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@ outcastc: You cannot integrate any driver into the driver.cab package by using nLite. Since this is the nLite Forum, you should post your problem somewhere else.

It is no problem to integrate third party drivers into the XP CD, but you won't get them into the driver.cab of the OS. nLite integrates them into a separate driver folder named NLDRV.

@ icemanzh: The driverpacks things do not work with nLite, you have to take base instead. Why don't you do it just as I have layed down within my guide? Do simply the following: 1. Take a clean (=untouched) XP CD as source. 2. Integrate just the 32bit_Intel_textmode_driver_v8.9.0.1023_WHQL and enable the "Intel® ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller", when you get the textmode driver popup. 3. Let nLite burn the Image directly onto the CD (that's an nLite option) or let nLite create the ISO file and burn it as bootable Image by using a burning software. By the way: 1. Thanks for your report, that the link to the JMicron drivers was dead (reason: they added Win7). The link is fixed now. 2. No I am not Portuguese, but German.

@ icemanzh: Questions: 1. Are you still able to boot Vista? If yes, open the Device Manager and look for the Controller names within the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and - if present - the "Storage Controllers". 2. Are you sure, that you have set the CD/DVD-ROM device as first bootable device? 3. Which was the text of the error messages you got? 4. Which Intel Controllers did you integrate into the XP CD?

So all your problems have been fixed by running Ubuntu?

The nForce 650i chipset belongs to the MCP55 series.I recommend to integrate just the SATARAID drivers v9.99.09 (download link). The nForce IDE drivers v10.3.0.46 are not designed for being used with non-AHCI capable RAID systems. Do not additionally take the SATA_IDE driver folder. Good luck! Fernando

Yes, try that and report here, if you succeeded this way.Obviously there are Operating Systems, who are able to read a bad track 0 (like Windows 7) and others, which seem to be able to repair the bad track 0 (like Ubuntu)

No, nLite will copy all other files of the folder too.You only have to make sure, that a TXTSETUP.OEM file is present. If you have done everything the right way, but the XP Setup will not detect the SATA hdd running in AHCI mode, you obviously have integrated a textmode driver, which is not suitable for the Southbridge chip of the mainboard.

This message usually indicates, that the "track zero" of your boot sector has bad entries and cannot be properly be read by the system. The "zero track" will not be erased by the normal formatting of the hdd.If I am right, you should do the following: 1. Backup all important datas of the hdd, where you are booting from, or let a tool like Acronis TrueImage save an image of your current partitions and store it somewhere outside the bootabe hdd. 2. Use a hdd diagnostic utility (you will get it from the manufacturer of the affected hdd), let it check the hdd and then do a "low level format". Alternatively you may use a tool like KillDisk (look here). This way you will get the hdd back into the native status. Side note: Some users reported, that they got all "track zero" issues solved after having tried to install a Linux distribution like Ubuntu.

You have to hit F8 while rebooting at the point where you get the system loops. Then you will get a message, because the reboots will stop. Thanks for the details.So you have an MCP55 chipset mainboard and will be able to use a lot of different nForce chipset driverpacks. If you want the latest and best nForce drivers for your mainboard, you may look into the start post of this thread. For your system I recommend to take either the "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Driverpack" (most stable drivers) or the "Special WHQL Performance Pack for XP" (stable with best performance). If you are going to reinstall Windows XP onto your nForce RAID array, you should only integrate the SATARAID and not the SATA_IDE driver folder. No, these are intern co-installer files, which are used by the OS. The original files are named IDECOI.DLL and NVRAIDCO.DLL. Yes, it is possible, that something is written into your memory, but outside the 3 GB, which can be read by 32bit Operating Systems. The problem only can occur during the OS installation itself. Once the OS is up and running, 4 GB or even more is no problem for the 32bit OS (it cannot use the full memory size, but it has no negative impact on the system stability). I don't know. Usually this should work, but I do not recommend to do it, because the drivers of the Dell OS CD most likely are outdated and not the best for your system. No, I don't see any problem with the OS installation, but you certainly will be disappointed about the performance of your system when running in IDE instead of RAID mode.

If you are not able to get Windows XP installed after having set the SATA Controllers to "IDE Mode", you probably have a hardware problem. Please check your memory sticks (and their BIOS settings inclusive voltage), the psu, the cables, the fans etc.

@ Seanmick: 1. Try to get the exact BSOD error message, when the reboot loop is starting, because this may give you a tip where the issue is coming from. You will get the message, if you hit F8 while rebooting and choose the "Don't reboot at system failure" option. 2. I am not sure, if the drivers you used are the "suitable" ones for the nForce chipset of your mainboard. If you can run any Windows OS, please open the Device Manager and look into the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and "Storage Controllers" resp. "SCSI and RAID Controllers" sections for the exact names of the listed SATA and RAID Controllers. If possible, give me the HardwareID's of them (right click onto the Controller > "Properties" > "Details" > "Property" > "HardwareID's"). 3. Have you ever tried to integrate just the SATARAID driver folder without additionally doing that with the SATA_IDE driver folder?

@ Seanmick: Welcome at MSFN Forums! Questions:1. Which nForce chipset does your Dell XPS720 have? 2. Did you save the exact BSOD error message? If you couldn't read it, hit F8 while booting/rebooting and choose the "Don't reboot at system failure" option.

It should install without any problem.What happens? Which error message do you get?

No, all 64bit Operating Systems don't have that problem. Because Vista expects the SATA hdd at the AHCI Controller and there i none anymore after running it in IDE mode.

I see 2 possible reasons:a ) more than 3 GB of RAM (solution: remove 1 stick while installing Windows XP) b ) SATA connected DVD drive doesn't like AHCI mode (solution: borrow an IDE connected one just for the XP installation). Under IDE ATA/ATAPI I have:Intel ICH10R SATA AHCI Controller So the XP installation by using a CD with integrated Intel AHCI driver should work for you.

@ StumbleStopRepeat and holyc0w: Welcome at MSFN Forums! @ StumleStopRepeat: The reason for your issue definitively is the 32/64bit mixture of the OS and the integrated driver. Solution: Either change the OS (from XP x64 to XP) or integrate the 64bit driver version. @ holyc0w: Since you still have access to Vista, run it and look into the "IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers" and - if present - the "Storage Controllers" sections of the Device Manager. Which sort of Controllers (names) do you see there?

@ all users with an nForce RAID or AHCI system: Today I have updated my guide (first post) again. Changelog: - modified: nForce IDE drivers v9.99.09 mod by Fernando (now enhanced AHCI support) - updated: "NF4-5 non-AHCI WHQL Packs" (32/64bit) - updated: "Special WHQL Performance Packs" (32/64bit) - updated: "MCP73 WHQL Driverpacks" (32/64bit) - updated: "NF4-7 Performance Packs" (32/64bit) Any feedback is much appreciated. By the way: It will not take long and my guide will have more than 1 million views - unbelievable for me. When I started this thread in June 2005, I did not expect, that my guide will be interesting for so many nForce users for such a long time. Have fun! Fernando

@ rajesh.it09: Since the hdd has been correctly detected by the OS Setup, the failure of the installation obviously was caused within the hardware detection part of the installation. You can verify the exact reason by having a look into the SETUPAPI.LOG file, which you will find within the WINDOWS directory of the W2k3 partition. If the TXTSETUP.SIF file entries are correct (I don't know that for sure), I suspect, that the used textmode driver has not been correctly digitally signed by MS (no WHQL). Exactly your scenario with endless reboots at the end of the OS installation happens, when an nForce RAID user tries to integrate unsigned nForce SATARAID drivers onto a Windows XP CD (unless they integrate them by a tool like nLite).Then the following happens: At the beginning of the installation (TEXTMODE part), everything works fine with these drivers, but during the GUIMODE part the absolutely needed "NVIDIA nForce Serial SATA Controller" will be replaced by the wrong MS "Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller" with the result of a BSOD at last reboot. You can prevent this by 3 different methods: 1. take a WHQL signed driver 2. integrate the driver by using a tool like nLite or XP-ISO-Builder (they use different methods to get the correct textmode driver installed) 3. use the "OemInfFiles method", which allows a manual integration of unsigned drivers (if you want more details, let it me know). Side note: It is not necessary to copy all driver files into the i386 directory of the OS CD. The only needed file is the driver itself, which has the extension ".SYS".

@ jaclaz: Thanks for your additional clarifications, which verify, that this topic is more complicated than many of us thought. This thread may help other users, who are unsure about it. I personally have learnt a lot about the Recovery and Repair options of Windows XP. Regards Fernando

@ johnhc: The SATARAID driver folder of all nForce chipset driverpacks does contain both nForce SATA and RAID drivers (=SYS files), but only the INF file of the RAID Controller (here: NVRD32.INF). The NVRAID.INF file (name here: NVRD32.INF) is managing the installation of both Controllers (NVIDIA nForce RAID and SATA Controller) by using the associated drivers. If the RAID Controller is not enabled, Windows Setup will not install any nForce driver of the SATARAID folder, because it will not find the first and main device, which is supported by the NVRAID INF file, the NVIDIA nForce RAID Controller.

I don't think, that you are right.1. The SATARAID driver folder is only suitable for nForce RAID systems. 2. The driver you have uploaded will not be installable at all because of the missing files. The files you have deleted are absolutely necessary for a proper installation. Look into the associated INF file and you will see the reason. The XP Setup hardware detection will not accept this driver. 3. nForce chipset users, who want to get the nForce SATA driver installed, have to load the SATA_IDE driver folder. Regards Fernando

That would be much appreciated. Then I cannot understand why you have integrated the SATARAID driver folder. This should only be done, if you want to get XP installed onto a RAID, and is absolutely useless for your system.If you want to get the nForce SATA driver installed (instead of the generic MS IDE driver), you should either integrate the SATA_IDE driver folder (as PnP driver) or run the installer of a complete nForce chipset driverpack once XP is up. Regards Fernando

Thank you very much for your reply. You are right and I was wrong - I am sorry about that. To prevent any further misunderstandings by other users I have just edited my previoius post. After having done a Google search, I found some further informations about the Repair install (look here) and the Recovery Console (look here) by booting off a Windows XP CD. My conclusion (hoping, that I am not wrong again): If you boot off any XP CD and choose a "Repair Install", the Windows system files will be replaced by those, which are within the XP CD you have within the optical drive. If you just want to use, copy, rename, or replace operating system files and folders, to enable or disable service or device startup the next time that you start your computer, to repair the file system boot sector or the master boot record (MBR) or to create and format partitions on drives, you have to run the "Recovery Console". [*]It is no problem to use the functions of the "Recovery Console" by booting off any nLited Windows XP CD (note: if you don't see the Recovery option automaticly, you should reboot and press F10 while getting the F6 option). Side note: In my eyes the MS terms "Recovery" and "Repair" during the OS Setup are really misleading. If you want to repair (=fix) the broken MBR, you have to run the "Recovery Console", but if you want to recover the original Windows XP system files, you must choose the "Repair Install" option. That's really irritating! Regards Fernando

@ bobmiers: Congratulation, that you got your problem solved at least. Thanks for your report about how you got the issue fixed, but you didn't exactly write, what was going wrong before. It would be interesting for us, who tried to help you, but especially for other users, if you would give a short statement about how users can avoid the problem you ran into. Which sort of driver for which hardware do you mean?By the way: You didn't answer my previous question regarding the SATARAID drivers. Are you running RAID? why didn't you mention it before?