Dim 8400 reinstall question

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi,

Hope someone can help.

I've just bought a Dimension 8400 and immediately set about reinstalling Win
XP to get rid of the dross that Dell bundled with the unit.

I get as far as the "to set up Windows on this pc hit ENTER" screen but when
I do it comes back with "Setup could not find any hard disks on this
machine".

There is a 160gb Maxtor hard drive installed and the BIOS can see it. It's
properly set up and configured so that isn't the problem.

The Dell manual is next to useless, doing what all manuals do insofar as
guiding you through what *should* happen and not what *usually does* happen.

I thought it might have something to do with hitting F6 once Setup got going
(install third party RAID drivers) but that just ends up asking me to insert
a floppy into drive a:

What's going on here?

Help!!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

You need the floppy with the drivers for your SATA drive. They are not
native to XP.

Download the drivers on another machine and make the floppy disk. Then
press F6.

if you didn't buy your machine with a floppy drive, than you made a fatal
mistake of not doing your homework PRIOR to blowing away XP.

Tom
"Gemma King" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:9Iz5d.90045$U04.3153@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
> Hi,
>
> Hope someone can help.
>
> I've just bought a Dimension 8400 and immediately set about reinstalling
> Win
> XP to get rid of the dross that Dell bundled with the unit.
>
> I get as far as the "to set up Windows on this pc hit ENTER" screen but
> when
> I do it comes back with "Setup could not find any hard disks on this
> machine".
>
> There is a 160gb Maxtor hard drive installed and the BIOS can see it.
> It's
> properly set up and configured so that isn't the problem.
>
> The Dell manual is next to useless, doing what all manuals do insofar as
> guiding you through what *should* happen and not what *usually does*
> happen.
>
> I thought it might have something to do with hitting F6 once Setup got
> going
> (install third party RAID drivers) but that just ends up asking me to
> insert
> a floppy into drive a:
>
> What's going on here?
>
> Help!!
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
news:2KOdncK_VYdFUsvcRVn-oA@comcast.com...
> You need the floppy with the drivers for your SATA drive. They are not
> native to XP.
>
> Download the drivers on another machine and make the floppy disk. Then
> press F6.
>
> if you didn't buy your machine with a floppy drive, than you made a fatal
> mistake of not doing your homework PRIOR to blowing away XP.
>

I've got a floppy installed; are the drivers on Dell's website or the
manufacturers?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

On the resource CD you received with your computer.

"Gemma King" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:noA5d.90062$U04.60343@fe1.news.blueyonder.co.uk...
>
> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
> news:2KOdncK_VYdFUsvcRVn-oA@comcast.com...
>> You need the floppy with the drivers for your SATA drive. They are not
>> native to XP.
>>
>> Download the drivers on another machine and make the floppy disk. Then
>> press F6.
>>
>> if you didn't buy your machine with a floppy drive, than you made a fatal
>> mistake of not doing your homework PRIOR to blowing away XP.
>>
>
> I've got a floppy installed; are the drivers on Dell's website or the
> manufacturers?
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

If they can't find the appropriate driver on the Dell resource CD, they sure
won't be able to follow those directions.


"Fixer" <steve@kelly90.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:cj6qna$m96$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
> There is a way to install third party Raid drivers without using a floppy
> :_ http://greenmachine.msfnhosting.com/READING/addraid.htm or you could
> try this
> http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=188337&hl=auto+streamer or
> if your really clever http://unattended.msfn.org/xp/gettingstarted.htm
>

 

[Fixer]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

LOLolololol
"WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2kC5d.1265$zc1.713@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
> If they can't find the appropriate driver on the Dell resource CD, they
> sure won't be able to follow those directions.
>
>
> "Fixer" <steve@kelly90.wanadoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:cj6qna$m96$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
>> There is a way to install third party Raid drivers without using a floppy
>> :_ http://greenmachine.msfnhosting.com/READING/addraid.htm or you could
>> try this
>> http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=188337&hl=auto+streamer
>> or if your really clever http://unattended.msfn.org/xp/gettingstarted.htm
>>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Sometimes the truth just hurts.

"JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
news:Ap%5d.3517$MD5.342401@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Tom...always the contrary one...GRIN.
>
> Regards,
> John O.
>
>
> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
> newso-dnWiXrbpQZcrcRVn-qw@comcast.com...
>> Unfortunately, since the SATA drivers are not ON the XP CD, it's not
>> quite true.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

The truth only hurts if your wife happens to have a black belt...

Regards,
John O.


"WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:zU%5d.1771$zc1.1512@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
> Sometimes the truth just hurts.
>
> "JJO" <jjo@nospam.ca> wrote in message
> news:Ap%5d.3517$MD5.342401@news20.bellglobal.com...
>> Tom...always the contrary one...GRIN.
>>
>> Regards,
>> John O.
>>
>>
>> "Tom Scales" <tomtoo@softhome.net> wrote in message
>> newso-dnWiXrbpQZcrcRVn-qw@comcast.com...
>>> Unfortunately, since the SATA drivers are not ON the XP CD, it's not
>>> quite true.
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

"WSZsr" <nospam@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:ZnC5d.1266$zc1.291@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com...
> It is called the "Intel Application Accelerator Raid Edition" on the Dell
> Resource CD. You need a blank floppy disk.
>

My apologies, I clumsily inserted a Dell Resource CD which came with my 8300
(version A03) instead of the one that came with my 8400 (version A04).

You are correct, the utility is there and it does burn a floppy which works
perfectly when F6 is selected on Windows Setup.

Shame that Dell's 8400 manual omits this crucial piece of advice though!
And I pity the poor sods who ordered 8400's without a floppy.

I'm surprised XP SP2 (which is what I'm using) wasn't updated by MS to
include the facility to use the IAA utility from either a CD or USB device?