felixthadog

I never get to install Windows - without the SATA drivers on the Installation CD, setup doesn't recognise the SATA HDD; with the slipstreamed XP CD, the installation fails before I even get to input the Product Key (the message is something about a component missing or corrupted). If I could completely bypass the HP Restore CD (the second CD) that would solve all of my problems, but unfortunately I still need to use the HP Restore CD when booting from the first Installation CD Matthew

Yes, it is a HP OEM CD. Sorry if I didn't explain the problem properly, the "validation" I am referring to occurs when I try to boot from the XP Installation CD. I receive a message prompting me to insert the HP Restore CD for validation, after doing this (and provided the validation is successful) I am then prompted to re-insert the Installation CD to continue with setup. There is no Windows Installation on the laptop, the HDD is empty. If I try to install XP using the Installation CD, the SATA HDD is not recognised, which is why I need to slipstream the SATA drivers on to the Installation CD, but when I do that using nLite, I no longer get the message that I need to insert the HP Restore CD when I boot the laptop from the slipstreamed Installation CD. It appears that either nLite is amending the XP installation files or there is information on the original HP CD that is not being included in the slipstream process. You are correct, I did have a post about trying to install SATA drivers through floppy, but the outcome was that I couldn't do it without editing the Installation CD or getting hold of a new Installation CD. I am hoping I can use the Installation CD I currently have, but I don't know how to slipstream the SATA drivers on to a CD that is part of a 2-disk set?? Matthew

I am trying to install XP on my brother's HP laptop but the XP CD I am using does not have any SATA drivers on it so I need to slipstream the drivers on to the XP CD. However, the XP CD I have is an HP-released version of XP and it comes as a 2-disk set (Operating System CD and HP Restore CD). When I boot from the Operating System CD, I am prompted to insert the HP Restore CD for validation. As a result of this, I have been unable to slipstream the SATA drivers to the Operating System CD using nLite without "breaking" the validation i.e. the slipstreamed CD is no longer seen as part of a 2-disk set, and this causes the installation to fail later on. Does anybody know how I can get the SATA drivers on to the XP CD without causing the HP validation to fail? Matthew

No worries, thanks for your help. It looks like I will need a full version of XP so that I can slipstream the SATA drivers Matthew

Please excuse my n00biness, but aren't the TXTSETUP.SIF and LAYOUT.INF files located on the XP CD? I can't make any changes to the XP CD (as mentioned in my previous post) so how can I modify those files? I don't understand how my CD-ROM drive could not be recognized, given that I booted the laptop from the XP CD? Matthew

OK, I should have mentioned this in my original post - the XP CD I have is an HP-released version of XP and it comes as a 2-disk set (Operating System CD and HP Restore CD). When I boot from the Operating System CD, I am prompted to insert the HP Restore CD for validation. As a result of this, I have been unable to slipstream the SATA drivers to the Operating System CD without "breaking" the validation i.e. the slipstreamed CD is no longer seen as part of a 2-disk set, and this causes the installation to fail later on. The only option I have (other than getting another XP CD) is to add the SATA drivers via F6. I am using an external USB floppy drive (IBM) which is on the MS Compatibility List for installing drivers via F6, but I am stuck on this "Please insert ..." message and cannot progress any further with the XP installation until I figure out what part of the puzzle I am missing Matthew

The XP CD has those files in the root directory (except WIN51IP.SP1 because it is a SP2 disk) Matthew

Hi all, I am trying to install Windows XP Pro on my brother's HP laptop but I have hit a roadblock and I can't progress any further without some help. The laptop has a SATA drive but the XP CD I have does not have any SATA drivers on it so I have downloaded the drivers from the web and copied them to a floppy disk. I boot the laptop from the XP CD and press F6 to load the SATA drivers. I select the driver from the list and everything seems OK, but once the files have been copied and I press Enter to continue setup, I receive the following message: Please insert the disk labeled Windows XP Professional CD-ROM into Drive A: * Press Enter when ready. I press Enter but nothing happens, and the only other option is to quit setup. I'm not sure what this error means, given that the XP CD is in the CD-ROM drive and the SATA driver disk is in the floppy drive. I don't even know where the setup is getting the "Windows XP Professional CD-ROM" label from Any help would be most appreciated. Matthew