[kj4k]

Hey guys and gals, I'm having some trouble with my main machine at home and I'm in need of some serious help.

I was wondering if you guys can help me out if possible, thanks.

STARTUP PROBLEM

- I attempted to install a fresh copy of Windows XP with my Windows XP with SP2 CD but the setup does not recognize any connected hard drives.

- I have two 60GB Maxtor hard drives.

- The setup left the setup files on my computer.

- Everytime I boot my computer I am prompted to choose between either Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Professional setup as if I had two or more operating systems installed.

- Does anyone know how to remove these setup files to boot normally?

[mphenterprises]

Hi KJ4K and welcome to PCWorld. :-)




I see at least three issues here, two of which could be directly related. It is best not to combine issues within the same Discussion. The problem related to your Win9x versus WinXP GUI should be in its own Discussion. Combining issues in one Discussion will ultimately mean that one or more of those issues may not get any attention.

Please edit this Discussion to remove the GUI issue and put that within its own Discussion.




Now, in relation to your Setup problem, can you answer some questions:

- Can you clarify your statement that Windows does not recognize any drives? Do you mean that you are not able to fully boot your computer because Windows cannot find drives?

- Does the BIOS recognize both drives?

- Are these drives new?

- What were the exact steps you followed to reinstall/install Windows?

[kj4k]

Hi KJ4K and welcome to PCWorld. :-)

- Thanks for the welcome message mphenterprises. B-)

Can you clarify your statement that Windows does not recognize any drives?

- Sure, no problem.

Do you mean that you are not able to fully boot your computer because Windows cannot find drives?

- I can boot and use my machine as I would normally do.

- One exception: when I boot my computer I am asked to choose between two operating systems - Windows XP Professional & Windows XP Professional Setup.

Does the BIOS recognize both drives?

- BIOS does not recognize any of the two 60 GB Maxtor hard drives connected.

Are these drives new?

- Naw, these drives shipped with my machine from Tiger Direct.

What were the exact steps you followed to reinstall/install Windows?

- They are as follows:

# Turned on machine.
# Inserted Windows XP with SP2 CD in CD-ROM drive.
# Followed GUI instructions.
# After being prompted to reboot, I did.
# Entered setup.
# Setup did not detect any hard drive to reformat.
# Was prompted to reboot because setup failed.

[mphenterprises]

Hi KJ4K. Okay, we have a two-part problem here:

- Drives undetected by Windows Installation CD

- Windows Setup Files inside hard drive


The first issue is a little more involved so let's tackle the second issue first. To delete the Windows Setup files, you can do one of two things:

- Download TweakUI

OR

- Edit the Registry



I am a strong proponent of staying away from the Registry unless you absolutely have no other choice. In your case, since you do have a choice, I won't even discuss the Registry. TweakUI is a very versatile application offered by Microsoft. I learned about this application from this Forum and have found many useful tools within it. For your situation, please follow these steps:

- Download TweakUI from the hyperlink

- Once installed, open TweakUI and double click on My Computer

- Click on Special Folders

- On the right side of the utility, you will see a drop down arrow. Click on the drop down arrow and select Installation Path

- Under the Location section, you will see the exact path where the Windows Setup file is located

- Move your cursor over that location. The full path will be visible for about five seconds just in case it is not fully visible from within the utility. Write down what you see.

- Click OK or Cancel to close the utilty

- Open Windows Explorer (Right Click on My Computer and click Open )

- In the Address field, write the Installation path of the Windows Setup and hit the Enter key.

- From here, you should be able to either delete all the files within this folder or go up one folder level and delete the entire folder

- Restart your computer. You should now only have the original Windows XP Operating System




Now, with that situation resolved, I am still a bit concerned about the drive situation. If you are able to completely boot your computer and use it normally, that means that both Windows and the BIOS recognize the drives. I have some more questions for you on this issue:

- Are both of these drive SATA drives?

- If no, how exactly are these drives connected to the motherboard? (which IDE ports)

- How exactly did you access the BIOS?

- If you disconnect the drive that does not contain the Operating System, does the BIOS now recognize the remaining drive?

[kj4k]

Hey there again mphenterprises!
Download TweakUI
- I to read about TweakUI on a PC World article and wasted no time in downloading and running the stellar application.
- Here's a screenie:

- My D: drive is my DVD drive, and I have my two 60 GB Maxtor SATA drives striped using a RAID0 configuration I believe. I stand corrected.
- Here's another screenie or two:




Are both of these drive SATA drives?
- Yes, both drives are Serial ATA.
If no, how exactly are these drives connected to the motherboard? (which IDE ports)
- N/A
How exactly did you access the BIOS?
- I accessed BIOS by pressing DEL at the startup screen. (Prior to the Windows logon/boot screen.)
If you disconnect the drive that does not contain the Operating System, does the BIOS now recognize the remaining drive?
- No, I am unsure if I disconnect either drive if BIOS will recognize the remaining drive.

[mphenterprises]

Hi KJ4K. Okay, I think we are definitely making some progress. From the first image, it appears that the Installation Path is the D: drive. Since the D: drive is your DVD ROM, I gather that the CD is still in the drive. Once you take that out, you should no longer have an option to select the Windows Setup Files.

As for the hard drive situation, unless I am reading this incorrectly, it looks like only one of the 60GB hard drives is present within Windows. From the second image, it appears that the drive connected to RAID0 is present. The other drive is not. Can you please open your case and confirm that one drive is connected to RAID0? Also, can you post where the second SATA drive is connected? There should be verbiage imprinted on the motherboard itself.

If my assumptions are correct, either one of two things is happening:

- one of the drives has failed

OR

- one of the SATA ports on the motherboard has failed

[kj4k]

Hi there mphenterprises!
Right now, I'm fitting to head on over to Best Buy with this machine.
There was no CD and there still isn't any CD-ROM in the DVD-ROM drive, but TweakUI is still recognizing D: as the Installation Path.
I think you're right when you say one of my hard drives has failed me, but I'll have to do a little more testing with the drives themselves.
There is only one port on my motherboard for SATA (I believe) and one IDE HDD cable connects both hard disks to that one port.
I've also talked to one of my family members who's also in to computers and from what they gathered, it was a user error and a software configuration change that I had no control over what-so-ever.
I'm going to delve in the depths my case for some spring/end of fall cleaning and research.
I really appreciate what you have done and the time you took to assist me and my computer problems mphenterprises.
The computer problem may not have been solved, but you surely deserve those 4 points.
Have a good one buddy!

[mphenterprises]

My Pleasure. :-)




Please keep us informed of what happens. The only issue I see is the fact that your SATA drives are connected via an IDE cable. In my opinion, that would defeat the purpose of getting a SATA drive. According to this picture, the average SATA drive does not have an IDE connection. This is not to say that there are no SATA drives on the market with an IDE connection. But why get a SATA drive(for speed of data transfer) and connect it to the motherboard via an IDE cable?

I believe you mentioned that TigerDirect built this computer, correct? If the computer is still under warranty, you may want to speak to them first. You paid for a computer with two SATA drives. You should have received a computer that has a true SATA port on the motherboard.

In any regards, please keep us posted and thank you again for the comments. :D

[kj4k]

Hey fellas,

I'm just here updating you on the situation of my problem:

1. I've decided to deal with my problematic startup, and truckload of errors

2. Best Buy's Geek Squad in home repair options are too pricy for me ( $160 for diagnostic, $250 for diagnositc and repair)

3. I'd rather purchase a new machine instead of repair this old one, even though it is my main machine

[rgreen4]

Kj4k - are you sure that the drives are SATA and not SCSI. SCSI connects with a ribbon cable, SATA connects with a flat 7 contact connector and a narrow cable (about 1/2" wide) in which the individual wires are not visible.

Raid0 takes two drives and merges them so that they appear as one drive. The alternate blocks of information. If you lose one drive, you lose all, and the machine will not boot. Raid1 mirrors the drives, you still only see one letter, but if you lose one drive you still have everything on the second functional drive. (Technically speaking, Raid0 is not really a Raid [Redundant Aray of Independent Drives], but is classed as such).

Is this a manufactured computer? I believe you said both drives are connected to the MB, which would be different for SCSI drives.

Can you open the case, and read the Brand and Model No of one of the drives. That will eliminate any doubt.

[kj4k]

I'll do a hardware check tonight and report what I get.

[mphenterprises]

kj4k said:

2. Best Buy's Geek Squad in home repair options are too pricy for me ( $160 for diagnostic, $250 for diagnositc and repair)

>


Hi KJ4K. As a business owner, the above quoted statement is exactly why I love Geek Squad. They direct all of their potential business to me. It is ridiculous to charge $160 just to troubleshoot a problem...and not even correct the issue. If you were local to my area, we could work something out. It is a shame that you have to get a whole new system because of this. Have you tried any local technicians in your area or have you tried Craigslist?

[smax013]

kj4k said:

- Here's another screenie or two:

According to there two screen shots, it would appear that your drives are SCSI drives, NOT SATA or IDE drives. That would kind of suprise me some as SCSI was never really all the mainstream on Windoze computers (at least not desktop computers). This could just mean that the actual hard drive mechanism is a SCSI drive that then has a SATA connection on it with the ciruit board part the othe drive (one of my SATA drives shows up in the Device Manager as a SCSI drive even though it is connected by SATA) or it could be an actual SCSI drive connected to a SCSI controller.



As according to the first screen shot, there is some issue with the RAID Controller under the other devices section (as well some issue with the Ethernet Controller). Can you do a screen shot of the RAID Controller properties dialog box like you did for the second screen shot...and do another screenshot of the Device Manager with the SCSI and RAID Controller options expanded?



You might also want to down load Belarc Advisor and run it. It should be able to analyze what drives are attached in what manner (i.e. SATA, IDE, SCSI, etc).

[rgreen4]

Smax - good point on Belarc. What has me confused is that with the Raid0 configuration, if he had lost one drive, the machine should not even boot, giving a "Bad or Missing System" error.

Kj4K - what is the make and model of the computer?

Confirm please that the drives are connected to the MB and not to an add-in board that is then inserted into a MB slot.

[kj4k]

Aight playas relax, one at a time.

I'll start with the first reply and work my way down towards the last post and address each issue in order:

rgreen4:

Kj4k - are you sure that the drives are SATA and not SCSI. SCSI connects with a ribbon cable, SATA connects with a flat 7 contact connector and a narrow cable (about 1/2" wide) in which the individual wires are not visible.

Both Belarc Advisor and Device Manager agree that I have the following: Promise 2+0 Stripe/RAID0 SCSI Disk Device (122.98 GB) -- drive 0.

I opened my case and copied the fine print on the top of my hard disks and my results are as follows: Maxtor 60 GB ATA/133 HDD.

My two hard disks are connected to a 39-pin HDD cable and a 4-pin power cable.

The two 4-pin power cables lead into the power supply and the two 39-pin HDD cable connectors are on a single IDE cable that connects to the motherboard.

I couldn't make out the fine print on the port of the motherboard that the hard disks are connected to.

Is this a manufactured computer?

If by manufactured you mean made and then shipped to me, then yes.

This computer was custom made, but not for me and not by me.

It was intended for one of my sisters and ordered (custom made online) by one of my uncles.

He ordered two machines of identical composure, and I purchased one of the machines from him for my sister.

I believe you said both drives are connected to the MB, which would be different for SCSI drives.

I explained my hard disk configuration above: two disks connected with one cable that plugs into the motherboard.

Can you open the case, and read the Brand and Model No of one of the drives. That will eliminate any doubt.

Brand: Maxtor

Model Number: There are a gazillion numbers on my drive, just tell me where the number is located and I'll tell you what you want to know.

Serial Number: Y2CCE9WE

[kj4k]

Mphenterprises:

Hi KJ4K. As a business owner, the above quoted statement is exactly why I love Geek Squad. They direct all of their potential business to me. It is ridiculous to charge $160 just to troubleshoot a problem...and not even correct the issue. If you were local to my area, we could work something out.

I live in Orlando.

I'm pretty sure we can't work something out either. :(

It would have been nice though.

It is a shame that you have to get a whole new system because of this.

No, no, no mphenterprises!

There must be some sort of misunderstanding.

When I first came to these forums my machine was at the state where it was going to blow.

I fixed the majority of the problems with time and now only a few minor problems exist.

I do not have to get a new machine!

I am perfectly fine with this problematic machine believe it or not.

I'm just trying to fix the bugs: one being that I cannot re-install Windows and two, the dual boot situation with the Windows XP Professional setup files.

Have you tried any local technicians in your area or have you tried Craigslist?

I am supposed to be a technician, but I never took any of the CompTIA certifications after I completed my A+ Concepts courses.

Also, to answer your question, no I have not tried Craigslist, although I attended school with a few IT business owners like yourself who charge much lower than Geek Squad.

[kj4k]

Smax:

According to there two screen shots, it would appear that your drives are SCSI drives, NOT SATA or IDE drives. That would kind of suprise me some as SCSI was never really all the mainstream on Windoze computers (at least not desktop computers). This could just mean that the actual hard drive mechanism is a SCSI drive that then has a SATA connection on it with the ciruit board part the othe drive (one of my SATA drives shows up in the Device Manager as a SCSI drive even though it is connected by SATA) or it could be an actual SCSI drive connected to a SCSI controller.

Possibly.

As according to the first screen shot, there is some issue with the RAID Controller under the other devices section (as well some issue with the Ethernet Controller).

I concur.

Can you do a screen shot of the RAID Controller properties dialog box like you did for the second screen shot...and do another screenshot of the Device Manager with the SCSI and RAID Controller options expanded?

Sure, no problem.



!http://forums.pcworld.com/legacyimages/
1!

You might also want to down load Belarc Advisor and run it. It should be able to analyze what drives are attached in what manner (i.e. SATA, IDE, SCSI, etc).

I've used Belarc Advisor before for numerous occasions especially when it came to re-installing Windows.

Both Belarc Advisor and Device Manager agree that I have the following: Promise 2+0 Stripe/RAID0 SCSI Disk Device (122.98 GB) -- drive 0.

[kj4k]

Rgreen4:

Smax - good point on Belarc. What has me confused is that with the Raid0 configuration, if he had lost one drive, the machine should not even boot, giving a "Bad or Missing System" error.

Kj4K - what is the make and model of the computer?

Belarc Advisor absolutely refuses to give me any information on my make and model, but from Crucial ({color:#000000}http://www.crucial.com/{color}) and peeking inside my case I was able to get the motherboard type: ASUS A8V.

Confirm please that the drives are connected to the MB and not to an add-in board that is then inserted into a MB slot.

No, the drives are connected to a single cable, although I am unsure if it is an IDE cable.

The cable attaches to a port on the motherboard and can connect two devices which let it be known are my two hard drives.

And last but most certainly not least, don't worry about all that technical stuff fellas, I just want to get rid of that dual boot message at start-up.

I can cope with not being able to re-install Windows which I do annually when installing my new version of security programmes.

[smax013]

kj4k said:

My two hard disks are connected to a 39-pin HDD cable and a 4-pin power cable.

The two 4-pin power cables lead into the power supply and the two 39-pin HDD cable connectors are on a single IDE cable that connects to the motherboard.

I would say that if the data cable is 40 pin (with one pin not used), then it would appear to an IDE cable. SCSI is typically 50, 68 or 80 pin connections.



Now, I am not sure why it appears as a SCSI drive in the Device Manager and it appears Belarc.

[smax013]

kj4k said:

* Everytime I boot my computer I am prompted to choose between either Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Professional setup as if I had two or more operating systems installed.

* Does anyone know how to remove these setup files to boot normally?

I believe you can do that by editting the boot.ini file manually, but I am not sure if that is true and if so, how you would do it. This Micro$oft document might help in that regard.