hp a1129n Desktop - setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your com

[lebtech]

Hello,



I am trying to reinstall windows XP on my hp a1129n pavilion, and as soon as the set up is about to start, I get setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer . I made my first and second Sata devices "Disabled" and I checked the hard drive cables and they are plugged in properly. The hard drive is Sata, so please tell me why am i getting this message? Please provide me with the steps in order to get the hard drive to be detected. Thank you in advance!

 

[Hefemeister]

Well I did not see a sata driver disk download from hp for xp.

check in your bios to see if you have a ide compatibility mode as xp does not have native sata support.

 

[lebtech]

Thank you very much for your fast reply! The other problem is that the video card is broken, and the picture is kind of fuzzy, so can you please tell me how to access the bios and where can I make that change?

 

[Hefemeister]

You get into bios as you turn on the computer right after post press f1. small chance of it being f10 as well.
You just need to look at options to see if they have a ide compatibility mode usually listed under sata drives. Do not know that bios so you will need to fish around.

Also trying to find info on your board. It appears that it is a MSI MS-7093.

Trying to locate a f6 sata install driver. This is the best I have found so far.
MSI -- MICRO-STAR INT'L CO., LTD.
bottom of the page listed as ATI SATA RAID Driver (For floppy install)
Worth a shot making a floppy to use for the press f6 to install 3rd party drivers at the beginning of the xp install process.