Tech Support Forum - View Single Post - [SOLVED] asus p5ne-sli and deskstar sata II windows wont install

atmywitsend · 01-17-2008, 06:52 AM

First of all - hello
I'm having a terrible time with a new system.
This is the spec -

2 x 1gb corsiar xms2-6400
hitachi deskstar 320gb sata hard drive
asus p5n-e sli motherboard
e6600 quad core 2.4ghz processor
Arctic 500 watt power supply

I have installed windows xp a number of times but I am really struggling with this.
I managed to install windows to an old 20gb ide drive instead of the sata one with no

problems which makes me think its to do with sata and drivers maybe.....

When I install xp I get to "setup is starting windows" and I see a flash of the next screen

- I believe it's where you set up the keyboard? But I only see that for a split second and

it goes back to the start of the installation procedure, without a restart. It goes around

in loops like this continuously (though it does restart after copying files to the hard

drive and the files ARE there when I boot to the ide drive I see em on the sata drive)

I have read as many forums as I could but can't see a problem identical to mine.

I have downloaded sata drivers from the asus site and tried to install them by pressing f6

at the appropriate time during installation but there are 5? ish drivers to choose from I

assume its the JMB360 drivers because all the others mention Raid (from the manual on the

installation disc)
But that driver doesnt seem to work. I have tried making a floppy driver disc with the

utility on the motherboard disc but they don't seem to work either. To be fair I'm not

certain which drivers I should actually be installing)

I have tried letting the installation run without pressing anything.

I have tried ghosting the image from the ide drive to the sata but it says that the

partition is "bad"?? I tried formatting it from windows with no luck. It seems to format

with no probs during install.

I tried partition magic as I read a post about windows struggling with drives over 137mb -

but because it says "bad" partition it wont touch it.

The sata drive is about 3 months old and I used it in my old system with no probs until the

gfx card died (i used an old card for a while after the old one died with no probs) - of

course I've had to upgrade motherboard processor and ram along with a new gfx card..

The old motherboard was sata I and I used the hitachi boot disc to swap from sata II to sata

I about three months ago (on a friends pc) and I changed from sata I to sata II yesterday with this new system, and it all

seemed to go swimmingly, I've tried it a few times in case that was my problem.

I managed to get a hold of a windows boot cd and when I tried to install from dos it told me "No valid system partitions were found. Setup is unable to continue"

I am desperate to get the system up and running any help would be really really appreciated.

01-17-2008, 06:52 AM	#1 (permalink)
atmywitsend Registered User Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 9 OS: xp	[SOLVED] asus p5ne-sli and deskstar sata II windows wont install First of all - hello I'm having a terrible time with a new system. This is the spec - 2 x 1gb corsiar xms2-6400 hitachi deskstar 320gb sata hard drive asus p5n-e sli motherboard e6600 quad core 2.4ghz processor Arctic 500 watt power supply I have installed windows xp a number of times but I am really struggling with this. I managed to install windows to an old 20gb ide drive instead of the sata one with no problems which makes me think its to do with sata and drivers maybe..... When I install xp I get to "setup is starting windows" and I see a flash of the next screen - I believe it's where you set up the keyboard? But I only see that for a split second and it goes back to the start of the installation procedure, without a restart. It goes around in loops like this continuously (though it does restart after copying files to the hard drive and the files ARE there when I boot to the ide drive I see em on the sata drive) I have read as many forums as I could but can't see a problem identical to mine. I have downloaded sata drivers from the asus site and tried to install them by pressing f6 at the appropriate time during installation but there are 5? ish drivers to choose from I assume its the JMB360 drivers because all the others mention Raid (from the manual on the installation disc) But that driver doesnt seem to work. I have tried making a floppy driver disc with the utility on the motherboard disc but they don't seem to work either. To be fair I'm not certain which drivers I should actually be installing) I have tried letting the installation run without pressing anything. I have tried ghosting the image from the ide drive to the sata but it says that the partition is "bad"?? I tried formatting it from windows with no luck. It seems to format with no probs during install. I tried partition magic as I read a post about windows struggling with drives over 137mb - but because it says "bad" partition it wont touch it. The sata drive is about 3 months old and I used it in my old system with no probs until the gfx card died (i used an old card for a while after the old one died with no probs) - of course I've had to upgrade motherboard processor and ram along with a new gfx card.. The old motherboard was sata I and I used the hitachi boot disc to swap from sata II to sata I about three months ago (on a friends pc) and I changed from sata I to sata II yesterday with this new system, and it all seemed to go swimmingly, I've tried it a few times in case that was my problem. I managed to get a hold of a windows boot cd and when I tried to install from dos it told me "No valid system partitions were found. Setup is unable to continue" I am desperate to get the system up and running any help would be really really appreciated.