New HDD won't boot.

[nerdrage2]

Have a new hdd. It's brand new and I installed the OS on it. The computer boots when the old and new hdd are connected, but won't boot from hdd when just the new hdd is connected. Boot priority is setup properly in the BIOS. Why does the computer boot when the old and new hdd connected, but won't boot when just the new hdd is connected? Hope that makes sense. Thanks BTW the OS on the new hdd is working cause I'm using it right now!

more details: Here's what I did. Got home from the store with new hdd. I connected the new hdd to the computer. Used the OS on the old hdd to get into windows. Then formatted/created a partition on the new hdd with disk management. Then I installed windows on it. Hope that bit of info was informative. And thanks for helping me!

more details: The window's disk management program shows that it is "Healthy (Boot, Page File,Crash Dump, Primary Partition).

 

[nerdrage2]

edit: I need to provide the hard disk driver to run the repair. I don't know where to get this file. I tried the internet, but nothing. Maybe there is somewhere I didn't look? Maybe there's a file in teh windows folder? Hdd model is WD1001FALS.

 

[Paperdoc]

First question: are you trying to install Win XP to your new hard drive? If yes, then you will need to install an AHCI driver OR to use a BIOS trick to avoid it. BUT if you are installing Vista or Win 7, this should NOT be an issue at all.

IF you're installing XP, start by re-doing the installation. You have two choices. The simple one is to go into your BIOS Setup screens and look where the SATA drive ports are set up. Near there you se the port mode. Set it to IDE (or PATA) emulation, and the BIOS will fool Windows into thinking the SATA drive is only a older IDE drive it understands, and it will all work. Jump over the next paragraph.

The other alternative is to use the Install tools to add in the required AHCI device driver. But to do this you need a floppy drive attached (even if only temporarily for the Install process), and the AHCI drive on a floppy disk. The driver you get from a CD that came with your system, or form the website of its manufacturer. With those two items prepared, boot from the Win XP Install disk in the optical drive. Early in the process you will see a screen that tells you to hit the "F6" key if you want to install any driver. If you ignore it, it will skip onwards after a delay. But if you press F6, you can follow the prompts to install a driver form the floppy disk. It will return to the same screen in case you have more, and you tell it when to quit the driver install procedure and go on with the rest. This process will make the AHCI driver a permanent part of this machine's Win XP OS and it can be used always from now on.

OK, now you either have set the port mode to IDE Emulation or you have installed the AHCI driver so you can use a SATA drive unit. Next step probably is to use the Install tools to Delete any and all Partitions that you have already created on this new disk unit. BE VERY SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT HDD UNIT SELECTED BEFORE DELETING!! When the disk is empty, select it as the installation device and check that the Partition size it is going to create is what you want. Then proceed with the installation.