8440 notebook. Thanks very much!
The BIOS compatibility option worked on a Lenovo T60. Thank you very much & God Bless You.
thank you so much.. i didn’t even get the thought of changing ahci to ata.. and now it worked. Thank you! God Bless
Worked like a dream ! Thanks god for geeks 😀
Worked great for me. Thank you.
Top Class, worked for me. Keep up the good work
Gary from Ireland
Thank you soooooooo much… worked perfectly!~
Thank you,Thank you,Thank you,Thank you, You’re the man worked perfectly..
I turned off SATA and it worked for me..Thank you!!!!!!
Awesome!!! Thanks a bunch! Totally worked!
thanks a lot brother…..this trick of yours helped me a lot…thank you so much.,,god bless u….
Thankyou, changing ata in bios to compatablity mode solved the problem on Lenovo T61 Thinkpad. Hurray, goodbye vista, finally!! God bless the internet and people like you.
i cannnot find to set up my compaq cq40 netbook pc !!!
Thanks the sata chages and it is working fine now
Thanks for your generosity.
thanks. changed from raid to ide. worked like a charm
Thanks To All Of U To Give Me Such A Best Solution.
When my IBM/Lenovo X60 stops working, a replace it with a SATA disk. After inserting the XP setup CD, it is unable to detect the presence of a hard disk. Then I follow the instructions per Solution 1 (change to Compatibility mode). It works better as it starts to load drivers from CD, etc. After accepting the licence terms, etc. it detects the hard disk presence. Sounds good.
But after I create a partition and have the disk format routine runs to an end, it gives out a blue screen.
A problem has been detected and windows has to shutdown to prevent damage to your computer. …Check with your hardware vendor for any bios updates. …restart your computer. etc….etc.
I am still not sure what is going on. Have I missed any steps? Or it is just a general hard failure (hard disk interface controller or the hard disk itself). What do you reckon?
I am either going to find another hard disk to try or re-test the replacement hard disk to verify the disk is in fact working.
Thanks for reading.
Hi Yk,
Since this article was written, there have been a few more recent ones that concentrate more on loading the correct SATA drivers for your hard disk from the outset.
At this stage it is more advisable to try to download the correct drivers from the manufacturers website and either create a Windows XP CD with those drivers on it as detailed in this article: http://www.proposedsolution.com/howto/create-windows-xp-cd-sata-drivers/
or else put the drivers on a separate floppy if you have a floppy drive and insert when prompted by Windows XP setup.
In your case, it may be that compatability mode isn’t sufficient and it’s throwing a blue screen every time.
R.
Rosco, thank you for trying to help. I believe this laptop has a bad drive interface (hardware fault). So matter what I did it can’t help.
hey thanks that was fantastic just got your advise on time and it worked great for me
That works thanks it saves me a lot of time.
Please I need help. am using SONY VAIO VGN-NR32M. I pressed F2 In BIOS i cant find Onboard Devices no to talk of Flash Cache Module to Set Off and Onboard Devices -> SATA Operation -> Set ATA. Pleas help this vista is pissy
Hi, i might be too late to get a reply from this 2 years old thread..but might be worth a try. My BIOS cannot detect hard disk after 2 years of using it. I might want to try your solution but i’ve read all the replies here is regarding new installation of windows. But in my situation, the hard disk can’t be detected after 2 years using it. Hundreds of artwork are on it… im desperately need all my data back. but windows cannot start and hard disk can’t be detected.
Im afraid by using your solution, it will make all the data gone? Is it safe for me to try the solution? Thank you very much..sorry for the long explanation!
Hi Ell,
Long explanations are better then short ones
This article is related to the error that Windows cannot find the hard disk during Windows XP setup.
I suspect that if you have been happily using your PC that you are not trying to run Windows XP Setup – please confirm.
Please try to explain as best you can what happens on the screen from the moment you switch the PC on to the moment you can’t get any farther.
Rosco
Thanks for the reply! Yes, im not trying to run Windows XP setup…er sorry if i mistakenly in the wrong thread but the solutions seems promising.
Ok, my problem is, when i startup the pc…there comes the black screen saying cannot find secondary drive, and ask me to hit f5 to retry in order to start the windows. The same error message come out redundantly if I hit f5. I wonder why it says secondary drive because its the only drive i have. (1 hard disk with no partition, yes all the data is only in C drive (i didn’t do the installation setup) The pc is now in IT department at my workplace and they said the hard disk is corrupted and wanted to replace with new hard disk. And now im all over the internet to find the solution to get it work or at least to get my data back…
Ah… it also give option either to hit f5 or f2 (not really sure f?) to enter setup.
Hi Ell
If your IT Dept are suggesting that the drive is corrupt then u might
be able to recover the data by installing it as a secondary drive and
copying the data off of it.
Firstly you’d have to install a new hard disk as primary and install
windows on the good new drive. Then connect up your original drive as
secondary so that both of them are in the pc at the same time. When
the new windows boots open My Computer and you should see a C and a D
where D is your old drive.
At his stage you would hopefully be able to browse the drive and
retrieve your files. If you do get this far, expect a few errors when
copy and expect it to be slow but hope that it works long enough to
retrieve the files!
Rosco.
Thank you! i will try the solution and will update here tonite! Thank you very much for the advice Rosco!
thanks this helped alot
Wow! Thanks alot, solution 1 worked 100%
There is no option in my bios to change anything having to do with sata.
Toshiba Satellite L45-S7409
Please advise
Thank you
nevermind I did Solution 2 successfully
thanks for the great info
very helpfull…………………..keep up the good work
for the hp user…just disable native support for SATA….!!!
cool! thanks for the tips, guys! this really helped me big time! 😉
My advent laptop 7105 is saying no hard disk found system recovery cannot be continued help what can I do?
Hi Becky…did you check if your hard disk is detected in the BIOS? You can access the BIOS by pressing DEL key straight after you switch on the computer.
Look for System Information.
R.
Hi I have HP Pavilion DV5000, I could not install Windows XP, I was getting this message.
“ Setup could not find a Hard disk drive on your system.”
Steps Taken:
1: Restart your computer
2: Press F10 go BIOS
3: SATA
4: Save changes and Exit.
After Disabling SATA I was able to install Windows XP, worked like a beauty.
Hi I have a HP Pavilion DV5000, I could not install Windows XP, I was getting this message.
“ Setup could not find a Hard disk drive on your system.”
Steps Taken:
1: Restart your computer
2: Press F10 go BIOS
3: Disable SATA
4: Save changes and Exit.
After Disabling SATA I was able to install Windows XP, worked like a beauty.
Thank you! Works like a charm!
That was great tip… Really helpful
Thanks Raju, this worked on an older PC.
Thank you, the problem has be solved
thanks a lot for you kindness i solve my problem of my notebook more bless to come cheer ups
Thanks mate, this worked for me. I had to disable flash module and switch from AHCI to ATA on a Dell.
i disabled SATA native support. it worked.was using windows7 on compaq presario v3000. thanks a lot for the article…..
how can you disabled the SATA native support on your presario v3000? I’m also have presario v300 but I cant find the SATA native support.
It was funny i actually changed the SATA controller to IDE before i read this but as i was restarting, I started searching for more options incase that one failed, but it worked and this is the first site i opened and it was at the top so i knew i luckily did the right thing, Thanks alot for sharing with everyone thought, This works on an Acer TravelMate 6592
i can’t find the bios in pheonix please help me
Hi Rosco,
I have a IBM ThinkPad T40 and it is giving me the problem.I just got a laptop and changed the harddrive and am not sure why its coming.
Thanks,
Peter
Thanks a ton. Your first fix worked like a charm. I had given up on all the data which I had collected over the last 4 years why my vista gave up and was unable to install Xp. You ROCK !!
Thanks a ton. Your first fix worked like a charm. I had given up on all the data which I had collected over the last 4 years when my vista gave up and was unable to install Xp. You ROCK !!
Um I just swapped the harddrive and it worked!!!!
I have a Gateway 450sx4 laptop I got from a reclamation sale with no hard drive. I put a HD(IDE) in and now I’m getting the unable to fin HD error and Error codes PXE-E61 andPXE-M0F. WinXPPro start up disks get me to Install WinXP hit enter, then no hd detected. I do not have the option to change ACHI to IDE. Phoenix Bios version 35.02.01.
Hi webleet,
This looks like a different problem to the one described in the article above.
You should make sure the hard disk is physically installed and detected in the BIOS first before even attempting to start Windows setup. If it’s not in the BIOS, windows setup will never detect it.
Take out the hard disk and see if it has any jumper pins on it. If it does it does, it should be configured as master. See diagram on the hard disk or manufacturers website for details.
If it doesnt have jumpers or it’s already configured as master then pop it back into the laptop and switch on. Enter the BIOS and check if the drive is detected in system information. If not, reset the Bioks to factory defaults, restart and check again. If it’s still not detected then it’s possibly a hard disk problem or a system board problem with the laptop.
Let me know how you get on.
R.
Hi, I also met the same problem during I install Windows Server 2003 on HP ProLiant LD140 G3 server. would you please tell me how to set the ATA in BIOS? The ways you said above, i tried, but failed.
Hi Echo,
You should not use the ATA fix here.
You should obtain the SATA driver for your server and create a Windows CD with the driver on it as described in this article:
http://www.proposedsolution.com/howto/create-windows-xp-cd-sata-drivers/
Just use Windows 2003 CD where it says XP
You can download the HP Proliant LD140 SATA drivers here:
http://bit.ly/ou9n5G
Rosco
Great…it worked..
Thank You Very Much!!!!! First solution worked 100%!!!! You were a very big help!!!! :*
Hi,
I have a compaq nc6320, and window setup could not find hard drive either with the blue screen message. I am also try the method of incorporating the BIOS, SATA and Chipset drivers updates into the window setup using nLite, but I am not sure what files to be loaded into the nLite. I have downloaded the drivers from the HP website and extracted, and the procedure to use the nlite is very confusing. Please help.
Thanks a lot! First solution work as charm for me. Thank you thank you
Thanks for the help worked like a charm
I can change the setting in the BIOS from SATA – Enhanced to IDE – ‘Compatible’, but once done the computer will not reboot? Any suggestions?
Thanks! Your solution works flawlessly on IBM T60 notebook.
OS – Windows XP SP3.
Go to BIOS -> config -> Serial ATA – (AHCI to Compatibility)
thank you so much Bro you are the best
you know what you are talking about, thanks
Thanks so much!! it helps me alot…
Hi
I removed the memory card from my computer to check it as I want to upgrade the memory but when I replaced it, I cant seem to boot windows XP!!From post screen, it asks me to enter disc so I put in my windows xp recovery disc but then I get the message about the set up did not… and dont know what to do…
I have a foxconn motherboard 760gxk8mx but cant locate where to change sata to ide in cmos or bios.. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Also I dont have a floppy drive so cant download from there.
thanks
Edwin
hi guyz..it didnt work for me…emaxx is my board..
hi
i have a Gigabyte G41M-ES2L motherboard.
i am unable to find my sata configaration section.
can you plz plz plz plz plz tell me where is it.
where can i find my sata configaration section.
it work baby!!!!!!!!
thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It worked….
Thanks….
Hey guys my system recently formated after that my display driver got some problem, while browsing its freeze and system automatically restarts,,pls help us i tried a lot couldn’t fix it i tried registery clean up
Rosco, do you have any idea as to where exactly in a compaq presario cq40 bios setup i can change the controller to IDE? my laptop was working just fine, a few days back. i also just did a complete scan w/ no virus detected. after a few days of having my mom use my laptop, it just doesn’t start up and when i did a diagnostic on the hard disk, it says it doesn’t exist? will changing it to IDE do any good or does this mean that my os is simply corrupted? any thoughts?
Hi, Rosco,
Your solution #1 works for me up to the step #6. But I could not change the BOIS setting back to SATA after the XP setup. If I do so, the blue screen will come back again saying the HD can not be found.
Should I keep on using “compatibility” setting? How can I change back to use AHCI setting?
Thanks,
Van
Worked like a dream! Thank you!
I got home from work yesterday afnetroon and mowed the lawn and blew leaves before the rain came today. After I mowed my lawn, I went next door to my neighbors house and mowed his lawn and blew the leaves off his property. I slipped a pay it forward card under his door mat when I was finished. He came over and thanked me for what I’d done, and also asked me about pay it forward. I often do things for other people, but yesterday it felt a little different because it gave me the opportunity to tell him about paying it forward; also in hopes that it would have a chain reaction and many lives would be effected by such a positive and simple notion of paying it forward .
Thax dude your suggestion very helful for me o love you
hi i need help finding my drivers and putting onto floppy ive looked and looked and im not having any luck im kinda a noob plz help i have a soltek motherboard and a nvidia nforce2 ive been trying to reformat for 4 days and i keep getting the cant find hard disk drive msg PLZ HELP
You are the best. It works after follow your instruction. You save my time a lot. Vista is no good at all
ok so now ive found my driver (i think) and i hit f6 get prompted to put in the floppy and when i do i get “the file txtsetup.oem could not be found” what now?
thx man first solution worked great
simply brilliant !!! thank you !
i have the compaq pc having foxconn motherboard on it.i m getting the same error with my original hdd which comes with my pc.but when i attach another hdd it works fine.
but my older hdd still undetectable in bios also.plz plz help me i have imp data on it
Thanks!
September 20, 2013 at 10:49 amElkeFeuerThanks, Liz! Writading a bio is usuadally the last thing on people’s minds. They’re usuadally in exitceadment mode that their book is going to be pubadlished. Color me guilty.
OK so I followed Solution 1 and was able to install Windows just fine that way, but now when I switch the setting back to AHCI my laptop gives me a BSOD when attempting to load Windows. Switching it back to “Compatibility” mode allows me to boot Windows normally. Any suggestions?
Josh, same problem here – MS KB advises this is (likely) a missing driver issue. Windows still does not have the specific SATA comptible drivers installed at this point.
Se for servidor, utilize o CD de instalação do server. EX: IBM que tem o server guide, através dele consegue fazer a instalação normalmente, sem o problema de driver.
Problem solved
thanks
(solition1: Change the mode of the SATA controller from AHCI to IDE or Compatibility)
thnx
great
hello sir i follow your step to solve my problem but i am not find any setting in my BIOS settings please tell me the solution according to my motherboard as uner noted:
ASUS motherboard P5KPL-AM/PS G31
Thanks so much Ross – I thought I had a dead HDD. Solution 1 on the money! Cheers.
my Problem has solved now , thanks for you advise
Your first solution work for my laptop acer aspire 5710z. Fist I can’t set to IDE mode, but after I update my BIOS, I can. Then I can continue set up windows xp normally.
Thanks very much it worked.
Thanks bro it worked
please help me , if i change sata drive to raid or id or inverse , i lose my data on all of hard disk?
i have problems with step 2
Locate the Serial ATA or SATA configuration section
I’ve seen this section called ‘On Chip Config’ on some Phoenix Award BIOS
On Lenovo/IBM ThinkPads it’s in Config > Serial ATA (Sata
I cant locate the serial ata or sata for my phoenix, there is nothing close to chip config or anything, ive checked all the options im tottaly lost.. please help me and future people who read this article.
Hi!
What’s your PC make/model no.?
R.
Worked with an Asus. Thank you.
what am i missing? I have an old Gateway mt6705 that I reformatted the hard drive on in hopes of never,ever seeing Vista again and loading a clean copy of XP pro. But after getting the dreaded blue screen and message ‘hard drive not found’ your solution seemed the ideal fix. But on start-up I can’t do anything to change my Phoenix Bios 77.11 besides maybe changing the system time or date.
What am I doing wrong? How do I edit the bios?
Hi Thoma..
Seems a bit strange that you can’t edit the BIOS. Can you send me a photo of the screen?
Before that, make sure are upgraded to the latest version of the BIOS….you should find BIOS upgrades on the Gateway Support site for your model. I believe the latest is 77.12.
After that, send me a pic if you still can’t edit anything.
R.
Solved!!! Thanks a lot
Thank you so much. I own T61 and your post was very helpful. Resolved with option 1. Keep up the good work …
i would like to ….
Thank you very much. I have also a T61 and I solved the problem with Solution 1! Clever idea!
Solution 1 worked on Lenovo T60
I pressed during xp set up “To repair a Windows XP installation using the Recovery Console, pressR”. now my laptop is showing no hard drive on it…its win7 based laptop…plz,solve
Thanks solution 1 worked for me
Thank you so much. Solution 1 worked.
I have Toshiba Dynabook SS L11 17L/4 laptop and bios config is 1Raid-0, when I install windowsxp bootable cd then display this message Setup could not find any hard drive.
any solution
you’re excellent, the best and thank you very much
I tried The Way You Show And It Worked Great. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
KNOWLEDGE NEVER ENDS …
we just got a used Toshiba satellite L40 Laptop(PSL40E) with no OS on it. In the set up, I can not find anywhere to change the HHD controller. Once the laptop is up and running, there is C:\> is there anyway to get to the control from there?
NL, Can you explain how you get to a C:\ prompt?
That fact that you are getting that far indicates that the hard disk is being detected (although C: could be mapping to a different drive such as your DVD).
What’s happening with Windows setup?
R.
When I turn it on it show the Toshiba/Intel screen, the flashes past a windows 98 screen and then goes black and the screen reads;
Microsoft (R) Windows 98
(C)Copyright Microsoft Corp 1981-1999.
C:\>_
When I run Windows Pro with SP2, from the CD/DVD it runs windows set up, loading most if not all files and then comes to a blue screen that ends in:
stop:0x0000007E (0xc0000005, 0xF75DD0BF, 0xF7A29208, 0xFA28F08)
pci.sys – address F75DD0BF base at F75D6000, DateStamp 3b7d855c
thanks
I found a fix. To get pass the error above, I used nLite to create a Windows XP with SP3 setup DVD. SP3 has the needed drivers for the sata hard drive and loads XP with no problems. I also wanted to add a note about the drivers. On my Toshiba, I had to install the drivers in the order given by Toshiba per an installation instructions pdf. I found at;
http://eu.computers.toshiba-europe.com/innovation/download_drivers_bios.jsp
Thanks for the help.
How do you make the disc??
M8,work’s like a charm.
Ty.
Cheers mate!
I can’t find ACHI or IDE in BIOS. I am getting onboard devices—>Integrated NIC or MiniPCI status and Modem enables. Can’t find anything so that I can change to SATA drive. I have windows XP CD and using dell inspiron 6000 laptop. Can you please suggest what should I do or where can I download SATA files so that I can use F6 and then F2 option as suggested in option 2.
Thanks….
Thanks. Still works after all these years! Disabled SATA on HP Pavilion laptop and was able to instal XP which was corrupt!
I WANT TO INSTALL WIN 7 ON THE SYSTEM. WIN Xp getting installed properly. but problem with wind 7. There is no compatibility/ATA option in lenovo K series desktops.Only DISBALE,IDE,ACHI,SCSI Options available there? how can i solve problem?
Thnx,
RAJ
I have Toshiba SaTELLITE pRO a 205 lAPTOP. i WANT TO FORMAT FROM VISTA TO WINDOWS XP. bUT HARD DIST NOT DETECT F3 TO QUIT. hOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. i CHECK IN BIOS ALSO BUT NO SATA CONFIGURATION IN MY BIOS HOW TO SOLVE IT PLEASE HELP ME.
thnx its work
I have a laptop Compaq Presario R3000 , & I enter into Setup & there is nothing that says where I can change the BIOS from ACHI to IDE. Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot for a post. Worked like a charm!
To bad I still need to have some kind of Window$ on my machine parallel with Linux for compatability reasons…
really good thank you
I have a Compaq presario sr2010nx preloaded with XP SP2
The restore cd is XP SP2, but I had SP3 installed on it.
One day when I fired it up it said “disk boot failure please install……”
I ran the OS CD to repair XP and when it came to the part when I press R (to repair) ,it gave the “no hard disk drive found…” error.
doesnt the XP SP2 restore cd have all the drivers needed? And my PC doesnt have the “ribbon” connection anyway it has the newer smaller connections.
Is the data on the Hard Drive salvageable????
Thank you for the help!!
Hi Rosco,
this is vivek. I am having a hp pavillion dv6700 . i got this problem – setup did not find any hard disk installed in blah blah blah,… i followed the procedure of nlite but then the last stage of making ISO did not come. what shall i do?
i mailed you also …please help me out…
My laptop is hp pavillion dv6700 . There is no option to change from sata to IDE in Phoenix bios. How shall I do it. Tell me please.
I did the n lite process also but when I put the new cd which I made , it does asks to boot from cd. Just a black screen and nothing happens
thank you so much , the information was very good , passing from AHCI to IDE
I only had the option to disable SATA in the BIOS. Didn’t help though. My solution: Install Win XP on an IDE drive. Don’t activate Windows yet. Next, install your SATA drive as a slave (additional drive). Windows will find it and install the drivers needed. Boot using Ubuntu live CD. Clone the IDE drive onto the SATA drive using the dd command in a terminal window. Bingo. (Alot of extra work, but I had no alternative) My bios must be a stinker.
i can not find the the solution of my problem. I am not finding the serial SATA option in BIOS setup of Server 7800 series.
I have found the SATA driver for solution 2 (no option to disable on my Conmpaq Mini) but when I press S to select it from my USB flash drive, I get ‘Setup could not find a floppy drive on your machine to load OEM drivers from floppy disk.’
I don’t have a floppy drive! Help!
hey sir, i got the same problem. i got a hp 530 notebook laptop.. i cant fix it, always crashing,. pls help me. tnx
sir, thank you so much for your advice. i solve my problem in dell vostro 1400. i have a more problem, my battery charging light is flashing continuously(orange colour). what can i do? also i want to update my bios A07 to latest. can you tell me how to update my bios safely. thank you.
Hi, I tried what you have posted here and changed the Serial ATA (SATA) to compatibility , I have an IBM ThinkPad T60, but it didn’t work, it kept giving me the message “NTLDR is missing, press Ctrl+ Alt+Del to restart.” Any suggestions?
Thank you
THANKS bro you saved my life you cant imagine,
i buyed my first dedicated and this post helped me to instal lwindows server on it me and my users will be happy
Hi,
I did the second suggestion, it works till i hit the R button and then i get a screen with:
1:c:\windows
2:d\windows
which windows installation would you like to log onto (to cancel press ENTER)?
when i write 1, i get a list of commands and i have no idea where to go from here.
i need to mention that i have a Asus P5S800 and windows xp home edition. i have 2 HDs 1Tr & 75 GB.
btw: on the floppy i have a list of 4:
SRV 2003 SIS RAID/IDE Controller
WIN XP 32 bit SIS RAID/IDE Controller
WIN 2000 SIS RAID/IDE Controller
WINDOWS 64 bit SIS RAID/IDE Controller
Since i have windows xp, i am selecting win xp 32 bit.
Really appreciate your help!!!
Thanks!
I was at my whits end with my Asus ee PC trying to re-install XP – This worked for me! Thank You!
Excellent, it saved me a lot of time! cheers
hey-admin- my notebook dont have FLOPPY DISK DRIVE-
HOW DO I INSERT FLOPPY DURING SETUP
u solved my problem.,saved my time,,thanku so much,plz keep posting such valuable n worth articles
great…awesome ,solve my problem…yahoo
Found your information after Google search. Was trying to re-install Win XP Pro on an old HP Compaq nx6310 from CD and your tip worked. Terrific! Thank you so much – much time and possible expense saved!
Thank you very much for the tip, that saved me a lot of trouble. But would it greatly change my laptop by disabling the SATA?
This webpage was the first hit via google for this problem.
Followed solution 1 and seemed to do the trick – thanks! Yes there’s still some of us out there tasked with reinstalling WinXP 😛
These settings were changed in the BIOS of a HP Compaq 8510w laptop:
System Configuration -> Device Configuration
Parallel Port Mode = ECP
SATA Native Mode = Disabled
I also set the boot order to HDD = First, Optical Drive = Second. If in doubt hit F9 on boot and select your Optical Drive to load first.
Thanks again
yoooohhh man your great.. installed linux and tried to install windows xp again after which this issue came.. your solution worked on my acer travel mate..
thanks aaaaaa loooooooot
Option1 worked perfect!
Hi Rosco,
I’m trying to recover some files from a defunct computer with this error. I’m trying to work through your solutions, but the options you present are not available on my machine. I have a DELL 4600 desktop. Bios is Phoenix ROM Bios Plus Version 1.10 A07
I don’t show the alternatives on the solutions you present as option 1, and when I tried 2, I’m having trouble locating the appropriate files as the drivers I have extracted don’t seem to have the files I’m looking for.
Any specific help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks ahead!
hey guys,. if u will not find the option to change the mode from ahci to ide,. then there is a option to disable sata,. just diable that and restart ur installing ,. it will get done,. if not can call me on +91-9819000732
Thank you, very helpful article!
Thank you so much man,,, this is really help me
Thanks buddy .You helped a lot….
Cheers
v
i v only option as follows:
onboard ide operatemode : disble , compatible, enhnced…
then below dat: s-ata + p-ata , s-ata, p-ata…
didnt find any achi mode dat u guyz r keep on saying…
My mother board is “Asus P5gz- mx”
it is of year 2005….
Thanks a lot dude, just disabled the native sata support n setup has initiated, I spent about good few hours to figure out the solution but thanks to ur suggestions, u r a star….
Thanx life saver got as far as changing drive in bios (compatible)was able to boot into C:\windows from there and able to execute fixmbr -fixboot thank you so much
Hi Dear,
Me from Pakistan, I also facing same problem when I read this information and apply the same in my HP Laptop Compaq 6910p. Error is resolve and window xp installed in my computer.
Again Thankx alox to your goodself.
Thanks for the solution, it help me, god bless you
thnx solution 1 works for me.
It worked thank you! life saver!
Hi Rosco,
I’m trying to recover some files from a defunct computer with this error. I’m trying to work through your solutions, but the options you present are not available on my machine. I have a DELL 4600 desktop. Bios is Phoenix ROM Bios Plus Version 1.10 A07
I don’t show the alternatives on the solutions you present as option 1, and when I tried 2, I’m having trouble locating the appropriate files as the drivers I have extracted don’t seem to have the files I’m looking for.
Any specific help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks ahead!
thankx
my problem was solved on toshiba by SATA drivers
Resetting the bios Sata to IDE helped me..
Thanks
Hey,
I just bought a new ASUS Notebook PC and I want to install a disc that has practice exams on it for me to take on the computer. When I go to install the disc it takes me through the whole installing process
1. Do you want to install this onto your computer?
Publisher: Spearhead Global Inc
Application: TherapyEd’s NPTE Review and Study Guide
2. It asks me for the installing preferences (shortcut and whatever)
3. and then gives me an error. “The application could not be installed because the installer file is damaged. Try obtaining a new installer file from the application author.”
I tried to install a similar CD and that same error occurred, but the place gave me a brand new computer because it was still under warranty. I tried to install the new disc on my brand new computer and it worked with no other programs installed on the computer.
Do I need to delete a program that I currently have downloaded (Adobe Air?)?
Any thoughts on how to fix this would be awesome!! Thanks
Thanks, I have a hp compaq and I disabled native mode and it worked fine saved me a new laptop
ThankYou so much. step 1 worked 100% on my acer aspire-4738Z.
thanks.
Thanks, step 1 works without any problems.
You are a life saver! Solution 1 did the trick for me. Great article.
Hi,Thanks for the solution.
My system came up with the error “NTLDR missing” I did some settings in BIOS couldn’t resolve the issue, Also tried to reinstall windows XP but HDD was been recognised in BIOS but used to come up with “0 capacity”.
I changed the mode from AHCI to IDE, rebooted the computer and I was able to login and my issue was resolved. Thanks for all your help.
Take care…
Sandeep
I am having a Greatwall 630 notebook and i was trying to setup a windows XP 2005 on it using a SATA drive. But i was getting this error ‘Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed’ …
How do i locate the SATA configuration in BIOS settings on this machine?
I have HP Z400 model with SAS HDD connected. I am not able to install Windows XP OS CD. In BIOS AHCI changed IDE. After that also facing HDD not detecting error during the installtion time.
Thanks a lot for this problem solving. Few days I was sick of this, then problem ended by follow this tutorial.
I love it when folks come together and share opinions. Great website, continue the good work!|
disable sata