installation: HD not recognized

[Guest]

Hi, my PC started behaving very sluggishly today so I have been trying to
re-install XP Home Edition as part of a clean-up solution. When I boot from
the installation CD, however, I get the same error message: "Windows did not
detect any hard drive installed on this computer...." Now, the BIOS correctly
identifies the hard drive (a brand new Maxtor) during its start-up routine,
so this implies that the hard drive IS detectable and that the pathway from
the CPU to the hard drive is also working. I've re-installed XP on this and
other desktops several times in the past and haven't seen this message
before. Are there any hardware issues that I should check on?

Thanks for any ideas and advice!

 

[Guest]

You should make sure that you have a Spyware detection and removal
application, such as Spybot Search and Destry. If you don't do a goole andf
find it. Download is free.

If no spyware is identified, try running a good anti virus aplication,
remove and delete any infected files.

After all that, run 'Chkdsk' as it Creates and displays a status report for
the disk. The chkdsk command also lists and corrects errors on the disk.

The chkdsk command with the parameters listed below is only available when
you are using the Recovery Console. The chkdsk command with different
parameters is available from the command prompt.

chkdsk [drive:] [/p] [/r]

Parameters

none

Used without parameters, chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the
current drive.

drive:

Specifies the drive that you want chkdsk to check.

/p

Performs an exhaustive check even if the drive is not marked for chkdsk to
run. This parameter does not make any changes to the drive.

/r

Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. Implies /p.

 

[Guest]

If its a SATA drive,youll need to use the F6 option on booting to xp cd,if
its an IDE drive,download power max,install to a floppy,boot to floppy,in pwr
max,do a low-level format,then quit pwrmax,retry installing xp,it should be
recognized after the format.

 

[Guest]

Hi, Andrew - thanks for the response. I think the problem may be more serious
than I had originally believed.

I was able to format the new Maxtor drive (it's an Ultra, BTW, thanks for
the suggestion) and then inserted the Win XP install disk. The initial Set Up
process completed but, upon rebot, the OS failed to start and I got a
blue-screen msg that said my hard drive was either infected with a virus or
corrupted and, to avoid inflicting damage on my computer, it would abort
finishing the install process.

This error message also appears when I re-connect the original hard drive
and try to boot from it.

Don't know what could be causing this. The BIOS appears to be functioning
correctly - I am able to detect all drives through it, able to read CPU
temperature, etc. But I have noticed one symptom in particular: When I first
boot up the PC, the initial splash screen is very, very slow. Normally, it
says "Detecting IDE drives..." and completes the process within 3 seconds and
then moves on to load XP. But now it's taking about 30 seconds to complete.
The information appears to be correct -- the amount of RAM, the names and
characteristics of the attached devices... just very slow.

Maybe something is hosed in the RAM or the CPU itself...?

 

[Guest]

Hi, BAR:

Thanks for the ideas. I think the problem with the new drive was that I had
incorrectly adjusted BIOS settings to boot HD-1 first and not HD-0. Anyway,
now a new issue affects both the old drive and a completely new drive: Win XP
completes its initial install process, but, when it reboots, it tells me that
the drive is either infected with a virus or that it has been corrupted --
and then it shuts down. This msg could have correctly aplied to the first
drive, which had started to behave strangely (BTW: thanks for the spyware
suggestions -- I already use both Spybot and Ad aware - and I also use the
new MS beta Anti-Spyware program -- it's pretty good.). But this msg about
corruption and viruses cannot be right for the brand new new drive, can it?

You should make sure that you have a Spyware detection and removal
application, such as Spybot Search and Destry. If you don't do a goole andf
find it. Download is free.

If no spyware is identified, try running a good anti virus aplication,
remove and delete any infected files.

After all that, run 'Chkdsk' as it Creates and displays a status report for
the disk. The chkdsk command also lists and corrects errors on the disk.

The chkdsk command with the parameters listed below is only available when
you are using the Recovery Console. The chkdsk command with different
parameters is available from the command prompt.

chkdsk [drive:] [/p] [/r]

Parameters

none

Used without parameters, chkdsk displays the status of the disk in the
current drive.

drive:

Specifies the drive that you want chkdsk to check.

/p

Performs an exhaustive check even if the drive is not marked for chkdsk to
run. This parameter does not make any changes to the drive.

/r

Locates bad sectors and recovers readable information. Implies /p.

Hi, my PC started behaving very sluggishly today so I have been trying to
re-install XP Home Edition as part of a clean-up solution. When I boot from
the installation CD, however, I get the same error message: "Windows did not
detect any hard drive installed on this computer...." Now, the BIOS correctly
identifies the hard drive (a brand new Maxtor) during its start-up routine,
so this implies that the hard drive IS detectable and that the pathway from
the CPU to the hard drive is also working. I've re-installed XP on this and
other desktops several times in the past and haven't seen this message
before. Are there any hardware issues that I should check on?

Thanks for any ideas and advice!