pls help driver got deleted

ok here goes,
i got this computer from a buddy who said he was getting a error (getdrivelayout) he was told to delete the via raid tool.... from reading up on this i think he deleted everything... is there a way to install raid drivers ? it wont boot ..it just flashes xp start screen then starts over and over... or maybe just setup bios to not run in raid?...i cant find in bios where to change to sata hdd.... just primary IDE not detected

pent 4
ecs p4m800-m7 mobo v3.1
american megatrend inc (ami) bios ver 2.59
win xp

sorry if i posted this in wrong area...thought i could fix it by getting a driver
thanks in advance

vanrebl

 

Here is the driver page for that board:

http://www.ecs.com.tw/ECSWebSite_20...egoryID=1&DetailName=Driver&MenuID=52&LanID=0

It sounds like you should install the VIA 4in1 driver first - that may take care of the IDE error message and the SATA issue. The raid drivers are also listed on the page.

I would download the motherboard manual and check for instructions on installing the drivers. Usually there is a specific order to follow.

 

can you install with windows already installed on hdd?
and if so can it be installed with cd there is no floppy drive on this machine

thanks
vanrebl

 

The SATA/RAID settings are in the "Features Setup" section of the BIOS. There will be an option for "On-Board SATA" and it can be set to "RAID" if using two SATA hard drives in a RAID0 or RAID1 setup; or it can be set to "IDE" if using one or two SATA hard drives as individual drives (such as Drive C: and Drive D: for example).

No - you cannot install drivers without booting to Windows (with one exception); if Windows doesn't load to the desktop, you can try booting in Safe Mode. The exception is the installation of SATA/RAID/SCSI drivers when installing Windows from the original installation CD; you press F6 when prompted, then insert a floppy disk containing the drivers. Since you don't have a floppy drive, you're a bit stuck. The WinXP installation does not allow for searching USB flash drives or CD drives for this driver during this stage of installation. A USB floppy drive usually does work though.

 

can i fix the MBR on this drive so it will boot without losing everything on hdd?

it boots to xp splash screen then keeps restarting

i tried to switch in bios between raid and ide same results just loops thru booting

 

If saving the data is of paramount importance, then you might consider booting to a live Linux distro and transferring files to a flash drive.

 

thank you everyone for the help!!!

never tried that but its worth a shot....i dont want to lose everything on this disk
i just thought i could do a work around cause i really dont want to reinstall everything
i thought maybe just the MBR was bad and i could reload windows and do a repair and would fix the MBR....

 

Yeah, normally the MBR fix isn't so bad, but in your case (XP/SATA) there's a huge hurdle to climb before you can get to a point to restore the boot record.
Agreed with dlb: if you could get your hands on a USB floppy, the SATA load would probably work.
Do try a Linux disk - from a live environment you should be able to salvage the data.

 

ty for your help Caliban,

is the sata a driver placed on disk or in bios?....reason i ask is it possible to load from other mobo ...i have a other machine with floppy then switch back to old mobo im sure it loads to bios as well right not just on hdd this mobo dont have ide for floppy disk

 

oops...i missed it yes it does have a serial ata (blushing at the moment) will try dlb's f6 method
will repost results
thank you both and you too Spad for drivers

 

Great!

Interesting idea about the mobo switch - I've never tried that approach.
Don't know if it would work or not - I've got a feeling the drivers work in concert between the chipset and the operating system, but it's something to think about if the situation arises in the future.

 

BTW - the MBR and/or boot sector is NOT damaged since the "XP loading" screen comes up - this means the drive is booting, and that your operating system is there, all your data is there, etc. I strongly recommend that you press F8 repeatedly during the startup process. This should present you with a list of Windows startup options; select "Disable automatic restart after system failure". When the system restarts, it should stop at a blue screen with an error code; you'll see something like "IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL" and "STOP:0x0000007F". These are only examples and your message/code will likely be different. Please post the message and code before trying to reload Windows. While a 'safe' re-install might fix your problems, on rare occasions you'll get back to desktop but NONE of your programs will run (or even be visible), and you'll have to poke around to find your data. However, if we can find out the exact error msg and error code, we should be able to get your OS up and running as it was...

If the Windows was installed on motherboard "A", moving the hard drive to motherboard "B" will NOT help, it can only make things worse, NOT better! It has nothing to do with whether a floppy drive is hooked up or not....