Reloading WinXP

[hoosierdraft]

One of my home Dell desktops picked up some nasty malware. After 3 days of fighting it, decided to do a fresh format and install of XP Pro. Only problem is that Windows Setup shows "Unknown Disk (There is no disk in this drive)" for both of the SATA drives in the computer. BIOS shows both correctly however.

Any ideas??

[[Admin] osborn4]

Is there a partition, or did the partitions get removed?

You probably need to go into your bios and change the SATA drives from AHCI mode to compatibility mode (or something similar).

[greg4god]

May also need drivers for it. My desktop system needs drivers for the raid controller on it. May want to check dell's site, use the service code on it.

-Greg

[zactommo]

I've found sometimes that you'll have to load the sata drive of a floppy disc or flash drive while your booting the install cd.

See: http://cruftbox.com/blog/archives/000867.html

[hoosierdraft]

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Joel's was the winner in my case. It was defaulting to ACHI/Raid and needed to be SATA/PATA combination.

[[Admin] osborn4]

Originally Posted by hoosierdraft

Thanks guys for the suggestions. Joel's was the winner in my case. It was defaulting to ACHI/Raid and needed to be SATA/PATA combination.

If you can find and load the SATA drivers for the drive, you can switch it back to ACHI, which is supposedly better performance. I've never timed it.

During installation, however, it needs to not be in ACHI mode, because the drivers aren't available (unless you have them on a floppy, if you have a floppy drive, like zoctommo suggested) and XP can't use the device.

[tedanderson]

Glad to hear that you solved your problem. But for the sake of the discussion and to benefit the others reading this thread, you can also press F6 as the setup is booting. If you notice, the text at the bottom says, "Press F6 to load additional RAID drivers".

[[Admin] osborn4]

Originally Posted by tedanderson

Glad to hear that you solved your problem. But for the sake of the discussion and to benefit the others reading this thread, you can also press F6 as the setup is booting. If you notice, the text at the bottom says, "Press F6 to load additional RAID drivers".

And if your system has a floppy drive and you have the drivers on a floppy drive you can load them.

Although there must be a way to do it from CD. I've just not tried. It's easier just to turn it off in the bios.

[blonborg]

I have a USB floppy drive, mainly so I can do the F6, when I work on systems.

Originally Posted by osborn4

And if your system has a floppy drive and you have the drivers on a floppy drive you can load them.

[zactommo]

They drivers can be slipstreamed into the install CD, along with any number of other things; but thats only really helpful if your doing alot of these sorts of installs.

[DrowningnHim17]

Making a disc image of your fresh install with everything the way you like it can also be pretty handy in a situation like so. I don't know how many times having an image has saved me from getting skinned!

[voyager529]

first off, 99% of malware infections can be solved using my 5 step process:

1. download/run combofix. reboot.
2. download/install avast. during installation, APPROVE BOOT SCAN, but RESTART LATER.
3. download/install avast update pack. Reboot.
4. Let the Avast boot-time scanner find what it will. i tend to delete everything and have never had a problem as such, but if you're worried, try a move-to-chest. Your computer will continue booting when completed.
5. download/install/update/run Spybot.

those steps, in that order, have cleared up EVERY virus/spyware infection I've come across. If that's the only reason you're formatting, then try those steps first. I still recommend an annual reformat to keep the system running well.

To answer your question about the hard drives, you found out that ATA mode works for Windows XP installs. This is true, but one thing you may want to consider is to make your own custom nLite disc. This two has a five step process:

1. download/install nLite.
2. download/install Driver Magician Lite.
3. run DML, save all the "red" drivers to a folder.
4. Copy your windows XP disc to another folder on your hard drive.
5. run nLite, follow the prompts, direct it to your Windows XP folder at that step, and add the 'multiple driver folder' in that section.

You can find dozens of tutorials for nLite online; it's absolutely wonderful.

DrowningnHim17's recommendation for imaging is also a good one. Spend $39, buy yourself a copy of Acronis, and revel in the wonderfulness. Bonus points: if you know you have a Maxtor or Seagate hard drive, you can get Acronis here for free.

Joey