"No Drives Found" when downgrading to XP
This seems still to be an issue (Feb-Mar 2008 [and still June 2009]) for people downgrading Vista to Windows XP on PCs with SATA drives.
This issue doesn't seem to be consistant accross PC manufacturers, some seem to be "hell bent" on preventing purchasers of Vista equipment to downgrade to WindowsXP.
Some of the methods used to make this more difficult is to disable the system BIOS's ability to handle SATA drives in a "native" manner.
If you are downgrading to XP using a version of XP before wide-spread support for SATA drives was incorporated then you may run into the "No Valid Drives Found" or located by WindowsXP when you boot from the installation CD.
Many solutions for this can be found on the Internet, ranging from downloading a version of your system BIOS that has not been "crippled" to "slipstreaming" your XP installation CD with the recent updates (Service Packs - like SP2) integrated into it.
Below (in green) are some quotes from postings found around the Internet.
Feeling horribly burned here. Yes, I know that downgrading to XP is not supported by HP, but who would have thought that they'd block you from the attempt by giving you a BIOS that won't allow you to do anything? That's the case with my dv6626us just purchased today. I can't disable native Sata.
other comments on this thread (link 1) are interesting
HP adopted a BIOS that does not allow the option of having the hard drive seen by an XP install disk.
If you require access to these links please see here
- Installing Windows XP on the Intel based dvx500t Series - Notebookreview link 2
............works for dv6000 and dv9000, and for dv6700 and dv9700. IT DOES NOT WORK ON dv2700. It works on dv2500 but you have to read some extra posts (quoted below).
The HP BIOS for the dv2500/dv6500/dv9500 series lacks the option to disable SATA Support, so Windows XP will not recognize the harddrive without
.................following the special procedures explained
- HP DV6500T Review - Installing Windows XP - 05/22/07 - nogodforme.com
There is a lot of work here! Even if Robert Viands does think that FCUK is funny! (nogodforme)
- ..
- Searching for: Disabling native SATA support
- David Reed Online - xp on the Dell Inspiron 1420
- Notebookreview link 3
It makes the SATA ports look like regular IDE ports, so that Windows XP can see them. Unlike Vista, XP doesn't have SATA drivers built-in. Since there is no floppy drive from which to load drivers from during XP setup, the only options are to disable native SATA support in the BIOS, or to try to create an XP install CD with those drivers integrated. - Bizsupport - An actual HP support forum!
I'm quite pissed at HP on how they took out the whole SATA Native support option from BIOS & there is no help on how owners of the new dv6500 can install XP on their system. - Intel SATA AHCI Controller Driver - the driver linked from the above reference
Research links
If you require access to these links please see here
- Possible solution for HP/Compaq
- Create a bootable Windows XP CD slipstreamed with SP2 and hotfixes - TechRepublic by Louis Nel - Jan 17, 2007
- You get an error that there are not drives installed docwild - from techguy.org
Since VISTA is very persistant and will come back no matter how hard you try to break it (it behaves likes it's imbedded in BIOS) - from Sept 2007 - Sata driver needed for XP on HP dv6626us - Notebookreview link 1
