How to install XP to SATA drive without floppy

Hi, I know I'm a little out of date but I'm facing that same problem with a Gateway desktop comp (my bro's actually).
I read through the entire help file and found it quite useful (thx on that btw). I do have one question however... Why is it so important to have the exact driver for your hardware and install only this one? What I mean is if I add ALL drivers from a driverpack (like the ones you can now find on the net) wich incorporates a whole bunch of drivers for a multitude of hardware, won't the windows install go fetch only the one it needs for the specific hardware on your system and ignore the rest?
In the worst case, if it installs a whole bunch of drivers you don't need, isn't it possible to simply just delete those after the install is done?
I'm asking this because I'm not 100% sure about the driver I need. I did manage to slice it down to half a dozen "candidates" but I'd have to try each of them to be sure. So I'm thinking why not integrate them all in one CD and see what happens?

Thanks for the advice !!

 

Hi,

I'm not sure which guide you are using?

A couple of things you could try.

Go to Gateway's site and their support section and look up your model number. There should be a downloads section for our model which will give you the correct SATA driver.

Or, you could go into the BIOS of your PC and change the "SATA Operation" to IDE or Compatibility mode rather than ACHI. Then after the XP installation (and updates to install the SATA driver) go ahead and change it back.

 

Hi my friend , in addition to sach2 advice , you can download this

http://www.majorgeeks.com/CPU-Z_d425.html

navigating to mainboard tab

http://www.dowdandassociates.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/cpu-z_mainboard_tab.png

inspecting your model , afterwards you are able to go to Manufacturer site finding sata drivers :wave

 

Thanks guys,

Like I said, this is my bro's computer. I went ahead and tried the drivers I narrowed down yesterday and turns out it worked like a charm. There are still 3 or 4 pieces of hardware not recognized after the install but that's just a matter of redownloading the drivers and fixing them...
BTW, before doing that I looked up the BIOS and there is indeed an option to switch to IDE mode (for lack of better term) so worst case scenario, I could have used that method.
Actually, all the info sited here is accurate I think. I would never have succeeded without the help found here. So thx again everyone.