[PCNOVICE]

Being only a PC novice the following problem has taken several days so far to find a remedy - without success.
HELP PLEASE, BEFORE MY WIFE LEAVES ME

I am trying to install XP SP2 (from a legit OEM cd)onto a Maxtor 300gb SATA 150 HDD.(which has been formatted using the MAXBLAST utility)
New build PC:MoBo ASRock 775Dual-VSTA (Nthbrdge VIA PT880 Pro/Ultra Sthbrdge VIA VT8237A: 1gb DDR 400 RAM:AMI Legal BIOS 1.9:GF 7300LE PCIe Grphics Card:)
Intel Celeron D 351 (3.2 GHz)
Floppy Drive
Asus DRW-1608P25 DVD

All components have recently been in use or are new and have been checked (as far as I am able)

I am unable to update the BIOS, as this MoBo only allows BIOS update via Windows platform.

I have tried updating the VIA SATA driver with RAID_V430C (F6 during setup)

But the same problem still occurs ie:-

XP Setup STOPS/FREEZES at "Setup is loading files (Windows NT File System (NTFS))..."
What's wrong!!

All assistance welcome. If you can't help, any suggestions for meals for one?

[danleff]

According to the ASRock support page, if you are not using raid, you do not need to make the driver floppy.

Quote:

SATA RAID Driver is for users who plan to install Windows OS on SATA / SATAII HDDs with RAID functions. To use RAID functions, you need to make a SATA RAID Driver floppy diskette before you install the operation system, such as Windows XP. If you do not plan to use RAID functions, it is not necessary to make a SATA RAID Driver floppy diskette

.

Did you try it without the floppy disk driver?

[PCNOVICE]

Hi Danleff,

Yes that was my first try (as per the User manual)

[PCNOVICE]

I Have just tried a PATA drive, and am getting the same problem!

[Willymac]

windows has a problem with maxblast's formatting. u may have to erase prior installation by writing zeros to drive via a drive erasing utility. had same problem with win2k. after drive erasure try windows install - it will recognize drive as new & will format it to start install

[PCNOVICE]

[danleff]

In the bios, under Advanced-->IDE Configuration, is the mode set to non-raid?

[PCNOVICE]

Hi Danleff,

I've tried both configurerations, with the same end result being the original problem!

[American Zombie]

I think you may have a memory problem in that PC and suggest you test it with Memtest.

[danleff]

Yes, you can try Memtest, or if you have 2 sticks of RAM, take one out and see if the problem persists. If so, try the other stick. I assume that you have used good quality memory sticks in the system? If they are two sticks, then they are the exact brand and model sticks?

But let's look at what we have so far.

I have always needed a floppy driver disk for a sata installation of Windows XP to a sata system. Windows XP just does not have the drivers for sata in most cases. This is an OEM version of XP. I don't know why ASRock says that it will work.

Flashing the bios may be the issue, but ASRock does not say this on their faq page. You can flash the mobo with a floppy, according to their web page.

If you install Windows XP on another machine, you have the same problem with sata drivers. Installing on another machine, especially a pata only system results in no sata drivers for the new system when you switch the drives. You also need to make sure that the drive is booted and jumpered exactly as in the other system. Win XP may complain about the process, as you changed hardware, which you know it does not like.

If you are adventerous, you can try a Live CD version of Linux, running ot off the CDROM/DVD and see how the motherboard behaves. This may give you a clue on what is going on.

And, you are sure that your hardware is installed correctly, that the video card and memory are fully seated? Also check the sata cables for good connections and seating?

A once also found that I had a bad sata cable, but this does not seem to be the case for you, given what you have already tried.

Finally, try setting the bios setting to the default level and see what happens. There may be a setting that is off that you don't know about.

Have you contacted ASRock and files a trouble report? They may have a quick answer, before you dump the motherboard.

[PCNOVICE]

SORTED

A RAM Diagnostic (floppy) program found my new RAM was DEAD!

Everything appears to be working fine now ( I borrowed some RAM from the other PC)

Many thanks to all you guys for the Help, and I've certainly gained more knowledge and Dianostic downloads!!

NO MORE MEALS FOR ONE!!

[thatsteveguy]

Also and this could be a long shot but I had this happen to me when it would keep freezing at the setup screen. Make sure you do not have any USB devices plugged in that give access to SD cards etc. I had my printer plugged in (which has a SD card slot) and for some reason XP kept seeing it and trying to use it as a primary drive.
So unplug ANY and all usb devices before the setup.
S

[Pezo]

using maxblast I assume you at the very least partitioned your drive into a c drive of max 137 gig [ sp 2 is supposed to read above that but may not during install]and set file system to ntfs. Other partition[s] can be full size.
You may have to copy setup files to a folder on c drive [or d: call it xpset or something]and run a live cd such as bart's pe or mini xp pe and once setup has started point to your sata drivers in their folder or put All Drivers dvd in dvd drive.
Sata drives behave differently than old ide ones and are not recognized by some oem versions of xp.

editing reply- dead ram or just need to take out and reseat it or put into different slot. this is a common problem.