Missing CD/DVD Drivers while installing Win 7 Prof. x64

Hey there. I have read several threads about this problem since it seems to be vast, however not a single thread has offered a fix for this issue and it is something I've been fighting for about 4 hours.

I currently have an XP SP3 pc running x32 and I want to upgrade to Win 7 Prof. x64. The processor is an Athlon II x64 so I know it can handle it. The main problem I am having is this error message...

"A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a floppy disc, cd, dvd or flash usb drive please insert it now."

I do have a copy of Vista handy because it came with a new laptop I bought a year ago, so would I have to upgrade XP to Vista and then Vista to 7? I'm pretty tired of the run around with lack of adequate information, so if anyone can help out then that would be great. Thanks.

Yeah, I don't get to that screen. After I click on the Instal Now button, I get the error message on the display.

I am getting the same error message of "A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a floppy disc, cd, dvd or flash usb drive please insert it now."

I did get Vista Home Premium to install fine over XP SP3, but whenever I try to jump from Vista to 7, I still get the same error message. And yes, I am booting straight from the DVD.

That error message is a prompt for you to insert a stick or CD player with the unzipped SATA controller driver from chipset.

If that fails: What happens if you try an in-place Upgrade from Vista, or try running the installer from Vista?

Thanks for all of the help. I managed to get the x64 installed using the USB drive method. Thankfully nothing on the disk was formatted and I didn't lose any of my programs or games by jumping from XP x32 to 7 Pro x64.

Again, thanks for the help and advice.