Well this is probably the 9,645st thread about this topic but mine seems to be that much more difficult and weird. So like everyone else I just bought a new computer with Vista 64bit already installed and after months of giving it a chance Im disgusted with its RAM performance especially compared to XP, and since im a 3d graphics artist this is HUGE for me and no way around it. More specifically I have a Dell XPS630 Dual Core 3ghz Intel Processors 4GB RAM 512MB SL 9800GT Nvidia GeForce Card Windows Vista 64bit SP2 I just bought a fresh brand new copy of Windows XP 64bit with SP2 which wasnt too cheap, and a floppy drive to boot. So I thought I was ready. Now ive read many of the threads relating to this big problem and have followed the steps. Im having the issue that a lot of people seem to have when I try and install my XP 64bit OS, everything is fine UNTIL i get to the 'Starting Windows' prompt after all the other drivers have loaded, then BLAM Blue screen of death.
Sep 6, 2008 - I've done a clean reinstall of the using the DELL supplied WinXP (SP2) CD. However my broadband connection no longer works. I have a Dell XPS 630i with 4Gig ram which I purchase less than 6 month ago. I have three hard drives. XP Pro is on disk 1, Vista is on disk 2 and I have Microsoft Server 2008 on disk 3 partition 1 and Win 7 on disk 3 partition 2.
I tried locating the SATA 'autodetect' feature in the BIOS, and my BIOS doesnt offer that capability of turning it off or on, just autodetects the drive's hard drive space (500GB). So no good there.
So then I downloaded the SATA driver for my hard drive from the Dell Driver page (at least the closet to my exact model, model number for mine wasnt listed on Dell's site for SATA drivers). Then I uploaded the driver to my Floppy External Drive, ready to install in during the Windows Driver setup process by hitting F6, right? Well to no avail, I cant even get a response when I hit F6 when it prompts me 'If you want to install a third party Raid.' The keyboard works fine, all the other F keys work, especially since I have to hit F12 to get to boot options and F2 for BIOS. I feel like I got a curse or a bum dell machine somehow, since I cant see anyone else with my little roadblock. Never had an issue with the machine at all (had it 6months and still have warranty) If i cant get the F6 prompt to even act at all, is there anyway to get my SATA drivers onboard so I can get XP to install? Im getting pretty peeved at windows after 13 years of solid backing from me.
Anyone who helps me fix this issue and has a paypal account can expect $30 bucks from me for sure, thats nothing considering how this is holding up my workflow and freelance work! Latest update: so half success with the floppy drive and got past the BSOD issue, and was able to get to windows installation process except now right before it starts copying windows files onto the freshly formatted partition, I get a prompt saying 'Please insert Disk 1: NVIDIA AHCI Driver (SCSI)' I tried both the raid and idesata drivers for the 64bit version of xp on multiple driver dates with no success. I hit Enter when floppy disk is ready for driver detection and nothing happens, and i cant bypass it without quitting out of the entire Windows XP setup. The download includes lots of other drivers and applications as well. Download the Double click to run. It will extract the files to this folder: C: NVIDIA nForce 15.45 International then start the Setup program. Cancel Setup.
Navigate to this folder and copy the files it contains to a floppy disk: C: NVIDIA nForce 15.45 International IDE Win64 sataide Should be 24 files, 923 KiB. Then. Boot with the XP CD. Watch the bottom of the screen and press F6 when prompted - it will appear to do nothing. You'll eventually be prompted to Press S to install an additional driver.
Insert the Floppy Disk, and press S. Select any one of the listed controllers Should list just 'NVIDIA nForce Serial ATA Controller'. Leave the floppy in - even though it copies the files now, it will copy them again later.
I'm surprised there isn't an option in the BIOS to set the drives or controller to ATA mode instead of AHCI or Raid. Would make it so much easier. The User Guide just says there's an IDE/SATA configuration category, but doesn't say what settings it offers.
Another section describes how to enable raid by selecting the Drives category, which the User Guide doesn't mention in the System Setup section. Would be nice if it was documented clearly. On my Dimenson 9100, I go to Drives, and can select each one and set it to Off, ATA, AHCI, or AHCI/RAID. After it prompts for 'Please insert Disk 1: NVIDIA AHCI Driver (SCSI)' does it access the floppy drive, then give the same prompt? And just to confirm, are all of the files, including the disk1 file, in the root of the floppy, and not in a folder on the floppy?
If so, it could be just that that's not the correct driver for the controller. In Vista, in Device Manager, right click the controller, click Properties Click the Details tab Select Hardware IDs in the drop down box. You should see a list of items, each starting with this: PCI VEN 10DE&DEV 0266 part in red has to be 10DE The part in blue has to be one of these, or this driver won't work: 0266 0267 037E 037F 036F 03F6 03F7 03E7 07F4 07F5 07F6 07F7 0768 0AD5 0AD4 0AB9 0AB8 0BCC 0BCD These are listed at the end of the txtsetup.oem file.
If the numbers are different, search on those and see if anything comes up. Another option would be to get an IDE drive to use for the OS, and use the SATA drive for data. Everything looks like it should work. It matches the id in the txtsetup.oem file, but if it keeps asking for DISK1 it's not reading the file correctly to identify the disk. Just for fun, try this. Open the txtsetup.oem file on the floppy in Notepad Change line 32 (right under Disks) from this: d1 = 'NVIDIA AHCI DRIVER (SCSI)', disk1, to this: d1 = 'NVIDIA AHCI DRIVER (SCSI)', or possibly this: d1 = 'NVIDIA AHCI DRIVER (SCSI)', Removing the disk1 part (leave the commas) should tell it to use any disk inserted, though it may need the part.
You might try slip streaming the driver into a new CD, see it that makes a difference. Adding a hard drive shouldn't affect the warranty, though if you need to do any trouble shooting with them they will probably tell you to remove it, as they only provide support if it's in the 'original configuration'.
Used to be you couldn't even change the slots the cards are in; if they found out they were different they'd tell you to put them back and call again. Have to check with Dell to be absolutely sure. Everything looks like it should work. It matches the id in the txtsetup.oem file, but if it keeps asking for DISK1 it's not reading the file correctly to identify the disk. Just for fun, try this.
Open the txtsetup.oem file on the floppy in Notepad Change line 32 (right under Disks) from this: d1 = 'NVIDIA AHCI DRIVER (SCSI)', disk1, to this: d1 = 'NVIDIA AHCI DRIVER (SCSI)', or possibly this: d1 = 'NVIDIA AHCI DRIVER (SCSI)', Removing the disk1 part (leave the commas) should tell it to use any disk inserted, though it may need the part. You might try slip streaming the driver into a new CD, see it that makes a difference. Adding a hard drive shouldn't affect the warranty, though if you need to do any trouble shooting with them they will probably tell you to remove it, as they only provide support if it's in the 'original configuration'. Used to be you couldn't even change the slots the cards are in; if they found out they were different they'd tell you to put them back and call again. Have to check with Dell to be absolutely sure.
I just received a Dell XPS 630i installed with Vista, which I absolutely hate. Dell sold me XP Home saying it was the only version that had the appropriate SATA drivers for video, audio, etc. I'm using a new Western Dig SATA drive which I formatted using the disk that came with it. I took out the Vista disk and put in the new one. (I'm keeping the Vista drive intact in case I have to deal with Dell because they said I'd be violating my warranty by installing a different OS, even though they sold me the XP Home disk). When I put the original XP installation disk in I got a BSOD when the installation got to the 'Windows is starting XP' board. After some investigating, I realized I needed SATA drivers, so I got them from Dell Downloads and slipstreamed them into an installation disk made by nlite.
Installation started and looked like all was going well until I got to the EULA agreement page which says to push F8 to agree. I pushed F8 until my finger was sprained but the installation wouldn't continue. The SATA drivers I downloaded are 'nVidiaMediaShieldA08R178505'. Maybe I have the wrong ones? Than I got an old floppy drive from my 'bone yard' and installed it and put the SATA drivers on a diskette. Booted up with the XP disk and pressed to install RAID drivers. I could see them being installed, but again the installation stopped at the EULA page and pressing does nothing.
Anyone experienced this problem and have a solution? I can't tell you how much time and frustration I have invested in this seemingly simple task. I'm ready to throw the machine out the window onto the driveway and watch it smash into bits. Edited: Scratch that; my search came up with the Vista driver. Yours is correct. One thing I've learned about Windows is that it doesn't always like the master boot records that are set up by other formatting programs. If you've an option to set the SATA controller to an IDE compatible mode, such as RAID Autodetect/ATA, you might want to try using a start-up disk from Windows Me so that you can reset the MBR using FDISK.
In fact, you might even be able to try that with the Windows XP boot disk as it uses the IDE drivers originally shipped with that OS. Thanks Jack for your suggestions, but nothing seems to work on this computer.
If I could get XP installed, I could find out if it's the machine or the software that's the lemon. I can't boot from an A Floppy or the Optical Drive with any disk that contains fdisk or any other old software. Vista informs me that the program isn't compatible with my system. It does the same if I try to download a boot disk with fdisk on it.just shuts off the download window and says program isn't compatible.
As close as I've come is with the nLite disk with XP Home copied to it and the Dell XP SATA drivers added. That will boot, but as I said in my first message, the installation goes as far as the EULA agreement and pressing F8 to agree doesn't let it continue. I'm totally baffled.
![Dell Xps 630i Install Xp Dell Xps 630i Install Xp](http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa58/mrpugger/dell/IMG_20101205_211710.jpg)
Not sure about setting the SATA controller to IDE compatible.I'll check and give it a try if I can. Thanks again, Judy.