Uninstalling Vista

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 1, 2007, 03:46 AM

Basically I just bought a laptop (Presario C500) and I uninstalled Vista and I tried putting XP pro back on it and it can't detect the SATA hard drive. Any ideas what I should do?Thanks guys for your time.

pr0digal jenius · Feb 1, 2007, 03:48 AM

you may need a floppy drive with the text mode driver files for the controller if they aren't included in the windows libaray on the XP disc.

that usually only happens for raid controllers, but HP/COmpaq has done mroe bizarre thigns before.

check the website for XP driver files maybe?

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 1, 2007, 03:50 AM

Already checked Comcrap's website they aren't supporting any drivers for XP on my C500 series. =\

pr0digal jenius · Feb 1, 2007, 03:51 AM

my suggestion is don't go to XP then, cuz in laptop's enough stuff is manufacturer dependant, without their drivers, you're SoL

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 1, 2007, 03:57 AM

I have all the drivers for XP (video, network, wifi, ect) Because compaq likes to use the same hardware on almost every computer so thats not big deal. The issue is just i guess trying to find a way to load SATA drivers so XP knows what to do :P

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 1, 2007, 03:57 AM

If anybody can come up with any ideas please post them. I'm going to be for 5 hours before i have to be back at work.

pr0digal jenius · Feb 1, 2007, 03:58 AM

what happens when you load the XP Boot Disk...does it tell you it can't find a valid hard drive and ask you to press enter to quit?

***craig5320*** · Feb 1, 2007, 05:11 AM

You could try finding out who the actual SATA controller manufacturer is and the chipset and go directly to them, but usually that involves taking a peek at the motherboard, but in this case you prolly aren't gonna be able to do that lol.

EDIT: Just been looking and can't find the chipset used in the laptop, perhaps if you contact support not asking for the xp drivers but the board model/sata model so you can find them yourself?

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 1, 2007, 10:53 PM

Compaq won't give me any info on the SATA drivers or who makes them. Like it some sorta lock and key info. Well i can always pop it open and if i fuck it up just take it back to Best Buy before my 14 days are up :PYeah, as long as i find the SATA drivers i'll be a-ok.Thanks guys for your time.

pr0digal jenius · Feb 1, 2007, 11:22 PM

restore it back to Vista and use the device manager to figure it out

MrSpock2002 · Feb 1, 2007, 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pr0digal jenius

restore it back to Vista and use the device manager to figure it out

And this is why we keep you around.. Even if it is in the dark... cold... icky... basement... *tosses a bone in* good boy!

pr0digal jenius · Feb 1, 2007, 11:30 PM

*woof*

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 2, 2007, 01:38 AM

I deleted the partion :P

pr0digal jenius · Feb 2, 2007, 01:39 AM

oh....oh dear

if you open it, and BB finds out, they don't take it back...so be careful

Falstaff · Feb 2, 2007, 02:52 AM

isnt there a rescue partition?...oh yeah...you deleted it right? I have Dell, and very happy to say that all the problems have been resolved by tech support.

Sephiroth_KMFDM · Feb 2, 2007, 02:55 AM

I'll just keep my ubuntu boot up cd in there :P They won't know. Best Buy isn't to swift when it comes to that.

But yeah, I've been running ubuntu still can't see my SATA drive but i'm working on it still. Friday i'm gonna muster up the balls to crack opent he case and get the chip set #'s

clicker666 · Feb 2, 2007, 06:27 AM

I would just take it back to Best Buy, look at the clerk and shrug your shoulders, and say it doesn't work. If they have restore CDs they'll likely just set you back up again, or give you another one. Play dumb.

(Given all the negative Vista stuff, they'll probably fall for it)

coin · Feb 11, 2007, 07:33 AM

I had the exact same problem with my compaq c500, if you disable SATA in the bios, xp should instantly see your HDD and install fine. Downside: if you turn SATA back on in bios after installing XP, it will not boot, until you disable SATA again. Hope this helps!

steez · May 2, 2008, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coin

I had the exact same problem with my compaq c500, if you disable SATA in the bios, xp should instantly see your HDD and install fine. Downside: if you turn SATA back on in bios after installing XP, it will not boot, until you disable SATA again. Hope this helps!

ran into the same issues, but disabling the SATA native-mode in bios did the trick.

pepiman · May 3, 2008, 11:10 AM

laptops that come pre-loaded with Vista most often will have driver issues when putting XP
This is why I left Vista on my girlfriend's laptop even though she hates it ... HP Pavillion laptops that come with vista ... well some don't even have XP drivers available and some of the parts are so gosh darn impossible to figure out what they are !

clicker666 · May 3, 2008, 12:20 PM

I tend to buy Acer's at work. I don't find any real difference in build quality, we only keep a notebook for three years max, and you can generally specify that you want XP install as well. They provide you with a set of disks to do a restore to XP.

pepiman · May 3, 2008, 10:15 PM

same thing with us
we have a 3-year lease on all our desktops/laptops (DELL) and we ask to have them preloaded with XP (just so they come with XP drivers, cuz we wipe that DELL image as soon as it reaches us lol)