Dual booting

gregrocker said:

You'll only need the SATA driver if you are prompted for it because XP installer cannot detect a SATA HD you plan to install upon. Try the XP install first to see.

So you were prompted for the SATA driver during XP install from booted CD?

If so, I thought you were saying you could move the floppy drive to this machine to insert the driver when prompted:

gregrocker said:

No need to slipstream the SATA controller driver into the installer if you have a floppy drive installed on the target Dell because you can unzip the chipset/SATA driver onto floppy, then at the F6 prompt after XP CD boots while drivers are loading browse to driver on floppy as instructed until it loads and SATA driver appears after refresh.

Since you have a floppy drive, you'll probably not have to do the slipstream but you have the tutorial there just in case.

If not and you absolutely have to slipstream the SATA drivers into XP, you are looking for that SATA component of the chipset which contains several drivers. If during the slipstreaming process it shows multiple .inf files when you select Text method, go ahead and insert them all if it isn't clear which one is SATA.

If you want to post back a screenshot of the choices in question, use the Snipping Tool in Start Menu and attach the file using paper clip in reply box.

Best to go to Dell's website as they may have modified the chipset from Intel.

If you put your tag # in you'll get more specific drivers, but the one I would try is the SATA driver here: Drivers & Downloads=

Make sure you choose your correct bit version and the OS is correct.

Run the .exe from desktop, pay attention to where it unzips the files to, then browse to those files to slipstream them, or put them on floppy and move floppy drive to target machine to insert drivers at F6 prompt during CD loading.

Hi gregrocker. I downloaded the drivers and slipstreamed into the Wndows XP dvd. The files installed, but then they wanted the COA. I do not have my COA for the dvd. It has been so long since I reinstalled Windows XP on the Dimension E310. Any help would be appreciated. deanie44

If you have a retail XP CD and can't read the sticker with Product Key, then you'll need to call MS Customer Service to get help retrieving it - if it is even possible any longer.

gregrocker said:

XPired

Love it!

Going on this line of thinking, if you really need to cling to an almost decade old OS, virtualize it. I feel like a broken record, but I don't understand why so many people still insist on over-complicating their systems with a dead tech. It's 2010...virtualize! Simplify!

Thanks fellows for answering my post. Windows xp is like a song from the Beatles, you know it is old, but it is good. I decided to give up trying to install it. Too much of hassle. Take care. deanie44

deanie44 said:

Too much of hassle.

That's yet another reason why I recommended virtualizing it. The hassles you were seeing are gone, and you don't even have to get into disk partitioning, or altering your host system one bit. If you then decide later you don't need XP, you simply uninstall the VM app delete the files, and it would be gone completely...no boot loaders to alter, no disks to format, etc.