[Steaky]

Hey gang,

I just got a new Dell Inspiron 1520 with Vista pre-installed. I'm not happy with Vista, so I would like to replace it with XP. I have a Windows XP pro SP2 version. I went into bios set up and set it so that it detects the CD drive first. I restarted the computer with the Windows cd inside, entered in the windows set up, selected the option to install a fresh version of windows, and the next screen I got was this:

Set up did not find any hard disk drive installed in your computer.

Make sure any hard disk drivers are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuation is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or set up program

Setup cannot continue. To quit setup, press F3.


Anyone know how I can fix this? Everything on this inspiron works great, I just want to replace the operating system.

Cheers

[hAvAAck]

yeah. you probably have to disable SATA for some ungodly reason, most likely
that's what I had to do on my hp laptop
in which case you'll need a floppy with the sata drivers to install those before you install XP

[Steaky]

how do I disable SATA, and where do I get the SATA drivers? I don't have a floppy drive installed, will a USB or CD work?

[hAvAAck]

usb floppy will work. You have to get them for the device from the drivers CD or the website

hm
I forget exactly, I think you actually don't need to disable it, you just need to hit F6 or whatever it is to "install SATA drivers" before the XP cd moves on to the install, install them, and go from there

hopefully someone else knows what i'm tlaking about and has some input. I'm a mess right now

[Hybr!d]

You have to hit a key when XP setup starts to install SATA drivers.

You will need them on CD or floppy prior to installing.

Dell should be a good place to start looking for them.

[Hybr!d]

I doubt a USB floppy will work either as XP needs the SATA drivers during the first part of setup which is in DOS.

[hAvAAck]

thank you Dave that's what I was looking for. I think I'm done posting for the day, seeing as how I cannot formulate thoughts.

[hAvAAck]

Originally Posted by Dave Hybrid

I doubt a USB floppy will work either as XP needs the SATA drivers during the first part of setup which is in DOS.

a usb floppy drive is what I used when I did it on my notebook, so it worked for me, but I make no promises
but it makes sense if it's a notebook with only 1 optical drive, and that has the windows cd in it

[evilfantasy]

As Vista is a completely new OS won't there be problems trying to downgrade?
Mainly, trying to get Vista drivers to work as XP?

[hAvAAck]

Originally Posted by evilfantasy

As Vista is a completely new OS won't there be problems trying to downgrade?
Mainly, trying to get Vista drivers to work as XP?

any hardware vista compatible is backward compatible, but you need XP drivers, not vista drivers