hardware problems on home built pc

Ok before going to sleep I think I have possibly accomplished something that could help steer us in the proper directions to go with the problems we have encountered… I have installed XP on the 6.4 GB IDE hard drive.. I am surprised by how well it actually runs.. Ha Ha Ha.. I am posting from it now

I have run PcPitstop OverDrive.. the link below is for them
PcPitstop Summary

I also have ran the Belarc Advisor as you suggested also.. I saved the wepage and bookmarked its Summary

I also finally had some cooperation between my computer and the ASUS website and was able to find out that these Drivers for the Motherboard were available.. I also saw that there were downloads available for the BIOS but I have never Flashed A BIOS before so I have no Clue what I am doing there… That is why I posted the above link.. you need to select the proper OS once on the page though. (XP)

I am unsure as to how to look at or into the IDE Controller Drivers… sorry

It seems like we may be one step closer at least now..

So any Idea on how to get this computer to see and format the SATA drive now that it is running XP from the IDE?

Copy/Paste your Belarc Advisor Report to NotePad and save it as JulyXP.txt DELETE any License and Product ID information for your software (probably only the XP Product ID) attach it to a PM to Doug.

how do i do that i cannot figure out how to attach the .txt document to the message.. sorry i am probably just not seeing something that is right in front of my face. I am new at these forums I see how to attach it to the post but not the PM.. I just copied and pasted what the notepad document said in the PM

That's fine.

See if you can now install one of your SATA Hard Drives.
Leave the 6GB IDE ATA Hard Drive with XP Home, in place.

If you can "see" the added SATA HD…
Right-click on its Driver Name (example: E:\)
Select - Properties (from that right-click pull-down menu)
Select the Tools (tab)
Select - Error Checking - Press - Check Now(button)
Checkmark/tick both Check Disk Options:
–Automatically fix file system errors
–Scan for and attempt recover of bad sectors


You may receive an error message stating that you cannot run chkdsk at this time because files are in use.
Reply "Y" for yes if asked if you wish to schedule CHKDSK

If it allows, let it run
If it does not allow, then reboot your machine
CHKDSK will run before the machine boots into Windows.

CHKDSK can be a longish process, taking from 1/2 hour to a couple of hours.
Let it run to completion without interruption.

After Error Checking has completed and Windows boots normally…
Open Windows Explorer again
Right-Click on the SATA Hard Drive
Select - Format
Select - to format the entire drive
Select -NTFS system for format type

Report back with your results

when i start my computer up before it loads windows it shows that …. Serial_Ch0: no device Serial_Ch1: Fujitsu<<

OK. It is "possible" that your SATA drives have been used for Linux installations. Windows cannot "detect" HD's that are formated in the Simple Basic format structures used by Linux. But Windows Administrative Services can. Click on the Start (button) in lower left had of your screen Select - Control Panel Select - Administrative Tools Select - Computer Management Select - Storage Select - Disk Management (Local) Now, in the right-hand panel, you should be able to see your SATA HD In the lower half of the Right-Hand panel, you should see either all of the SATA HD or portions of the SATA HD described as "Healthy" and the Size of the HD or partion Right-Click on either the one item or each of the partitions - then Select - Delete Volume Delete Volume will cause the HD or each of the partitions to be Changed to FREE SPACE __________________ Next: Right-Click in the area now described as Free Space Select: Create a new Simple Partition Follow the Wizard Allow it to Name the Partion automatically Allow it to Format the Partion as NTFS (can take about 1/2 hour or more) _________________ Next: Close your Computer Management Panel Open Windows Explorer You should now be able to "see" your new NTFS formated Drive Next: Shut your computer down. Unplug and discharge the computer. Open the Case Unplug the IDE ribbon-cable to the IDE ATA HD (6GB) Leave the SATA HD in place and connected. _______________ Place your XP installation CD into the CD ROM Boot your machine Press "any key" to cause to boot from CD You should now be able to see the SATA HD and to install Windows (Hopefully, unless any of my assumptions above were incorrect) Worst case if the above will not work to advance your progress Good thing, though… None of the above will have damaged anything. We'll just have to put our Thinking Cap back on to figure out something else.

Ya its not there It only showed the disk drvies and the 6.4 GB IDE

It may be necessary to install SATA Drivers early in the Boot sequence. I'll have to read up on that in the Manual. Momentarily, that is the only idea I have. Sorry.

whatever works.. It doesnt matter to me. As i have said before no rush.. I'm still searching the internet for other ideas bout it also.. I have faith it will eventually work

Okay so I have come up with an idea to try, based on reading other threads. I have created a slipstreamed XP dics using Nlite, containing a sata driver from the ASUS website, recommended for my motherboard VIA a program on their site. I will try to reinstall XP with this new disc containing the sata driver. I will post back soon to let you know my progress, and the outcome of this experiment.

It appears to have actually worked!! I cant believe it I can now see the fujitsu Sata HDD by means of what you said in post #38 in this thread! I will try to follow all the instructions listed in that post and keep you updated on my progress getting this unit functioning on just the SATA drive, without the IDE HDD I really cant believe it was that simple! to get it to see the SATA drive.. I have been beating my head against a wall for days it feels like!

Okay i have done everything you said in your #38 post but I have ran into one problem it appears.. using admin tools I was able to access the Sata Drive and reformat it. But upon taking out the IDE HDD and just leaving the SATA in for the Windows Install I get the same messages as before…. "Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your Computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on the properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. Setup cannot continue. To quit Setup, press F3." I was so close but at least now we can see the SATA drive now just to figure out how to get it to be the sole HD in this unit.. I am completely stumped Any new ideas now that we can actually see the SATA drive in Windows when we boot from the IDE????

With only the SATA physically installed, can you initiate XP installation via booting from CD? (using you new slipstreamed CD)