HP Pavilion a752n - installing XP to SATA from IDE CD-ROM

I am having difficulty installing an OEM version
of Windows XP Professional on the following computer:

HP Pavilion a752n

BIOS settings
=============

Main screen
===========
1st channel device 0 SATA HD
1st channel device 1 [not installed]
2nd channel device 0 [not installed]
2nd channel device 1 [not installed]
3rd channel device 0 DVD+RW drive
3rd channel device 1 DVD-ROM drive
Memory 2048 MB
BIOS version 3.10 11/12/04

Advanced screen
===============
Onboard PATA/SATA [both]
Onboard PATA/SATA configuration [enhanced mode]

Boot screen
===========
1st boot device [DVD+RW drive]
2nd boot device [SATA HD]

I am trying to boot from the OEM XP CD-ROM
on the DVD+RW drive and get it to install
onto the SATA HD.

The OS currently installed on the SATA HD is
a recent version of Fedora Core Linux.

When I do a cold boot, I get the screen that
tells me to press Esc for the Boot menu or
the F1 key for Setup. I press Esc to select
the Boot menu, and then select the DVD+RW
drive (which has the XP installation disk
inserted). The DVD drive begins to spin,
and the message "Press any key to boot from
the CD" or something like that is displayed.
If I press a key (it has to be within about
2 nanoseconds, or the computer boots from
the SATA HD), then the screen goes blank,
the DVD drive spins for a few seconds, and
after that, nothing happens. If I don't
press a key, the computer boots off the HD.

I also tried installing XP by booting from
the other DVD drive, after making the
appropriate change in the BIOS (although
I don't that that should even be necessary
if I am using the Boot menu), and I got the
same results.

I also tried booting a live SuSE Linux disk
using the same procedure, and I was able to
boot Linux off at least one of the DVD drives.

I checked the XP CD-ROM by trying to boot
off it on another computer, and the CD-ROM
appears to be OK.

Can anyone tell me why the XP CD-ROM won't
boot and install XP and/or suggest any
configuration changes I have to make to get
it to do so?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Tom

I think that I need the driver for the MoBo.
The MoBo is an ASUS PTGD1-LA, which I believe
that HP calls a Puffer UL8E.

The HP website has nothing that looks right.
It has a MoBo BIOS update to resolve an issue
with a multifunction printer. It has drivers
for plug-in cards for SATA drives, RAID
controller drivers, every imaginable driver.

If anyone can point me to a website or send
me a driver, I'd be most grateful.

Best regards,

Tom
--
Thomas Hedden wrote:
[snip]

On May 16, 4:41*pm, Thomas Hedden
<tdhedden@MAPS_ON_comcast_NO_SPAM.net> wrote:
> I think that I need the driver for the MoBo.
> The MoBo is an ASUS PTGD1-LA, which I believe
> that HP calls a Puffer UL8E.
>
> The HP website has nothing that looks right.
> It has a MoBo BIOS update to resolve an issue
> with a multifunction printer. It has drivers
> for plug-in cards for SATA drives, RAID
> controller drivers, every imaginable driver.
>
> If anyone can point me to a website or send
> me a driver, I'd be most grateful.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Tom
> --Thomas Hedden wrote:
>
> [snip]

XP should boot itself up, once you have xp installed, is usally when
you upload the mb drivers. I would suggest hooking another CD drive up
and try again. Good luck.

The real question here is to determine EXACTLY which Windows XP CD you are
using. Home, Pro or Media Center is irrelevant. Is it an OEM CD supplied by HP
(doubtful), Toshiba (doubtful), Dell (could be) or other name brand? Is it a
non-branded OEM CD? Is it a retail CD? Now for the most important question:
Is the Windows install CD at Service Pack 2? In my experience, Microsoft has
slipstreamed SATA support into (nearly?) all versions of SP2 at the request of
the major hardware manufacturers. From the symptoms you've described, I'll bet
you do not have an install CD with SP2. If that is the case, you need to do
something different, and I am not sure how to do it. I have ALWAYS installed
SP2 on systems with SATA drives. (Actually, XP Media Center includes SP2.)

The HP web site says that the board has an Intel 915 series chipset, but it is
otherwise pretty pathetic in providing drivers people need to reinstall Windows.

Early on during an XP install, the software asks you to press F6 to install
additional drivers not on the XP CD itself. The problem is that I have no idea
how or where to find the required drivers for the 915 chipset, which then need
to be copied onto an old-time 1.44MB floppy (Thank you, Microsoft for showing
such advanced thinking!) which you would then place into the floppy drive on
your system. What? Your system does not have a floppy drive? Then use an
external 1.44MB USB floppy drive.

Maybe someone else knows where to find the SATA drivers you need. If not, get
yourself XP with SP2 and you should be in good shape... Ben Myers

On Fri, 16 May 2008 15:41:28 -0500, Thomas Hedden
<tdhedden@MAPS_ON_comcast_NO_SPAM.net> wrote:

>I think that I need the driver for the MoBo.
>The MoBo is an ASUS PTGD1-LA, which I believe
>that HP calls a Puffer UL8E.
>
>The HP website has nothing that looks right.
>It has a MoBo BIOS update to resolve an issue
>with a multifunction printer. It has drivers
>for plug-in cards for SATA drives, RAID
>controller drivers, every imaginable driver.
>
>If anyone can point me to a website or send
>me a driver, I'd be most grateful.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Tom

On May 17, 1:58*am, Ben Myers <ben_myers_spam_me_...@charter.net>
wrote:
> The real question here is to determine EXACTLY which Windows XP CD you are
> using. *Home, Pro or Media Center is irrelevant. *Is it an OEM CD supplied by HP
> (doubtful), Toshiba (doubtful), Dell (could be) or other name brand? *Is it a
> non-branded OEM CD? *Is it a retail CD? * Now for the most important question:
> Is the Windows install CD at Service Pack 2? * In my experience, Microsoft has
> slipstreamed SATA support into (nearly?) all versions of SP2 at the request of
> the major hardware manufacturers. *From the symptoms you've described, I'll bet
> you do not have an install CD with SP2. *If that is the case, you need to do
> something different, and I am not sure how to do it. *I have ALWAYS installed
> SP2 on systems with SATA drives. *(Actually, XP Media Center includes SP2.)
>
> The HP web site says that the board has an Intel 915 series chipset, but it is
> otherwise pretty pathetic in providing drivers people need to reinstall Windows.
>
> Early on during an XP install, the software asks you to press F6 to install
> additional drivers not on the XP CD itself. * The problem is that I have no idea
> how or where to find the required drivers for the 915 chipset, which then need
> to be copied onto an old-time 1.44MB floppy (Thank you, Microsoft for showing
> such advanced thinking!) which you would then place into the floppy drive on
> your system. *What? *Your system does not have a floppy drive? *Then use an
> external 1.44MB USB floppy drive.
>
> Maybe someone else knows where to find the SATA drivers you need. *If not, get
> yourself XP with SP2 and you should be in good shape... Ben Myers
>
> On Fri, 16 May 2008 15:41:28 -0500, Thomas Hedden
>
>
>
> <tdhedden@MAPS_ON_comcast_NO_SPAM.net> wrote:
> >I think that I need the driver for the MoBo.
> >The MoBo is an ASUS PTGD1-LA, which I believe
> >that HP calls a Puffer UL8E.
>
> >The HP website has nothing that looks right.
> >It has a MoBo BIOS update to resolve an issue
> >with a multifunction printer. It has drivers
> >for plug-in cards for SATA drives, RAID
> >controller drivers, every imaginable driver.
>
> >If anyone can point me to a website or send
> >me a driver, I'd be most grateful.
>
> >Best regards,
>
> >Tom- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Whether the XP CD has sp2 or not doesnt matter, the disk should at
least boot.

Boot? Yes, if the CD is not flawed. Install? Not without a lot of help in the
form of a floppy with the right SATA drivers, via the F6 key early on. Much
easier to have SP2. Media Center incorporates SP2, so Media Center installs
just fine on a SATA drive without any special help... Ben Myers

On Thu, 22 May 2008 16:44:29 -0700 (PDT), TestEquipmentRepair@gmail.com wrote:

<SNIP>
>
>Whether the XP CD has sp2 or not doesnt matter, the disk should at
>least boot.

Hi you guys,

Thanks for your comments. See below for status.

Thomas Hedden wrote:
[snip]

TestEquipmentRepair@gmail.com wrote:
> XP should boot itself up, once you have xp installed,
> is usually when you upload the mb drivers. I would
> suggest hooking another CD drive up and try again.
I don't think that the problem is the CD-ROM drive.
I've tried both, and they work with Linux live CD-ROMs,
and even with the XP installation CD-ROM (see below)

ben_myers_spam_me_not@charter.net wrote:
> The real question here is to determine EXACTLY which
> Windows XP CD you are using. ...
> Is it a non-branded OEM CD?
Yes.

> Now for the most important question: Is the Windows
> install CD at Service Pack 2?
> I'll bet you do not have an install CD with SP2.
It appears to be authentic, and says "Includes Service
Pack 2" Version 2002 (c) 2004 Microsoft Corporation.

> Early on during an XP install, the software asks you
> to press F6 to install additional drivers not on the
> XP CD itself.
I can get it to this point without the HD (see below).
But, of course I don't have the drivers.

> ... 1.44MB floppy ...
The MoBo has a floppy drive connector, so I can manage by
connecting one from another computer. But, I still haven't
got the drivers.

> If not, get yourself XP with SP2 and you should be in
> good shape...
I'm fairly confident that I do have it.

TestEquipmentRepair@gmail.com wrote:
> Whether the XP CD has sp2 or not doesn't matter, the
> disk should at least boot.
It does, as long as the HD isn't connected (see below).

Here is how things stand. The SATA HD says not to connect
both the SATA power and legacy power cables, otherwise
the drive could be damaged. If I do connect them both
anyway, the computer can see the HD, and if I press the
Esc key during the boot sequence, the Boot menu comes up,
and I can choose to boot from the HD. In that case, it
boots normally to Linux. I can also choose one of the
CD-ROM drives. If I do so with the XP installation
CD-ROM in the drive, then I get a blank screen.

If I don't connect the legacy power cable, the computer
cannot see the HD at all. In that case, the Windows XP
installation CD-ROM will boot and begin an installation.
However, it will fail because there is no HD for it to
install to. It presents the opportunity to press F6,
etc., but I have no driver to offer it.

I don't understand why I need to connect both the SATA
power AND the legacy power, even though the HD says not
to do so. I don't understand why the XP installation
program will only display on the screen when the HD is
not visible to the computer. And I don't understand
why HP doesn't make the right drivers available on its
website.

I am at a loss about what to do other than stick with
Linux, but my wife doesn't want that. I would really
be grateful if I could get this to work.

Thanks,

Tom

Here is the status of this problem.

On closer examination of the HD and its SATA
cable, I realized that the SATA cable was
not supplying power to the HD. The cable was
only blocking the SATA power cable connection
so that a legacy power connector could be
used without danger of a SATA power connector
also being connected (the HD can be damaged
if both types of power cables are connected
at the same time). This might explain why
the computer only could only see the HD when
the legacy power cable was connected to it.

I gave up on the on-board SATA and bought
a PCI SATA controller card that came with
a driver disk. I connected this card and
a SATA power cable to the SATA HD. Then,
I inserted the Windows XP installation
CD-ROM into a CD-ROM drive and booted off
it, and, when the Windows XP Setup program
started, pressed F6 to point the Setup
program to the drivers on a floppy drive.
The Setup program seemed to run normally.
It found the HD and asked me to partition
it. I deleted all existing partitions,
created a new one containing the entire
disk (about 120GB), and watched the Setup
program copy the necessary files to this
partition. When it finished, it asked me
to remove the floppy disk and said it
would reboot. I removed the floppy disk
and the CD-ROM, and let it reboot. When
it rebooted, it could not find the HD.
It prompted me to reboot and select a
boot device. When I did so, the boot
menu did not contain the HD: the only
possible boot devices it contained were
the floppy drive and the two CD-ROM/DVD
drives.

I tried booting from the Windows XP
installation CD-ROM again, but it just
wanted to start the installation process
all over again: it did not continue
the Setup process further along.

This computer still does not see the
SATA HD, even after Windows XP has
successfully installed to the SATA HD.

Does anyone have any ideas what is
wrong or what I should try next?

Thanks in advance.

Tom
--
Thomas Hedden wrote:
[snip]

The only things that comes to mind are to revert back to the original
configuration, using a 4-pin Molex to SATA power adapter, then possibly change a
configuration option. Your original posting showed:

Onboard PATA/SATA configuration [enhanced mode]

What other options are available here in addition to "enhanced mode"? If there
is something called "legacy mode" or "emulation mode", try it.

Otherwise, I think I would sell the system in whole or in part and move on to
something more friendly... Ben Myers

On Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:11:01 -0500, Thomas Hedden
<tdhedden@MAPS_ON_comcast_NO_SPAM.net> wrote:

>Here is the status of this problem.
>
>On closer examination of the HD and its SATA
>cable, I realized that the SATA cable was
>not supplying power to the HD. The cable was
>only blocking the SATA power cable connection
>so that a legacy power connector could be
>used without danger of a SATA power connector
>also being connected (the HD can be damaged
>if both types of power cables are connected
>at the same time). This might explain why
>the computer only could only see the HD when
>the legacy power cable was connected to it.
>
>I gave up on the on-board SATA and bought
>a PCI SATA controller card that came with
>a driver disk. I connected this card and
>a SATA power cable to the SATA HD. Then,
>I inserted the Windows XP installation
>CD-ROM into a CD-ROM drive and booted off
>it, and, when the Windows XP Setup program
>started, pressed F6 to point the Setup
>program to the drivers on a floppy drive.
>The Setup program seemed to run normally.
>It found the HD and asked me to partition
>it. I deleted all existing partitions,
>created a new one containing the entire
>disk (about 120GB), and watched the Setup
>program copy the necessary files to this
>partition. When it finished, it asked me
>to remove the floppy disk and said it
>would reboot. I removed the floppy disk
>and the CD-ROM, and let it reboot. When
>it rebooted, it could not find the HD.
>It prompted me to reboot and select a
>boot device. When I did so, the boot
>menu did not contain the HD: the only
>possible boot devices it contained were
>the floppy drive and the two CD-ROM/DVD
>drives.
>
>I tried booting from the Windows XP
>installation CD-ROM again, but it just
>wanted to start the installation process
>all over again: it did not continue
>the Setup process further along.
>
>This computer still does not see the
>SATA HD, even after Windows XP has
>successfully installed to the SATA HD.
>
>Does anyone have any ideas what is
>wrong or what I should try next?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Tom

Let me add also that I have installed XP SP2 (Dell version) on SATA drives in a
large number of Dell boxes (anywhere from 4 year-olds with 865/875 chipset and
original SATA to modern 900-chipset systems) that I refurbish and sell, never
with a problem even close to what you've described. In a few systems, I have
installed SATA drives, when the original system had a PATA drive with a single
SATA connector. For good measure, I have done the same with later model
IBM/Lenovo desktops.

Whether Asus created this mess for you or HP did it, the problem does not speak
well for either of them. Installation of XP SP2 on a SATA drive should be a
no-brainer with the right chipset and motherboard BIOS. The motherboard in this
system has an Intel 915 chipset, so the BIOS must be FUBAR.

One last question: Does HP have any restore CD/DVD available for this system?
Maybe there is some secret stuff on an HP restore CD... Ben Myers

On Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:11:01 -0500, Thomas Hedden
<tdhedden@MAPS_ON_comcast_NO_SPAM.net> wrote:

>Here is the status of this problem.
>
>On closer examination of the HD and its SATA
>cable, I realized that the SATA cable was
>not supplying power to the HD. The cable was
>only blocking the SATA power cable connection
>so that a legacy power connector could be
>used without danger of a SATA power connector
>also being connected (the HD can be damaged
>if both types of power cables are connected
>at the same time). This might explain why
>the computer only could only see the HD when
>the legacy power cable was connected to it.
>
>I gave up on the on-board SATA and bought
>a PCI SATA controller card that came with
>a driver disk. I connected this card and
>a SATA power cable to the SATA HD. Then,
>I inserted the Windows XP installation
>CD-ROM into a CD-ROM drive and booted off
>it, and, when the Windows XP Setup program
>started, pressed F6 to point the Setup
>program to the drivers on a floppy drive.
>The Setup program seemed to run normally.
>It found the HD and asked me to partition
>it. I deleted all existing partitions,
>created a new one containing the entire
>disk (about 120GB), and watched the Setup
>program copy the necessary files to this
>partition. When it finished, it asked me
>to remove the floppy disk and said it
>would reboot. I removed the floppy disk
>and the CD-ROM, and let it reboot. When
>it rebooted, it could not find the HD.
>It prompted me to reboot and select a
>boot device. When I did so, the boot
>menu did not contain the HD: the only
>possible boot devices it contained were
>the floppy drive and the two CD-ROM/DVD
>drives.
>
>I tried booting from the Windows XP
>installation CD-ROM again, but it just
>wanted to start the installation process
>all over again: it did not continue
>the Setup process further along.
>
>This computer still does not see the
>SATA HD, even after Windows XP has
>successfully installed to the SATA HD.
>
>Does anyone have any ideas what is
>wrong or what I should try next?
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Tom