Bootable SATA Controller Card?

[John Turco]

It doesn't get a letter until it has been partitioned and formatted (in
that order). This is basic stuff, John.

Start => Run => Diskmgmt.msc

Might want to write a signature to the disk. Accept.

Right-click the drive, Create Partition, OK your way through.

Once formatting starts it will assign a drive letter which you can use
in the normal way.

When the WD drive is connected, I can't load Windows anymore. It must
be my Syba "SD-SATA150R" (SATA controller card) that's responsible.

I might have to live with it, it seems.

John

 

[Daniel Prince]

When the WD drive is connected, I can't load Windows anymore.

Can you boot with your Windows CD or DVD when the WD drive is
connected?

 

[John Turco]

Can you boot with your Windows CD or DVD when the WD drive is
connected?

I suppose so. Could I format and partition the Western Digital
HDD, then?

John

 

[Rod Speed]

How do I format and partition the Western Digital, if Windows XP doesn't
assign it a drive letter?

Its in disk management.

 

[Rod Speed]

When the WD drive is connected, I can't load Windows anymore.

You can start Win with it not connected and then connect
it and use the hot plugging capability of SATA to do that.

You can also partition and format that drive in a different
machine, or do it at the dos level in that machine, don't
boot Win until after its partitioned and formatted.

It must be my Syba "SD-SATA150R" (SATA controller card) that's
responsible.
Maybe.

I might have to live with it, it seems.

Nope.

 

[Rod Speed]

I suppose so. Could I format and partition the Western Digital HDD, then?

Yep.

 

[larrymoencurly]

On 3/24/2013 4:29 PM, Mike Tomlinson wrote:

When the WD drive is connected, I can't load Windows anymore. It must
be my Syba "SD-SATA150R" (SATA controller card) that's responsible.

What are the boot order settings in your BIOS? Did you specify making
the first boot attempt from the drive attached to a plug-in controller, as
opposed to the motherboard's controller?

I've switched the boot drive between the motherboard and plug-in
controller and had no problems booting. I don't remember if I had
the motherboard's controller set for AHCI or regular IDE mode; I
also don't know if that setting makes a difference.

 

[John Turco]

You can start Win with it not connected and then connect
it and use the hot plugging capability of SATA to do that.

That didn't work, as the SD-SATA150R wouldn't recognize the WD.

Today (Wednesday, 3-27-13), here's what ultimately succeeded:

1. Started the PC, with only the WD attached to the SD-SATA150R.

2. Reset the computer, and then connected the Seagate "C" boot
drive.

3. Windows XP loaded.

4. In Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk
Management, I was able to partition and format the Western Digital
500GB SATA drive (Windows XP gave it the "K" drive letter).

Then, after I restarted the PC, it took four resets, before Windows
finally loaded. That's just the way this utter kludge-fest is, I
fear.

Its mainboard is an ancient Asus "CUBX-E" ATX, as I salvaged
the Pentium III CPU and 1GB of RAM, from my old machine (which
died last October, and was based on an equally vintage Tyan
S1830 "Tsunami" AT board).

Luckily, it's not my primary computer.

You can also partition and format that drive in a different
machine, or do it at the dos level in that machine, don't
boot Win until after its partitioned and formatted.


Nope.

You were right, yet again -- thanks, man!

John

 

[John Turco]

What are the boot order settings in your BIOS? Did you specify making
the first boot attempt from the drive attached to a plug-in controller, as
opposed to the motherboard's controller?

I've switched the boot drive between the motherboard and plug-in
controller and had no problems booting. I don't remember if I had
the motherboard's controller set for AHCI or regular IDE mode; I
also don't know if that setting makes a difference.

1. Removable Device [ATAPI]
2. IDE Hard Drive [None]
3. ATAPI CD-ROM [iHAS120 6]
4. Other Boot Device [SCSI/Onboard ATA Boot Device]

Today (Wednesday, 3-27-13), I'd changed number 4 [from "INIT18 Device
(Network)"]; I don't know whether that had anything to do, with my
subsequent success. (See my prior reply to Rod Speed, for details.)

Once more, thanks to you and everybody else, who responded in this
subject thread!

John