Hard drive not found during installation


  1. Posts : 43
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
       #1

    Hard drive not found during installation


    Have acquired a Western Digital hdd,320gb SATA,which gives the following message when trying to install XP,"Setup did not find any hard disk drives on your computer.Setup cannot continue."
    I ran Data lifeguard diagnostics and on the Quick test got"Completed without errors,Error status code 0000"
    Then used the "Write zeros" to clean the drive and "No errors found,error status code 0000"
    Finally ran the Extended Test and again"No errors found,code 0000"
    So tried XP again and no go,same not found once more.
    Then installed a Linux,FreeBSD,works normally.
    Clean drive using Dban and installed Ubuntu 12 and it works just fine.
    Installed the drive into another machine running XP and the drive shows in BIOS and Device Manager,which says the drive is operating normally{in Properties} BUT the drive does not show in Computer.
    Because Linux use a different boot loader,GRUB,this seems to me,where the problem might be,but I really don't know.I have been in touch with WD to ask about the Master Boot Record,no luck so far.
    Any more head scratching and I'll become a permanent redhead.
    I've run out of ideas.
    Joe Smith
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #2

    joeandmarg0 said:
    Installed the drive into another machine running XP and the drive shows in BIOS and Device Manager,which says the drive is operating normally{in Properties} BUT the drive does not show in Computer.
    In Disk Management, does it have a drive letter? If not, create a primary partition on the drive and assign a drive letter to it.

    In your original computer, does the drive show in the BIOS? How old is the drive? In the BIOS of your original computer, are you using AHCI or SATA controller for this disk?
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 43
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
    Thread Starter
       #3

    The drive is not recognised by Windows,only Linux.Therefore Disc Management does not exist,the only time the drive is visible in a Windows system is Device Manager and when right clicked in that situation all commands are greyed out except HELP,which is a waste of space.
    The drive is available in both computers,the BIOS is,American Megatrends Inc.,Version R02-A2,05/10/2006,the motherboards are:Acer model ERC410M andtheir build is Acer Power F5 Standard.My computer,this one,is home built by me and I will not put the suspect drive in it.
    Hope this answers your queries and thank you most sincerely for your response.
    Regards,
    Joe Smith
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #4

    Try wiping, formatting to NTFS, and creating a Primary partition using bootable Partition Wizard. Now try installing XP as originally intended.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 24,479
    Windows 7 Ultimate X64 SP1
       #5

    It may be you need to press F6 during install and load SATA drivers for XP.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 43
    Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Thank you both for your interest.The solution is embarrassingly simple,the floppy disc is corrupt.I pressed F6 at the appropriate time and assumed the relic worked as it used to.In my own defence,I haven't installed XP for years nor used the FDD since then either.I believe there is an alternative method of installing the drivers,will have to find it and try it.
    Many thanks.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 2
    Windows 8.1 Pro
       #7

    I have the same issue right now with 3 of those computers. Can you explain what you did to fix it? I tried unplugging the floppy drive but it didn't work.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 5,656
    Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
       #8

    Maybe you can use a bootable USB drive.

    See Windows XP Install ISOs :: Easy2Boot

    hope it helps
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 2
    Windows 8.1 Pro
       #9

    I already did that. It doesn't see any hard drives in the installation...
      My Computer


 

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