Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Closed

How to load Promise SATA drivers on XP-post install

Last response: in Windows XP
Share

I have an MSI K8T Neo (MS-6702E) motherboard.  I had Windows XP SP3 installed on an IDE drive.  I was running out of space.  So, I bought a Western Digital SATA drive and installed Windows on it while the IDE drive was still in the machine.  Now, I want to remove the IDE drive and use only the SATA drive.  When I remove the cables from the IDE drive and start the PC, a "Boot Failure" message occurs.  I have installed the VT8237 SATA drivers.  After much Googling, I think that I need to load the Promise 20579 SATA drivers.  I have downloaded those drivers.  I have seen several posts that speak to loading the drivers during the install of Windows.  What I need to know is:  How do I load the Promise drivers now that Windows has already been installed?

More about : load promise sata drivers post install

Register or log in to remove
Driver Expert

If Windows Explorer can see the contents of the drive, you are rather safe that the needed drivers are installed.

Installing drivers on a running XP install is actually easier that doing it at installation time. They'll go to the same place, but with a running XP, you can verify they are there and Ok before switching things over. Your SATA drive is technically now just a data drive that just happens to have a clone of your IDE drive on it. Hopefully you were able to see the SATA drive in Windows Explorer before making the clone.

If uncertain, check on them...

Start>Control Panel>System>Hardware>Device Manager>SCSI and RAID Controllers.

See if your VT8237 SATA adapter is showing, with no yellow exclamation mark in front of it.
See if the Promise adapter is showing, same thing, no Yellow exclamation mark in front.
If it is there and all is good, then be happy and skip to last paragraph here below...

If either is showing with a yellow exclamation mark, here is where you install drivers. Right-click on the controller (or 'unknown device') and select 'Update driver' and follow the prompts, browse to location of the driver and finish.

If your computer has the driver, and didn't boot the SATA drive, it may be that it is not selected as a boot device in the BIOS. Press whatever key is needed to access "Setup" when you first turn on your computer and then go to the Boot Menu and select the SATA drive as the first choice of hard drives to boot. Save settings and exit, restarting the computer.

Hi tigsounds,

Thanks for your reply.

In the Device Manager, I see the VT8237 SATA adapter. However, I do not see the Promise adapter at all. I do have the Promise drivers, where can I do to get the adapter?

Also, in the BIOS, the SATA drive does not appear in the list of choices to boot from. I assume that this is because the Promise adapter is not installed? Is this the problem?

Thanks Corey
Driver Expert



Woa... my head is spinning. It's not your fault. This is just confusing.

I need to write in who is who, all these numbers.

There seems to be a situation where only one controller can be enabled for booting in the BIOS.

I did find another forum where this is addressed, HERE.

Maybe you can make some sense out of it.
Related ressources
Ask the community
Driver Expert

coreyg said:
So, I bought a Western Digital SATA drive and installed Windows on it while the IDE drive was still in the machine.  Now, I want to remove the IDE drive and use only the SATA drive.  When I remove the cables from the IDE drive and start the PC, a "Boot Failure" message occurs.


I'm very surprised that installing windows with both drives installed didn't create a dual boot scenario. I'm thinking this is the cause of the boot failure when removing a drive, not to mention that the drivers do need installed during the installation with the F6 key.

Hi Hawkeye,
When I boot the machine with both the IDE and the SATA drives connect, a boot menu does appear. The menu has two items-both are identical: Windows XP. Trial and Error has taught me that the first item is Windows XP OS on the SATA drive.

I would like to disconnect (and remove) the IDE drive and only use the SATA drive.
Driver Expert

Unfortunately I don't have much experience at removing a system from a dual boot system. I do know the boot loader is on the old drive which is why you are having problems when you remove it. Hopefully someone else can walk you through it.

For future reference, always disconnect all drives but the one you want to install the OS onto. After installation, reconnect the remaing drives.

Hawkeye22 said:
Unfortunately I don't have much experience at removing a system from a dual boot system. I do know the boot loader is on the old drive which is why you are having problems when you remove it. Hopefully someone else can walk you through it.

For future reference, always disconnect all drives but the one you want to install the OS onto. After installation, reconnect the remaing drives.



Good information. Thanks

I found out that my board has two versions. One has the Promise SATA adapter on board, one doesn't. Mine doesn't. So, the VT8237 SATA adapter is what I have to work with. The drivers for the adapter are installed. They do not show any problems in the device manager. The SATA drive shows in the Bios when both drives are connected. I set the SATA drive to 1st position in the boot menu. When the IDE drive is disconnected and the boot menu is set to boot from the SATA drive, I get a"boot failure" message. Other than the suggestion to move the boot loader from the IDE drive to the SATA drive, i am not sure what to do next. How would I move the boot loader?

Best solution

Driver Expert


Since you don't have any programs, drivers or anything irreplaceable on the SATA drive yet, disconnect the IDE drive just to avoid a mishap and install XP on the SATA drive again. It takes only minutes longer than to do a repair install just to plug in the SATA drivers. The install you have on the SATA drive may be incomplete or mis-directed anyway.

Hopefully you have a USB floppy drive or better yet, a built-in one to load the SATA drivers when Setup has you press the F6 key to install drivers (or you're not installing, but will be learning about slipstreaming and working with image files). If you have a USB floppy drive, your BIOS may have a setting to enable USB floppy drive support.

Set your BIOS boot order up for CD #1 and the SATA drive as #2.

Now, you have what may be a near-complete install of XP on the drive, Setup may warn you that there is a system on the drive. Click to proceed anyway and allow Setup to format the drive (do a "quick" format, NTFS).

Install XP and then all the drivers, .NET Framework, DirectX 9c (a newer updated one anyway) and life is good.

Plug in the IDE drive, leaving the boot order alone in the BIOS. XP may choke on "New hardware found" but maybe not if it is a built-in IDE controller.

XP has built-in IDE support but no SATA support, thus the need to install SATA drivers at the start of Setup.


Good Luck.










I do have data and programs on loaded. I still needed to use the machine so I just used the boot menu provided to startup the Windows installation on the SATA drive. Out of desperation, I tried follow your advice. Everything started okay. Windows was loading the files that it needed for the reinstall. The reinstall halted because of the BSOD. This happened twice. Out of ever further desperation, I took the PC to the shop. Of course, the guy at the shop cannot help. So, he is going to reinstall Windows. I am going to lose some data and the updates for some of my programs, but should have a working PC with harddrive space.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

coreyg
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Windows XP categories
!