hi there, i recently purchased a Sony Vaio AR31M...with win Vista preinstalled...i don`t like it, plus it`s slow and full of nosense stuff...tried therefore different systems, which only one is working well, and that is Linux kubuntu.. Mandriva and Windows XP are not working.... So while mandriva gets stuck in the middle of its live installation, xp won`t even try to install... this is what happen, when i boot with xp cd it get through the first loading, as soon as it finishes and it`s the time to chose which HD will be use and format, it says WINDOWS XP DIDN`T FIND ANY Hard Disk WHERE TO INSTALL THE SYSTEM. PLEASE CHECK IF ALL THE HARDWARE IS PROPERLY CONNECTED. sounds like a silly joke but it`s F@~*** real... went back to vista to see if i can make quick but it keeps giving me a lot of strange errors occasionally. please help, how the hell i can install windows xp in my system otherwise i`ll bring the pc back and get another one....but that`s pretty extreme, there might be a solution... cheers
may sound daft but dose the lappy have a SATA HDD, therefore the XP cant see it unless you hit F6 to install the SATA drivers. i think that is the issue, i could be wrong, but its a start point. edit was right sony vaio uses a 120 GB - Serial ATA-150. have fun
Welcome to the forums The SATA drivers should be on a 'drivers/software CD, which you should've received with the system. As suggested... you need to hit F6 when XP asks if you want to 'load third party drivers' (watch the bottom of the screen when it's botting from the XP CD, 'coz you only get a few seconds in which to decide/hit F6!). Then simply browse to the folder in which the SATA drivers are stored. It would be an idea to check the CD (from within Windows) before starting the XP installation procedure, so you know where to direct the 'browse' option to look for them
Still winXP won`t recognize my Sata hd in sony vaio hi there i followed ur advice, got an external floppy drive, pressed F6 and loaded Sata drivers as winXp asked. it recognizes the driver it loads something else but then when is the moment to choose which hd will be used, it falls again in the original error which explain that winXp can`t see any hd installed, and if there is any i should make sure it is properly connected... i`m bloody speechless.... any idea?
try the bios and if it has IDE and SATA control, the bios maybe looking for a IDE HDD before it looks for a SATA HDD, when it cant find a IDE HDD, the windows installer cant either then it all gets hissy. i have the same problem with my rig, if i reset the bios its default is to boot IDE first. few changes in the right menu and its fine. i assume thats what the lappy is doing as it must have an IDE controller for the DVD drive, or other optical drive that is installed.
ok, it`s a a31m sony vaio n the xp is the 2sp. i found the drivers in my cd vaio driver, so they should be ok. but the thing is Xp recognizes the driver and it gives me the choice to select either the driver in the floppy or a driver already in WinXp cd, i`ve tried them both,but then with a bit of loading it gives me the same hd error....
so upon restart after selecting the drive you wish to install on you are leaving the floppy in? you are ment to remove the disc for the setup.
My Thinkpad is the same way. It's NOT an F6 SATA driver issue, but it is BIOS-related. Look for a SATA disk mode in the BIOS. I've never touched a Sony computer so I have no idea what their BIOS looks like, but hunt around. Check if the mode is set to ACHI, or something of that nature. Change it to 'compatibility' mode (or something of that nature) and XP should be able to find the disc. The terms might be a little different, but I'm very confident that it's that kind of setting that you need to change.
hi guys, nothing i tried to get something changed in the bios but there s not really something to change, the bios is very plain and easy, no much stuff just boot security and bloody splashscreen to activate or not... but also i`ve tried to install the mac os x tiger 10.4, and guess what?? when i need to select what HD will be installed in, there s no fu_)/$"()*g nothing to choose........... i really wanna sort this problem out i don`t wanna have sucha good machine which can run just f__g vista... it`s not fair ****....
can you post a picture of the screen you get to when you cant go further. i cant see why you are having so much trouble.
i took pictures of the process so it`s like 9pics in total...they r in order of beginning and end of process of each os mac and xp. as u can see my HD it`s basically air...doesn show up...
i wonder if vista is defending its self........ As you said your drive is 'Air' you have followed every step we have suggested. the only thing i can think is that you have the wrong sata driver. try the ''preinstalled drivers'' download in the link below, http://support.vaio.sony.co.uk/down...voe_en_GB_cons&category=0&serie=VGN-AR&m=2525 burn it onto a cd, and i think you can access a cd during the install, you can remove the xp disc at anytime aslong its not reading it. i have to as my CD key is stuck on the dam disc..... well more like written on, thats another story! lol! give it ago and report back chap.
the driver i`m using is exactly from the vaio support website, i`ve already tried to use a cd but it wont load it, that`s why i got a floppy drive which works fine n it shows up as u can see from the pics. i think it`s the bios then, but theres nothing to change in there...dam it... maybe i should upgrade it with a newer version ****...
hehe no havent go time to try, but the problem is there are so many driver in that website i haven got a clue which one to pick up...
ok i ve tried sm of them, but it won`t work... so i reckon that windows xp cant be installed in my ****ing vaio then....i`m trying to getused to Vista but it`s slow and complicated and those stupid permissions are really pissing me off....
