Hello;

Probably a dumb question but....

I'm putting together a very simple rig using this bundled unit:

http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6856110057

I have never installed a Sata HDD before. I am not considering RAID or overclocking.

Do I need to install the drivers during the F6 phase to be able to run the SATA drive? Or do I just assemble and install Win XP Pro w/SP2 as I usually do?

Thanks for the help. And sorry for sounding like a noob.

Thanks again,
Don

I don't think you will need to with that board, but I'm not 100% sure.

Just plug in your SATA drives into an available header on your mainboard and you're good to go. No need to configure anything - BIOS and Windows should recognize the HDDs automatically. I'm not sure what a floopy is, but it sounds cute. As always, I stand to be humbly corrected by more experienced members of this forum.

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You will need a floppy disk to install SATA drivers before Windows XP can recognize the drive and install the OS.

However there is a work around :

Install Windows XP on SATA without a floppy

Since your are going to need to "perform surgery" you might as well take the next step and perform a "slipstream" to add both SP2 and SATA drivers to a new Windows XP CD:

How To: Slipstream your XP installation

Thank you all for your responses and links. I've got a bit of reading to do to make sure I can get this done.

Thanks again,
Don

I've built 5-6 different Pc's with variations of that board and you don't need a floppy for the SATA drivers. Older boards required drivers, but new ones generally don't.

That is very good to know!!

Thanks utaka.

Is this board considered a newer board?

GA-M61P-63

I am installing a SATA HD and a SATA DVD drive. I will not have a floppy drive or a separate CD drive.

I am hoping I can place my XP install disk in the DVD drive and be good to go. I will not have a RAID, just the one HD with my OS on it.

I've also read some conflicting info where some sites suggest that having a SATA DVD will slow your SATA HD down to operate at the speeds of the DVD. This seems absolutely incomprehendable to me, but this is my first build so I don't know what to believe.