Question Installing Windows XP on a used HDD in Motorola ML900

[Vyszago]

I recently purchased an old Motorola ML900 with no HDD. Using an optical bay caddy I installed a used sata hdd that contained Windows 7. I then used an external dvd reader to install a copy of XP (after resetting the boot order of course) and now it only partially goes through the set up process before rebooting and returning to square1. I have deleted partitions and formatted when prompted, but because there is no (accessible) os I can not go through the repair processes I have seen for similar issues. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ImWolf]

XP is pre Sata and will not recognize the Sata HDD unless you have;

1) Made a slipstream CD install disk with the correct Sata drivers on it.

Or

2) Have the correct Sata drivers on a 3.5 floppy which you install with the F6 option pressed early in the setup process.

In either case, you need to D/L the Sata drivers from your MB maker (best), or generic (VIA) drivers.