Re: Won't boot from SATA drives


"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


Anna wrote:
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


"Tony MS" <news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:%236FhJk1OIHA.4136@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
If I leave the XP CD in, it simply restarts the XP installation process
afresh. If I take it out, the system hangs after "Verifying DMI pool
data". Yes, tried many times with both SATA HDs

Also, if I try a floppy boot disk, with the correct SATA driver renamed as
NTBOOTDD.SYS, and modified BOOT.INI, it displays that it cannot recognise
the HD.

Regards

Tony MS


Tony MS:
I really don't know at this point what precisely is causing your problem.
And frankly, I'm not sure if I really understand the scenario here other
than the fact that you're obviously unable to fresh install the XP OS onto
either SATA HDD.

When you introduce into this picture references to a "floppy boot disk, with
the correct SATA driver renamed as NTBOOTDD.SYS, and modified BOOT.INI, it
displays that it cannot recognise the HD", this just muddies the water in
such a way as to make this problem you're experiencing incomprehensible - at
least incomprehensible to me. But more importantly my inability to try to
come up with a possible solution to your problem.

Hopefully someone who has come across this thread will be able to recommend
a possible course of action for you to take in resolving your problem.
Anna


.

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