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mapsedgeMost new PCs come with SATA hard drives (don't trip on the terminology - in the grand scheme of things, it's not important.) My father-in-law's PC, from 2004, has an SATA hard drive. That's good. So, here's an interesting tidbit for you:
Windows XP supports SATA hard drives, but Windows XP setup does not.
That means that the PC cannot be rebuilt using the rebuild CDs from the factory. When you insert the disc and "setup" begins, you get a message:
"Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer."
Alrighty, no problem. I can download the SATA drivers from Dell and make them available during setup when it asks me if I have any 3rd party drivers I'd like to contribute. As it happens, Windows XP Setup will only accept drivers from a floppy drive.
The drivers come in a package that is an executable file. The exe file will only write its files to a floppy drive. Seems like a match, right?
Dell hasn't shipped a PC with a floppy drive since 2002.
Did anyone stop to think this through?!?
Quite by accident, I found a program that lets you create a customized Windows installation disk, including any missing drivers that you like, from any source. My personal backup PC - the one I had built by a local company in 2005 - has a floppy drive. It meant jumping through a lot of hoops, but I finally got a setup CD I can work with.
Setup is running right now, formatting the hard drive. At 400+gb, I imagine it'll be done just about the time I'm getting home from the performance tonight. Fingers crossed, righ?
Windows XP supports SATA hard drives, but Windows XP setup does not.
That means that the PC cannot be rebuilt using the rebuild CDs from the factory. When you insert the disc and "setup" begins, you get a message:
"Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed on your computer."
Alrighty, no problem. I can download the SATA drivers from Dell and make them available during setup when it asks me if I have any 3rd party drivers I'd like to contribute. As it happens, Windows XP Setup will only accept drivers from a floppy drive.
The drivers come in a package that is an executable file. The exe file will only write its files to a floppy drive. Seems like a match, right?
Dell hasn't shipped a PC with a floppy drive since 2002.
Did anyone stop to think this through?!?
Quite by accident, I found a program that lets you create a customized Windows installation disk, including any missing drivers that you like, from any source. My personal backup PC - the one I had built by a local company in 2005 - has a floppy drive. It meant jumping through a lot of hoops, but I finally got a setup CD I can work with.
Setup is running right now, formatting the hard drive. At 400+gb, I imagine it'll be done just about the time I'm getting home from the performance tonight. Fingers crossed, righ?