Recently, I've finished building a new system. This is the first machine I have built on my own and I've been happy that everything has worked out very well thus far. The first and only problem, however, is preventing me from installing Windows and getting on with things. Basically, Windows Vista (32 bit) installation does not "see" or "recognize" my hard drive. Now, the BIOS sees it just fine (hard drive priority, boot drives, etc.). Vista installation gave me the option to load drivers for a device, so I popped in the disc that came with my motherboard and pointed the installer to two directories that seemed appropriate (I can't recall offhand, but it was something like "Other > Drivers > SATA" -- there was also a SATA/IDE). Two identical files showed up in each directory, and I've tried both -- neither work.
Before I go further, the hard drive and motherboard are:
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R Motherboard
Western Digital WD5001AALS Caviar Black Hard Drive
Here's what my BIOS says under Integrated Peripherals (the options related to the problem at hand):
SATA RAID/AHCI Mode [Disabled]
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode [Enabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Device [Enabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode [IDE]
I've tried enabling AHCI mode and switching the onboard control mode to AHCI to no avail.
I've done some research, and found this on Western Digital's website: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=127&p_created=1007149653&p_sid=ARME5GMj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_srch=1&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NzQsNzQmcF9wcm9kcz0yMjcsMjc5JnBfY2F0cz0xMjMmcF9wdj0yLjI3OSZwX2N2PTEuMTIzJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1
Now, it's not entirely accurate, as this is a clean Vista installation. There is no "Setup is inspecting your hardware" message. Instead, as I go through the installation I get to the point in the installation that I mentioned above. At least I know what the issue stems from, I guess. Still, I've tried loading the drivers and it hasn't worked.
I've also tried downloading the SATA drivers from Gigabyte's website, but it's an application, presumably designed to be run in Windows...thus the Windows installer doesn't recognize it when I point to the right folder (on my flash drive).
I'd really prefer to not have to purchase an IDE hard drive, though I guess I could if I had to. It would suck because my case only has one 3.5" slot for a hard drive (which was fine at the time I bought it because I planned on using an external for backup), so I'd have to slap my SATA HDD into an enclosure or something I guess.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as right now I'm somewhat at a loss as far as what to try next.
Thanks in advance.
Before I go further, the hard drive and motherboard are:
Gigabyte EP45-UD3R Motherboard
Western Digital WD5001AALS Caviar Black Hard Drive
Here's what my BIOS says under Integrated Peripherals (the options related to the problem at hand):
SATA RAID/AHCI Mode [Disabled]
SATA Port0-3 Native Mode [Enabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Device [Enabled]
Onboard SATA/IDE Ctrl Mode [IDE]
I've tried enabling AHCI mode and switching the onboard control mode to AHCI to no avail.
I've done some research, and found this on Western Digital's website: http://wdc.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wdc.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=127&p_created=1007149653&p_sid=ARME5GMj&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_srch=1&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9NzQsNzQmcF9wcm9kcz0yMjcsMjc5JnBfY2F0cz0xMjMmcF9wdj0yLjI3OSZwX2N2PTEuMTIzJnBfcGFnZT0x&p_li=&p_topview=1
Now, it's not entirely accurate, as this is a clean Vista installation. There is no "Setup is inspecting your hardware" message. Instead, as I go through the installation I get to the point in the installation that I mentioned above. At least I know what the issue stems from, I guess. Still, I've tried loading the drivers and it hasn't worked.
I've also tried downloading the SATA drivers from Gigabyte's website, but it's an application, presumably designed to be run in Windows...thus the Windows installer doesn't recognize it when I point to the right folder (on my flash drive).
I'd really prefer to not have to purchase an IDE hard drive, though I guess I could if I had to. It would suck because my case only has one 3.5" slot for a hard drive (which was fine at the time I bought it because I planned on using an external for backup), so I'd have to slap my SATA HDD into an enclosure or something I guess.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, as right now I'm somewhat at a loss as far as what to try next.
Thanks in advance.