Problem with new computer.

[arussell]

My friend is trying to build a new computer and hes having a problem getting the motherboard to boot to the hard disk. He says that he has installed windows on the sata drive, took the disk out of the CD-ROM drive, put hard drive as first boot device but everytime he restarts the system, it says that it is booting from CD...Everything that we have tried isnt working, any help is much appreciated.

Antec Sonata Case w/380W PSU
Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R
1 GB Mushkin PC3500
Sapphire Radeon 9800PRO
2x WD Raptor 74 GB
NEC 3520A DVD/CD RW
Pioneer 115 DVD-ROM

 

[TomV]

Does the BIOS "see" the Hard Drive?

With a boot floppy, can you see any directories on the HD ?

 

[Oracle]

Have you correctly installed the SATA drivers upon installation startup (press F6 to install other party SCSI/SATA drivers)? Have you set the BIOS to SATA/SCSI boot sequence (in that order, i.e. SATA first) and/or set the first boot device to SATA/SCSI?
If you set the first boot device as HDD, you tell BIOS to look for an <b>IDE</b> disk drive.

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<font color=blue>Why am I under the impression that I am not under any?</font color=blue>

 

[pat]

If you set the first boot device as HDD, you tell BIOS to look for an IDE disk drive.

And, isn't SATA HDD an IDE HDD? SATA is only the interface between the HDD and the controller. both are IDE.


I think that this older VIA chipset doesnt have native SATA support, and that SATA is provided by a third party controller. So I guess that you need a driver for it.



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[arussell]

Eh..he doesnt have a boot floppy I dont think. But um, if my understanding is correct, if you only have 1 sata drive, you don't need to install the raid drivers. I thought it was wierd too but his mobo only has 1 sata controller and does not require drivers. Like I said, supposedly, he was actually able to install winxp onto the drive but it wont boot to the drive now.

Antec Sonata Case w/380W PSU
Athlon 64 3200+
MSI K8T Neo-FIS2R
1 GB Mushkin PC3500
Sapphire Radeon 9800PRO
2x WD Raptor 74 GB
NEC 3520A DVD/CD RW
Pioneer 115 DVD-ROM

 

[pat]

It depends if the chipset has native support or if SATA is provided by a third party controller. My nforce4 motherboard has 4 SATA connector, all of them driven by the chipset. It doesnt need any drivers if RAID is not used. There is no real difference between SATA drive and ATA drive, apart from the interface. SATA is only an interface between 2 IDE devices, just like ATA is is only another interface between 2 IDE device. Those 2 IDE devices are the controller and the drive. I can use 4 SATA HDD on my board. They are set as RAID for 2 of them and the 2 other as normal HDD. The RAID need the drivers, but not for the 2 other. So, it is not if you have only one drive or many, but rather if RAID is used.

Older chipset did not have native support, so manufacturer were using third party controller, like the Promise or Silicon Image. Those, being an added device on the PCI bus, need drivers to have windows to communicate with them. They either need SATA drivers or RAID drivers, depending on which mode the controller is set.

If he already have Windows installed (I did not remember that from your first post), then his chipset has native support and dont need any drivers. He then should check that RAID is disabled for the controller he is using and chek for a HDD boot disk priority. His manual should have this info in the BIOS section. The boot order doesnt matter really, but the device order may.

<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

 

[Oracle]

And, isn't SATA HDD an IDE HDD? SATA is only the interface between the HDD and the controller. both are IDE.

All right, Smarty Pants! I grant you that SATA is an IDE device. What I meant was that it'll look for a HDD connected to a <b>Parallel ATA IDE connector</b>.

I think that this older VIA chipset doesnt have native SATA support

Actually, the VIA VT8237 southbridge (installed on his board) does provide native support for SATA. See <A HREF="http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/mainboard/mbd/pro_mbd_detail.php?UID=496" target="_new">here</A>

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<font color=blue>Why am I under the impression that I am not under any?</font color=blue>

 

[Oracle]

No Promise RAID drivers are required if you don't RAID.
Like I said, your board provides native support for SATA. What you need to do (check) is this : install latest BIOS, load BIOS default, tweak the BIOS as you will (or set it to the setup used prior to new BIOS install) and set the SATA/SCSI boot sequence in that order (i.e. SATA first), if that option is available, and set the first boot device to SATA/SCSI.
If that doesn't work, the problem probably lies in a defective board.

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<font color=blue>Why am I under the impression that I am not under any?</font color=blue>

 

[pat]

I grant you that SATA is an IDE device.

No... listen.. SATA is an INTERFACE, not a device!

Actually, the VIA VT8237 southbridge (installed on his board) does provide native support for SATA.

The kt800 need that southbridge, but do the kt890 has native or still need the VT8237 southbridge? I dont use VIA chipset(anymore), so I dont really know a lot about them.



<font color=red>Sig space for rent. make your offer.</font color=red>

 

[Oracle]

No... listen.. SATA is an INTERFACE, not a device!

You really like to play on words, do you?

The kt800 need that southbridge, but do the kt890 has native or still need the VT8237 southbridge? I dont use VIA chipset(anymore), so I dont really know a lot about them.

Yes, it's the VT8237 southbridge that provides native support to this chipset, as it does for <b>all</b> K8 series chipsets from VIA. VIA has a two chip solution, while nVidia has integrated everything onto a single chip.

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<font color=blue>Why am I under the impression that I am not under any?</font color=blue>