Windows XP XP Install - No HDD Controller Driver

[DekHog]

OK, this is driving me nuts! I need to reinstall XP on a friends laptop - it needs to be XP, for the time being at least.

The problem of XP not having built in drivers for the SATA controller rears it's ugly head - it's listed in the current install of XP as nVidia nForce for the controller, and I've downloaded what I thought were a couple of drivers to inject into the XP install using nLite, but no joy. Is there any way to find/extract the required .inf file from the current install of XP, or is it just Windows drivers that will be in the current installation with no suitable .inf for actually installing XP from scratch?

TIA

 

[Neemobeer]

Besides the obvious question of "Why are you installing an OS that's been out of support for 5 years?" You can go into the firmware and change the boot mode from ACHI to legacy/IDE and Xp should boot without adding any drivers.

 

[DekHog]

Besides the obvious question of "Why are you installing an OS that's been out of support for 5 years?" You can go into the firmware and change the boot mode from ACHI to legacy/IDE and Xp should boot without adding any drivers.

It needs to be XP (that's what's on it and that's what he wants) as it runs older vehicle diagnostic software that still only runs properly on XP - believe me, I'd rather be putting Win 7 or 10 on it.

Don't remember the BIOS having that option, but will check (Compaq Mini).

 

[Josephur]

You should be able to view the properties of the controller via device manager in the current install, locate the inf, and any files that it references inside of it for it to operate, instead of injecting them into an installer via ntlite it'll be easier to try them using the F6 during setup portion of xp's install. You should be able to have them on a flash drive and try them that way. You can also download and old version of good 'ol devcon.exe which allows you to backup devices and their drivers from the command line.

I believe devcon was created for Server 2003 however runs on XP SP3 or later just fine. You'll have to do some digging to find it along with decent instructions however.

If I knew the model of laptop/motherboard I might be able to find the original driver for you and you could maybe save some time.

 

[DekHog]

You should be able to view the properties of the controller via device manager in the current install, locate the inf, and any files that it references inside of it for it to operate, instead of injecting them into an installer via ntlite it'll be easier to try them using the F6 during setup portion of xp's install. You should be able to have them on a flash drive and try them that way. You can also download and old version of good 'ol devcon.exe which allows you to backup devices and their drivers from the command line.

I believe devcon was created for Server 2003 however runs on XP SP3 or later just fine. You'll have to do some digging to find it along with decent instructions however.

If I knew the model of laptop/motherboard I might be able to find the original driver for you and you could maybe save some time.

Thanks. It's a Compaq Mini 311. I'll check device manager for a list of the files, but does it not have to be a floppy drive (not USB) that XP requires to load drivers during an install? Been so long since I've used it I've forgotten more than I remember..... no options in the BIOS for changing drive types, it's pretty old I think.....

 

[Josephur]

Ah yes it appears it must be a floppy but a USB floppy drive can work too. Check out this thread on the HP community forums, I think you'll find it very helpful.

 

[DekHog]

Ah yes it appears it must be a floppy but a USB floppy drive can work too. Check out this thread on the HP community forums, I think you'll find it very helpful.

Thanks for that link, I think it's cracked now as I've got the correct drivers for the install.

I can get a USB FDD, but wouldn't have a clue where to get a disk for it these days and the FDD owner has none!

nLite and the drivers from the link should do it nicely.....

 

[DekHog]

It's done! Never again though!