S-ATA running as P-ATA, is this a potential problem?

[Guest]

Hi,

I bought a new Dell Dimension 9100. It came with XP home, but I wanted to
put XP pro on it so I did that.

However, my XP pro installation disc is pre-SP2 and as such there are no
S-ATA drivers on the cd. And since I don't have a floppy drive I could not F6
to a floppy during the setup. As such, the setup could not find my HD.

On the suggestion of Dell support, I changed the HD settings in BIOS from
'AHCI' (which is factory default for my hardware config) to 'Combo
S-ATA/P-ATA'. This enabled my HD to be recognized as a parallell ATA drive
during setup and XP could then install. After installation, support told me
to install the Dell Desktop System Software drivers (which includes S-ATA
support) and the Intel chipset drivers. After having done so they said that I
*might* be able to set the BIOS back to AHCI and have the drive recognized as
the S-ATA drive that it is. They said might since their experience was mixed
on whether it works or not.

Well, for me it did not work and the computer will not boot unless the BIOS
is set to 'Combo S-ATA/P-ATA'. I.e., I am currently running a system with a
S-ATA drive but BIOS and Windows think it is a P-ATA. The guy at Dell support
said it would be no problem to run forever like this unless I noticed
performance decreases (he said he had done this on several computers and
never noticed any differences).

I ran HD speed tests with SiSoft Sandra and the read/write speed is the same
under delivery default XP home with BIOS set to AHCI, and my custom XP pro
with BIOS set to 'combo'. Does this mean that there is no performance loss
involved for me when running the S-ATA as a P-ATA?

Also, is it *safe* for me to continue running my system as if it had a P-ATA
drive? Or should I be concerned and buy a floppy drive so that I can
re-install the system properly with the HD as a S-ATA?

I'd be very greatful for any comments on this matter.

Thanks!

/p

 

[HillBillyBuddhist]

| Hi,
|
| I bought a new Dell Dimension 9100. It came with XP home, but I wanted to
| put XP pro on it so I did that.
|
| However, my XP pro installation disc is pre-SP2 and as such there are no
| S-ATA drivers on the cd. And since I don't have a floppy drive I could not
F6
| to a floppy during the setup. As such, the setup could not find my HD.
|
| On the suggestion of Dell support, I changed the HD settings in BIOS from
| 'AHCI' (which is factory default for my hardware config) to 'Combo
| S-ATA/P-ATA'.
|
| I ran HD speed tests with SiSoft Sandra and the read/write speed is the
same
| under delivery default XP home with BIOS set to AHCI, and my custom XP pro
| with BIOS set to 'combo'. Does this mean that there is no performance loss
| involved for me when running the S-ATA as a P-ATA?
|
| Also, is it *safe* for me to continue running my system as if it had a
P-ATA
| drive? Or should I be concerned and buy a floppy drive so that I can
| re-install the system properly with the HD as a S-ATA?
|
| I'd be very greatful for any comments on this matter.
|
| Thanks!
|
| /p

I don't know the answer to your questions regarding performance & safety
running in the P-ATA mode but thought you might find "Windows XP -
Installing to SATA _WITHOUT_ a Floppy Disk" @
http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=20748 useful.

That you say you "wanted" (as opposed to needed) Pro over home begs the
question why? Which of course is beside the point in relation to your
question . Just curious.

--
Doug

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details.

Remove shoes to E-mail.

 

[Yves Leclerc]

SATA drivers are not delivered in SP2. You could locate info on how to add
your SATA drivers to your XP install CD, at the same time as you would be
"slipstreaming" SP2 into it.

 

[Guest]

That you say you "wanted" (as opposed to needed) Pro over home begs the
question why? Which of course is beside the point in relation to your
question . Just curious.

Doug, quite simply because I was using that on my previous computer and I
was under the impression that it is more appropriate to use Pro if you like
me like to poke around a bit with system settings etc... Figured that Home is
a little scaled down down and of course I always want the best... even though
I might not be capable of taking advantage of everything it offers... So
since I have a license for my now discarded (thank god) previous computer it
was just logical for me to install that on my new computer...

Thanks for the link, I will look into that....

/p

 

[HillBillyBuddhist]

|
|
| > That you say you "wanted" (as opposed to needed) Pro over home begs the
| > question why? Which of course is beside the point in relation to your
| > question . Just curious.
| >
| > --
| > Doug
| >
|
| Doug, quite simply because I was using that on my previous computer and I
| was under the impression that it is more appropriate to use Pro if you
like
| me like to poke around a bit with system settings etc... Figured that Home
is
| a little scaled down down and of course I always want the best... even
though
| I might not be capable of taking advantage of everything it offers...
So
| since I have a license for my now discarded (thank god) previous computer
it
| was just logical for me to install that on my new computer...
|
| Thanks for the link, I will look into that....
|
| /p

That's sorta what prompted the question.

The things Pro has over Home are Remote Desktop, Multi-processor support,
Automated System Recovery, Dynamic Disk Support, Internet Information
Services/Personal Web Server, Encrypting File System, File-level access
control and domain capabilities. In terms of core system files,
stability/performance and settings they are the same.

Unless you're using any of the above mentioned features the only thing
you've gained is the hassle you're experiencing with your SATA drive.

--
Doug

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details.

Remove shoes to E-mail.

 

[Guest]

Unless you're using any of the above mentioned features the only thing
you've gained is the hassle you're experiencing with your SATA drive.

Aaahhh........ [embarrassed look on face, realizing it would be a hassle to
reinstall everything again under XP home]

/p

 

[HillBillyBuddhist]

Unless you're using any of the above mentioned features the only thing
you've gained is the hassle you're experiencing with your SATA drive.

Aaahhh........ [embarrassed look on face, realizing it would be a hassle
to
reinstall everything again under XP home]

/p

If you're so inclined (and have not repartitioned the drive) your new 9100
comes with a hidden partition that restores the computer to "as shipped"
status in a matter of minutes.

See "How Do I Use the DellT PC Restore by Symantec Utility?"
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1090151

--
D

I'm not an MVP a VIP nor do I have ESP.
I was just trying to help.
Please use your own best judgment before implementing any suggestions or
advice herein.
No warranty is expressed or implied.
Your mileage may vary.
See store for details.

Remove shoes to E-mail.