SATA prob...

macromp

the retarded one
Joined
29 Jul 2002
Messages
426
having problems getting my WD 36.7gb s-ata raptor to work...i plugged it all in to start with and turned the comp on, but it wouldn't boot up at all, so i had to unplug it to get onto windows, so i installed all of the drivers on the disk which came with the mobo, restrted, turned it off, hokked hdd back up and still no boot up, so then i found a sata driver floppy disk, so i put that in at boot up and it told me to take it out! so now i'm out of ideas and pretty pi**ed off. i thought it would be simple (like me!) has anyone got any ideas?
 
First off, that SATA floppy is for the case you're installing XP on the SATA disk, so you won't need that now.

Secondly, it sounds like your computer is trying to boot of the SATA disk maybe. Check the boot order in BIOS and make sure it doesn't try to boot from the SATA drive.
 
oh, well it knows it's there but i doesn't show up in my computer...any thoughts on that one?
 
sata controller drivers are installed and working properly, right? and have you checked under disk management?
 
yes they're installed and it says they're working properly in device manager, there's 2 controllers though, could that be a problem? there's:

Silicon Image Sil 3114 SATARaid Controller
and
VIA Serial ATA RAID Controller
 
oh and under disk management it says that the sata one is unallocated...what's that then?
 
right-click on it and create a partiition and format it.

done. :)

tip: make sure it's plugged into the via serial ata controller (built into the southbridge). it will be faster/more efficient than the sillicon image one (which is pci).
 
oh wait i think it's on! it needed partitioning apparently...that brings me to another thing though...i've been told i want the OS and pagefile on one partition and everything else on the rest...is that a good idea and if so what the hell is the pagefile? and how big would the partition have to be for xp and this pagefile thing?

edit: oh ok you just told me to do that...thank you so much...i am so glad this forum is here!
 
oh dear another thing, i just saw your tip! errrr how do i know which is which? there's 6 s-ata sockets and i just stuck it on number 1...(i feel like such a dumbass!)
 
it's an extremely fast drive so you would benefit the most by installing xp on it. once you do, the pagefile will automatically be on it, too. the pagefile is "virtual memory" or memory that windows uses one you run out of physical memory. it also uses a little bit of it all the time for system stuff.

for future reference, you can change the location and size of the pagefile by going to system properties > 'advanced' tab > performance 'settings' button > 'advanced' tab > 'change' button

(hold on, lemme check your board)
 
kv8-max3-lg.jpg


okay, looking at the picture... see the 4 ports on the left edge of the board? those are associated with your silicon image controller (the black chip right to the right of them. your via southbridge (black chip with silver circle and "via" logo) has native support for two s-ata ports which are just underneath it. it'd be best to use those and disable the silicon image controller altogether in the bios.
 
ah ok, well the 2 near the VIA chip are numbers 1 and 2 so that's ok, i'll have to discover how to disable the other one in BIOS.
i see the pagefile thing, it says it's between about 1500 and 3000mb. How much space would you recommend for that partition with the OS.pagefile etc or should i just leave it as one big one? (thanks for all this help btw, much appreciated)
 
no problem. :)

how big your pagefile should be motly depends on how much ram you have. your sig does't say, but i have 1gb and set my pagefile to just 512mb. i guess your ram and pagefile should add up to 1.5gb. that sounds about right.
 
oh yes, i forgot to put that in the sig...i have 1gb too, so is it the maximum i set to 512mb or both?

and would 5gb be enough for the OS partition do you think?
 
yeah, i set the min and max to the same value so it's a fixed size.

5gb is enough as long as you don't plan on installing lots of apps (or big ones) in 'program files'. it could fill up quick.

but generally, count on winxp to use 2gb on a fresh install. then add on pagefile and room for temp files and program files. plus xp liked 15% empty for defragmenting.
 
ok, well i'd probably mess that up so i'll just leave it as the one big partition...thanks for the help again, i'll try and install xp now then =)
 
well i thought it was gonna work too! i disabled that silicon image controller and then started xp up and when it asked where to install the sata drive wasn't there again! it's still here now i'm back on windows, i could try installing it onto the other disk from here...would that work? it said i might lose my stuff if i carry on and if it doesn't give me the choice where to install it and deletes all my stuff i won't be very happy =\
 

Members online

No members online now.

Latest profile posts

Also Hi EP and people. I found this place again while looking through a oooollllllldddd backup. I have filled over 10TB and was looking at my collection of antiques. Any bids on the 500Mhz Win 95 fix?
Any of the SP crew still out there?
Xie wrote on Electronic Punk's profile.
Impressed you have kept this alive this long EP! So many sites have come and gone. :(

Just did some crude math and I apparently joined almost 18yrs ago, how is that possible???
hello peeps... is been some time since i last came here.
Electronic Punk wrote on Sazar's profile.
Rest in peace my friend, been trying to find you and finally did in the worst way imaginable.

Forum statistics

Threads
62,015
Messages
673,494
Members
5,621
Latest member
naeemsafi
Back