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Hey everyone just wanted to let you all know the install went well, thanks to everyone that helped me along the way, your advice and info was invaluable! It feels great having a nice clean system again now I've just got to remember to keep it this way and try to keep all the junkware off. One thing though do I need the Ultra ATA Storage controller -27DF because I can't get it to install. I've run the Intel INF update utility again but still nothing. Here are pics of my device manager controllers before & after the new install: Before (previous XP install) After (new XP install) I've checked Intel's download pages, knowledge base articles and forums, Gigabytes website, the forums here, looked through my motherboards install disc and the extracted archive from the INF updater for anything I might recognize as the driver but can't find anything. A Google search produced a lot of websites offering downloads but little information and I'm always dubious about downloading things from random sites. If anyone has any info that could help me or a trustworthy website that I might be able to download from I'd appreciate it. PS. Anyone reading this thread looking for info on integrating SATA AHCI drivers on a motherboard with an ICH7 chip here is some great info that elaborates on info people have provided me here msi forum. Why couldn't I have found this before?!

Thanks Cdob I'll do that. Got everything ready, tomorrow's d-day.

Thanks for the quick reply Cdob but I'm not sure I understand everything your saying. Do you mind if I clarify it with you? Are you saying more or less that: My antiquated hardware does not support AHCI it is running the SATA ports as if they were IDE ports. Because my hard drive is connected to a SATA port emulating an IDE port and not a physical secondary IDE port re-mapping the BIOS so the hard drive is set as master on the primary IDE channel and the optical drive on the secondary IDE channel will make no performance difference as this only effects the system if your running it in DOS not Windows and so I should not bother including any SATA drives in my install either. All my SATA ports are Intel ports and none are Jmicron Are those points more or less correct? Judging from that link I don't think the paper manual that came with my motherboard is complete I've read it several times and I wondered why it made reference to sections it didn't contain. Ah I thought there were Jmicron ports because I have Jmicron SATA drivers on my motherboard's installation disc as well as the Intel ones and the guide you linked in your previous post said Intel boards often have additional ports offered through Jmicron add-ons and to make sure to connect to the Intel one during installation. I know I can have 2 IDE devices connected via the same port I was asking because I want to update my optical drives BIOS and as per the instructions -which I will attach in case you want to have a look- it has to be on the secondary IDE channel to do so. Since I just have the one do you think it'll be safe to just leave it as is (master on the primary channel) or do you think I should re-map the BIOS so it's set to the secondary channel? Read me(ew).TXT

Ah my bad mate I did miss that one sorry, thanks for clearing it up. I'll look for a hardware forum and post my other question re the drives.

That's why I think if I don't get things right before I begin I'll be left with an unreadable drive and why I'm so concerned with making sure I have everything just so. If I were just reinstalling normally I'd just give it a go and come what may, I usually learn by trial and error anyway lol. I do read carefully what everyone tells me and take it to heart mate so I'm sorry if it seems I'm not. I really appreciate the time you guys are taking to help me out and I wouldn't be so rude as ask a question and then not listen to the answer but I'm reading a lot of info most of it completely new to me, some of which doesn't yet make a lot of sense so I get a bit muddled and need to ask questions -maybe for a second time- to make sure I have it right in my mind so sorry if I'm getting annoying orz. Thanks Cdob that was one of the first guides I read but because I couldn't find AHCI in my BIOS I disregarded it. Now that Tomasz has informed me SATA is AHCI in my case it makes more sense. When you know what your doing having things reffered to by an alternate term or arranged a little differently is easy to interprate but when you don't it's very confusing. That guide says to make sure the HD is connected to the intel SATA port but how do I figure out which are the Intel ports and which are the Jmicron? Here's a pic of my MB: I'm guessing the Intel one is port 0 and the rest are Jmicron is that right? Also at the moment for some strange reason my SATA ports are set to IDE channel 2 and 3 and my HD is on channel 3 set as slave while my OD is set to master on channel one. Shouldn't my HD be on channel 1 as master and my OD on channel 2 as master? Should I change this in my BIOS and cabling before I install my Nlite disc? Will simply changing it in BIOS change the channel allocation? I've actually been trying to figure this out so I can update my OD driver (needs to be set as master on channel 2) but every guide, how-to or post I read says I should have 2 IDE ports on my MB and just to switch the cables but I can only see one on my MB. Here are some pics of my current BIOS settings and if you check my earlier post you can see a pic of my IDE controllers in the control panel which only show 2 channels not 3 like in my BIOS. I realise this is probably the wrong forum for hardware questions but this is related to what people have so kindly been helping me with so I thought I'd continue to post here. If you think I should still move this question to another forum let me know and I will do so.

I probably just downloaded the wrong one thanks for pointing it out. Does the rest look ok, right drivers for my PC and all that?

Are you asking what that file is? I got it from OnePiece's Skydrive when I downloaded .NET and some other things. I wasn't sure about that one myself, what I was looking for was a coppy of Silverlight to include in my install disc. I'll take it out and just install Silverlight post OS.

Bah such a simple fix, thanks Ponch, I feel stupid for not knowing it. I successfully slipstreamed and tested my first CD -yay!- and everything looks good. I'm still a little nervous -but excited- so if you don't mind me taking up yet a little more of your time with my noob questions I'd like to confirm a few things before I wipe my HD. I know a VM uses it's own drivers so you can't test out the ones included in an UI but I checked the device manager on my VM and there were unknown devices (monitor, LAN and some others) Is it normal for a VM to show such unknown devices or did I screw up? During set-up it still asks me to confirm my PC's name, is that because I should've chosen a different option in unattended? I left it on the default "hide pages" because with this being my first UI i didn't want to chance changing it, it's not a big problem just a little annoying. Does the "classic start-up" option remove the select user screen at start-up allowing Windows to boot straight into the system without having to choose a user first? If not is there some other way for me to set that up with Nlite? Is there any merit in removing components beyond simply making the install disc smaller and using less HD space? (e.g. any performance gains?) The SATA controller Tomaz gave me (which I'm sure was the right one based on the info I gave him but I'm not sure if I left the following info out and if it's important enough to change anything) lists these controllers: AHCI Controllers: - Intel® Desktop/Workstation/Server Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® Mobile Express Chipset SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® 5 Series/3400 Series SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® 5 Series 4 Port SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® 5 Series 6 Port SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® ICH10D/DO SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® ICH10R SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® EP80579 SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® ICH9R/DO/DH SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® ICH7M/MDH SATA AHCI Controller - Intel® ICH7R/DH SATA AHCI Controller When I look at my device manager though this is what my PC is currently set to: Do I have the right controllers ready to use in my new install, if I put those files just as Tomasz packaged them in his link on a flash drive could I use them for a F6 install and will I need to? I know Tomasz said Nlite will install them and I'm not doubting him I'd just like to confirm I understood him correctly, that I have it right in my own mind and that I'm fully ready before I start the new install, I don't want to get stuck with an unreadable drive! Does it seem that I have all the correct drivers that I should need? Attached -hopefully for real this time- is my last session ini. I think I uploaded it but forgot to press the attach button before /facepalm. I'd been reading forums all day trying to sort my own fix out so my brain was a bit syrupy when I posted. Thanks again for giving me your time and expertise. LAST SESSION.INI

Bad news guys and gals, I finally finalised and burnt my first slipstreamed XP disc (well the iso at least) but it's not working. I've searched through the forums but can't find an answer. I tried installing my iso in Virtualbox but it gets stuck in a loop. It seems to have recognised my HD ok (thanks Tomasz for showing me the right drivers to use!) I was able to format and partition the drive fine, then it asks me choose a partition to install XP on, I choose the one I prepared, it copies the files to the Windows installation folder then restarts and asks me to choose a partition to install Windows on again and follows the same procedure. I don't know if it matters but this is actually the second iso I made. The first one wouldn't go past the "Starting Windows" screen so I loaded up the preset I saved and changed the computer type from "ACPI multi processor" to "automatic" and burnt another iso which seemed to work better until this loop. Also when I reload either of the sessions in Nlight there's an amber dot next to "unattended setup" where the rest are green I don't know if that matters either. Edit: Unattended setup is amber because I forgot to set options on all the tabs /facepalm. Attached is my last session file, any assistance would be greatly appreciated. PS. If you wouldn't mind having a squiz at the drivers I've intergrated and letting me know if I included all the ones I need to for my Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 motherbord I'd appreciate it to.

Ok thanks, that's what I was going to do next. Tomasz hooked me up with the SATA drivers so I should hopefully have everything I need to get started now. Thanks for all the assistance, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Ok sweet, thanks Tomasz. Any ideas on the matter of a qualifying disc or do I just have to cross my fingers & hope I'm not asked for one?

@Ponch I'm planning to write 0 my HD before I reintall Windows so it's pine fresh for the new install.

Ah sweet Nlight keeps getting better and better! I'm using a Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 with an ICH7 southbridge chip. I've checked my mother boards page on the Gigabyte website. I still have the original disc that came with it and I've listed all the files that I can find relating to SATA in my novella of a post above but I'm not sure which is the right one/s to include in Nlight. If Nlight installs them pre OS as if I used the F5 menu & installed them myself then I'm guessing I would need the textmode files however there are still a few of those, some of which seem to me -and I may well be wrong- to be different versions of the same file (Gigabyte & Jmicron ones).

You don't think XP will have any problems reading the SATA drive? I've read sometimes XP requires you to press F5 and install the SATA controller before installing the OS. Which driver files do you recommend I integrate with Nlite? As I mentioned above there are quite a few and some seem to me to be different versions of the same driver (Jmicron & Gigabyte versions for example) and I'd prefer not to have Nlite installing multiple copies of the same driver if I can work out how to avoid it. I'm nervous I don't have all the drivers I need but figure at least if I have what I need to get Windows installed I'll be able to look in the device manager to see if I missed anything and install it. Working out the qualifying disc issue and SATA controller are the main things I'm really concerned with before I complete my Nlite disc as if XP asks for the SATA driver and I don't have it ready or for a qualifying disc and I don't have one I'll be stuck with a PC that wont start up won't I? It sucks I can't find out if I really need these until I've wiped my HD and it's to late to go back. Thanks GrofLuigi that gives me a little more confidence to play around with the tweaks. Can't wait to actually get this disc done & onto the fun stuff!

Woot! Reinstalling .net 2.0 fixed the problem with nlite not opening, thanks tomas. I had to uninstall .net framework 3.5 down to 2.0 to remove it. The XP CD I have says Window XP home edition OEM software, is version 5.1.2600.5512, it contains sp3 and is 559.94MB. It is a boot disc and has an I386 folder but is there something I can download just as insurance? I would hate to wipe my drive then not have a working OS to put back on it! Here is what I read regarding full vs upgrade discs from this XP installation guide http://www.theeldergeek.com/xp_home_install_-_graphic.htm (I know the info below is lengthy and sorry if it's mostly superfluous I just want to provide all the info someone may need to answer my question) I'm a little confused as I don't think my MB supports AHCI/RAID, I'm using a Gigabyte GA-EG31M-S2 with an ICH7 (not ICH7R) southbridge chip and in my BIOS I am only able to set my intergrated SATA controller to PATA or SATA mode I don't have any options for AHCI or RAID. However my MB driver disc includes AHCI/RAID drivers, is this just an example of the software distributed covering multiple products? At the moment my HD is set to IDE (how my system came) even though it's plugged into a SATA port & I set my BIOS to SATA mode. I'm also not sure which file is the proper SATA driver to install as there are a few in different folders peppered around my motherboard's driver disc. In a folder called "BootDrv" (I'm guessing these are the ones the CD uses to pre-install the drivers) there's a folder "BootDrv > GSATA > 32bit > with the file jraid_f" which is 4.45kb and Nlite says is the XP RAID/AHCI driver for Jmicron JMB36X controller version 1.17.38.05 in textmode. Also in "BootDrv > iMSM > 32 bit > there are two files one marked iaAHCI" (8.85kb) and one marked "iaStor" (7.92 kb) Nlite says these are Intel ICH7R(my chipset as far as i know is only ICH7)/DH SATA AHCI/ RAID controllers v 8.7.0.1007 both also in text-mode & if I open them it says they're the INF for Intel matrix storage manager driver. To confuse matters (at least for me) in a folder on the same disc marked "Other" are the files "GSATA > Driver > x32 > xraid_i" (5.96 kb) and "Other > GSATA_IDE >Driver > x32 > xraid_i" (5.96kb) Nlite says these are Jmicron SCSI adapters v 1.17.43.05 in PNP mode. Each of these files also has an alternative version in "Other > GSATA/GSATA_IDE > Floppy32 > xraid_f" (3.89 kb) which Nlite says are XP AHCI/ RAID drivers for Gigabyte GBB36X controller v 1.17.43.05 both in textmode and another one in "Other > SiI" that contains an application called InstallSATARaid. It seems to me that the two files in the "floppy 32" folders are the Gigabyte boot disc equivalents to the Jmicron files in the "BootDrv" folder but why include both a Jmicron & Gigabyte version of the same file on the same Gigabyte MB driver disc? (again to cover multiple products maybe? If so how do I determine which product I have and which driver -Gigabyte or Jmicron- I need?) To further confuse things on the same disc in the "Chipset > MSM folder is iata_cd" (setup.exe file) as well as a "MSM8" folder whith the same file and a readme file that says this is also to install Intel Matrix Storage Manager. My main question therefore is what files do I include where? Do I use either the Gigabyte/ Jmicron files (XP SATA text-mode drivers) in the "floppy 32/BootDrv" folders & one or both of the ones in the "iMSM" folder (chipset SATA textmode drivers) to create a boot disc to use with the F5 menue before installing Windows (or use the Gigabyte disc as a boot disc with the F5 menue before installing Windows) then include either the file in "Other > GSATA or GSATA_IDE" folders (Jmicron SCSI adapter in PNP more) in the nlite driver files? I can post the "driver table" file if that would help. I also have a few questions regarding removing components if you don't mind. (and yes I know this section is largely down to personal preference so you may not be able to answer some questions.) I'd like to remove whatever I don't use to make my PC run a little faster but I want to make sure I'm not removing anything that's going to cause instability/ loss of vital or common functions: Do I need Windows Activation functionality? Since I'm doing a clean install I'm guessing I probably do. Is it best to remove standard windows drivers if I'm installing 3rd party ones such as removing VGA & display drivers and installing my NVIDIA ones or removing the WLAN drivers & installing the ones for my wireless card? Is it worth removing other drivers I don't think I will use and language packs or are they to small to make much of a different to performance so I should just leave them? Is Active Directory Services only used for allowing multiple user profiles on a PC & if I don't use that functionality is it safe/ worth removing? Is the massager service ok to remove, from what I've read it sounds desirable to remove it. Is Volume Shadow Copy and related items only used for cloning a drive and as such wont effect system restore or other back-up activities? Lastly, In the tweaks section of Nlite If I don't tick/enable things that are normally on by default does that mean they get turned off? For example I thought prefectching by default is enabled in XP, if I don't tick an option will it be disabled or does ticking an option just tweak it to only occur when you want it to (eg. only after opening an app instead of at start up and when opening an app) I'm pretty sure this is a dumb question and that I know the answer but I want to be sure. Again thank you for taking the time to read through this post and for any assistance you can provide.