XP CD can't find hard drive in new built PC

[Dave (from the UK)]

I've ordered a 300 GB SATA drive, but for now are testing a new homebuilt PC
with an old 36 GB IBM SCSI drive (Ultra 160) that I pulled from a PC that run XP
Professional.

The newly built PC has

Tyan Thunder K8WE (S2895) motherboard with Ultra 320 SCSI onboard.
http://www.tyan.com/products/html/thunderk8we_spec.html
2 x 512 MB of ECC registered RAM
1 x Opteron 248
IBM 36 GB Ultra SCSI 160 disk.
IDE based DVD writer.
Floppy

The SCSI disk, with XP on it, was pulled from a Pentium II PC which has SCSI on
board (based on an Adaptec controller).

If I switch the newly built PC on, Windows XP tries to boot from the SCSI hard
disk but does not fully succeed. Trying "safe mode" shows it fails when loading
something like "agp.sys". Given this motherboard has no AGP, perhaps this is not
surprising.

This Tyan dual Opteron motherboard is quite different from the old dual Pentium
II PC the SCSI disk came from.

If I then insert the XP installation CD, which is not an OEM one, 'setup' runs,
but says it can't find any hard disks. This seems odd, since there is obviously
a hard disk present - the machine will boot from the hard disk if the XP CD is
not present in the drive.

This is the details of the SCSI controller from the motherboard specs

Integrated SCSI Controller (option)
• LSI 53C1030 U320 SCSI controller
- Two U320 68-pin SCSI connectors
- Connected to PCI-X Bridge B

I've not tried loading any SCSI drivers in the setup program, but given the
machine will at least try to boot from the hard disk it indicates to me they are
probably not needed.

Although this machine will run Solaris and so not Windows, I want to be able to
boot Windows as many utilities to upgrade things like DVD drives, check disks
etc need Windows. So I want to keep a minimal Windows installation on the machine.
--
Dave K MCSE.

MCSE = Minefield Consultant and Solitaire Expert.

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: month-year@domain. Hitting reply will work
for a couple of months only. Later set it manually.

 

[KC Computers]

I've ordered a 300 GB SATA drive, but for now are testing a new homebuilt
PC with an old 36 GB IBM SCSI drive (Ultra 160) that I pulled from a PC
that run XP Professional.
The newly built PC has
Tyan Thunder K8WE (S2895) motherboard with Ultra 320 SCSI onboard.
http://www.tyan.com/products/html/thunderk8we_spec.html
2 x 512 MB of ECC registered RAM
1 x Opteron 248
IBM 36 GB Ultra SCSI 160 disk.
IDE based DVD writer.
Floppy
If I then insert the XP installation CD, which is not an OEM one, 'setup'
runs, but says it can't find any hard disks. This seems odd, since there
is obviously a hard disk present - the machine will boot from the hard
disk if the XP CD is not present in the drive.

You need to install the SCSI drivers from a floppy during Windows
installation. You need to press F6 when prompted early on and then
follow the on-screen directions.

 

[Mike T.]

You need to install the SCSI drivers from a floppy during Windows
installation. You need to press F6 when prompted early on and then
follow the on-screen directions.

What he said is correct, but to clarify it:
Even if windows is on the SCSI hard drive, the SCSI controller drivers are
WRONG for the current SCSI controller that you are trying to use.

To run EITHER the SATA or SCSI hard drive on your new motherboard, you are
going to have to do an installation of Windows XP OR a REPAIR installation
of Windows XP. During installation, you will have to hit F6 and install
drivers (SATA or SCSI) to be able to support the disk controller that you
are trying to use. -Dave

 

[Dave (from the UK)]

You need to install the SCSI drivers from a floppy during Windows
installation. You need to press F6 when prompted early on and then
follow the on-screen directions.

So why is it booting from the original disk which came from the other PC? That
was an old PC (dual Pentium II) with an Adaptec 2940UW SCSI controller. There is
no way I would have loaded LSI SCSI drivers for an Ultra 320 controller to that
disk. I know XP just reconised the Adaptec controller without hassle.

I suspect you are right, but it seems odd that the XP installation CD will not
reconise the disk without you loading the SCSI drivers, but clearly they are
already on the XP installation CD, as it will boot using that controller once XP
is installed.


--
Dave K MCSE.

MCSE = Minefield Consultant and Solitaire Expert.

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: month-year@domain. Hitting reply will work
for a couple of months only. Later set it manually.

 

[Michael Hawes]

So why is it booting from the original disk which came from the other PC?
That was an old PC (dual Pentium II) with an Adaptec 2940UW SCSI
controller. There is no way I would have loaded LSI SCSI drivers for an
Ultra 320 controller to that disk. I know XP just reconised the Adaptec
controller without hassle.

I suspect you are right, but it seems odd that the XP installation CD will
not reconise the disk without you loading the SCSI drivers, but clearly
they are already on the XP installation CD, as it will boot using that
controller once XP is installed.


--
Dave K MCSE.

MCSE = Minefield Consultant and Solitaire Expert.

Please note my email address changes periodically to avoid spam.
It is always of the form: month-year@domain. Hitting reply will work
for a couple of months only. Later set it manually.

The XP instalation on the HD has the Adaptec driver, which is part of
XP's library of drivers and can work with your LSI card (but will not use
any options specific to the LSI). When you boot from the CD the XP setup
program does not see any SCSI controller it recognises, which is why you
have to hit F6 and install LSI driver from diskette.
Mike.