Re: Adapter 1: No HDD detected!

Sony Vaio VPCE3M1E

My new Vaio won't allow my to install a second operating system. I even went as far as buying a new Sata drive today so that I could install any operating system from scratch. This is what happens:

Irrespective of how I go about it either with a new partition on the original drive or on the drive I bought today the same thing happens, The new installation commences as per normal with the various drivers being loaded. Eventually the installation process arrives at the point where it says, 'Starting Windows' and this is the point at which the computer stops with the following message:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is your first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

Technical informsion:
*** STOP: 0x00000007B (0xF78D2524,0xC0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000)


Since the stop code signifies: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE I thought it might be something to do with the Sata set-up in BIOS but there is nothing that's alterable. The BIOS is:

American Megatrends
Version R1140Y8
ME Version 6.0.31.1208

I then found a guy who said that the problem is due to the XP installation disc not having the appropriate Sata Controller drivers available and so that's why the computer comes to a grinding halt. He said to download the Sata Controller drivers and incorporate them into a boot disc. The full explanation is here:

http://www.mydigitallife.info/windo...d-find-any-sata-hard-disk-drive-on-ahci-mode/

I've been able to work out that the Sata Controller is from Intel:

Intel 5 Series 4/6 Port Sata AHCI Controller.

The problem now is that while I can download from Intel an exe that will install the drivers for me I can't find the individual driver files themselves.

Any thoughts as to where I can obtain the individual driver files?

 

I've run into this on HP and Lenovo models. Although the respective manufacturers' tech support pages pretend this issue doesn't exist, my research indicates it was a BIOS issue. A few years ago most motherboards' BIOS would only allow install of XP SP1 or above; now it appears many new motherboards and PCs won't accept XP at all.

This is especially true if the BIOS startup has a "restore" (function key) option where the restore media is a partition on the hard drive.

Although it could be an Intel driver issue as you stated, it might be worth a call or e-mail to Sony tech support requesting an honest answer on what versions of Windows the BIOS will recognize.

Hope this helps.