Re: Won't boot from SATA drives

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"Tony MS" <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uK%23sDHlOIHA.4476@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
My system has an Asus A7N8X motherboard with 2 SATA HDs, by Hitachi and
Seagate. Runs XP SP2. After several years' good service, it has
developed a fault that it will not boot from these drives, nor recognise
them if I boot from a floppy. However, I can boot from an old IDE HD, or
from a CD, in which case the system recognises and manages the SATA
drives perfectly.

Seagate and Hitachi diagnostics, run from a floppy, disclose no problems
with the disks.

I've changed the power supply, which was my first suspect.

If I zero out either disk, then try a clean XP install, it fails
starting the second phase where it should boot from the HD.

I'd be grateful for any suggestions where to look or what tests to run
next.

Regards

Tony MS


Anna wrote:
Tony MS:
I'm not sure that this is some timing or CMOS battery problem (as has
been suggested by some responders to your query) that's causing the
problem you describe.

This may very well be a SATA controller driver issue since the ASUS A7NX8
series of motherboards does not contain a chipset that has "built-in"
SATA controller driver support.

But that's not entirely clear from your description of your problem. You
say that you have "zero(ed) out" your two SATA HDDs. That being so,
you've attempted to make a fresh install of the XP OS on both the Hitachi
& Seagate SATA HDDs, right?

Assuming that's the case - one or two questions...

When you boot to the XP OS installation CD, are you indicating that the
system initially detects whichever SATA HDD you're using to install the
OS? In other words you're able to at least begin the installation of the
XP OS, but the installation (as you put it) "fails starting the second
phase where it should boot from the HD."? (I'm assuming in all this that
*no* other HDDs are connected to the system when you attempt to install
the XP OS onto one or the other of your SATA HDDs).

If that be the case, i.e., the system *initially* detects the SATA HDD
immediately, i.e., you receive no error message that the system has
failed to detect a hard drive, following your boot to the XP
installation CD to begin the installation of the OS, then this would
*not* suggest a SATA controller driver as I suggested.
Anna


"Tony MS" <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:uAfI$YxOIHA.3400@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hi Anna

All your suppositions are correct. The SATA drive has been zeroed, it's
the only one connected during attempted XP installation, XP happily
recognises the disk and allocates partitions, but fails when it tries to
reboot.

I understand you to be saying then that the problem is probably not the
SATA controller

Thanks

Tony MS


Tony:
Yes, it would seem that this would *not* be a SATA controller driver issue
as I earlier suggested since you indicate that when you boot to these
unpartitioned/unformatted SATA HDDs (*both* the Hitachi & the Seagate at
different times) with the XP OS installation CD, in an attempt to fresh
install the OS, the system encounters *no* initial problem in detecting the
existence of the SATA HDD. And that's what you're indicating, right? And for
*both* SATA HDDs, right?

And you're saying that you're able to create partitions and format same
using the XP OS installation CD, right? But that the installation of the OS
"fails" at some point "when it tries to reboot". What do you mean by that?
You're able to complete some portion of the OS installation process but
midway through the process it "fails"?

Could you be more precise about this? How does it "fail"? At precisely what
point? How far do you get with the installation process? I assume you've
tried it a number of times. Is it always at the same point it "fails"? What
exactly happens? A black screen? Any error message? Does the system simply
reboot to the opening screen of the XP OS installation CD?

Please be as precise & as detailed as you can in *exactly* describing the
problem.
Anna


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