Loading Windows Xp

I am trying to load windows XP on a computer with a SATA hard drive. I downloaded the motherboard drivers and it tells me they are corrupt. I downloaded them from foxconn website. The motherboard is M61PMV. Marvin, do you know where I could get the driver to get the hard drive loaded with a fresh copy of windows. Yes this is the computer I have been working on and I give up. I am about to throw this thing out my basement window. The computer has a floppy drive so no problem there. I will need this driver because of the SATA drive ? Tom

Hi tom;

Unless Windows can 'see' the hard disk without the driver - then you need the driver :)

Do you have the original CD that came with the mainboard?

If so, then you need to go to;

X:\Driver\Nvidia\MCP61\Chipset\WinXP\32bit\IDE\WinXP\sataraid\Floppy\Disk1 and then click the file called RAID Tool to start the disk's creation.

At least, that's according to FoxConn. When I look at that path statement it just don't make much sense :lol: Mind you, they also say you need two disks (and somehow I doubt that).

I didn't know that FoxConn was making mainboards - they're known primarily for making the connectors on other companies mainboards. Nice to see that they've branched out (that's me being sarcastic) :rolleyes: Btw, Asus makes good mainboards :) An Asus board with an Intel chipset = a recipe for success :top:

That doesn't help you today though....

While I'm here - it's best not to use the FoxConn nforce drivers from their site. Usually it's better to get them straight from nVidia. When you go to the download section of the nVidia site you choose;

Product Type = Legacy
Product Series = nForce 4 series
Product = nForce 430/ GeForce 6100
O/S = XP
Language = Bulgarian (just kidding - unless you are Bulgarian in which case I meant to say that) :lol:

At that point you'll get to download version 15.26 of the complete nVidia driver package.

The FoxConn board uses the nVidia chipset which means it's best to get the drivers straight from nVidia because they will be the latest & greatest (so to speak). I'm downloading them now so that I can manually extract what should be the correct files for you to write to a floppy. Wouldn't it be nice if mainboard manufacturers put that on their support site? I think so :lol: That would be handy :top:

What do you know, they are less then 1.44 megs in size (which means they will fit on ONE floppy) Anyway, I've attached the files to this post (below). What you need to do is get a blank floppy (or erase one) and then write the contents of the attached file to the floppy. I made it a self-extracting archive so that you can just point it to your A: drive.

When you boot to Windows I believe you hit F6 (or F3 or F8?) to install the third party driver (you'll see the message when you boot) Then stick your new disk in the drive and hopefully all will be well. If not, don't rule out a bad floppy - I've seen more then a dozen of 'em on a job - literally. The best way to tell? Do a LONG format - if it completes and makes a nice consistent sound all the way through the format it's probably OK. If it sounds like the head is going back and forth over certain tracks several times then it's probably not. Format enough of them and you'll develop an ear for fine floppy formats -_-

Once you get the O/S loaded then you should visit the nVidia site to install the entire driver package that you downloaded from there. You might need to install some Windows Updates first. Don't install the nVidia driver package you downloaded from FoxConn unless you know it's the latest version because it's probably not. Certainly you'll be able to download it a LOT faster from nVidia :top: It seems FoxConn is having a hard enough time keeping their website up as it is. Good thing they went into the mainboard manufacturing business :rolleyes:

In the meantime, happy installing :top:

PS>You network card driver is also in the nVidia driver bundle (from the nVidia site). From the nVidia driver bundle readme;

This WinXP 32-bit nForce UDA driver package for MCP51, MCP61, MCP72, MCP73, and MCP78 consists of the following components:

Ethernet Driver (v67.89) WHQL
Network Management Tools (v67.96) "Sedona"
SATAIDE Driver (v10.3.0.46) WHQL
SATARAID Driver (v10.3.0.46) WHQL (that's the one I created for you)
RAIDTOOL Application (v10.3.0.46)
SMU Driver (v1.61) WHQL
GPU Driver (v181.51) WHQL
SMBus Driver (v4.69) WHQL
Away Mode Driver (v6.0.6000.107) WHQL
Installer (v6.69)

Thanks again Marvin. I was able to load windows without the driver. For some reason I thought I had to load the SATA driver. I have only loaded windows on a few computers with SATA drives and could not remember. I know I did not have to on mine but I thought someone told me I had to. Anyway I got windows loaded

I never did get into that hard drive to get the windows product numbers. I tried the boot disk you told me about and it worked but I was not able to ever boot to windows. I give up because of the time I was spending. Now I got to buy windows xp. I installed windows only to test to see if it would load without problems.

I wonder how many computer shops sell computers and do not give the owners the software ? Anyway thanks again for you help. I will go to Nvidia and get the drivers . Thanks for that info.
Tom :D

I told you in an earlier post that you had to load Windows with the driver disk because you were talking about making a RAID array and booting off of it. In order to boot off a RAID array you have to have that driver or Windows won't 'see' the array.

I didn't realize that you were no longer doing that - my bad. I assumed this was just a carry-over of that conversation :lol: No matter, either way when you load in the nVidia drivers you'll have the same driver :D

Most computer shops don't give out the disks for various reasons. In many cases they are pirating the O/S. If it's a 'name-brand' system (such as HP/Compaq etc) then they usually store the information on a hidden partition and then skip giving you the disks. It's then up to you to buy some disks and burn the info to disk for recovery purposes.

Sorry if I led you down the garden path but I just assumed you were using SATA drives in a RAID configuration and trying to install Windows on that.

Marvin, I need led down the garden path once in a while. :D :D :D
The RAID was on my system. I ended up just ordering a 32mb Seagate for it like you had suggested. It is fast but everytime I work on another computer I want a new one. Even this Foxconn is fast. I am really impressed with the speed of it being it is on such a cheap board. It loaded windows in 20 minutes. I may build me a new AMD system after using this one :rolleyes:
I am off to Nvidia to download the drivers and see how it runs after that. Thanks again. I will let you know how it goes. :D Tom

Trust me - long time AMD user here - it's now better to go Asus & Intel. There are certain issues with nVidia that I've run into over and over. In fact, after being an AMD user for about a decade I finally swore I'd go back to an Asus/Intel combo after my last build.

That's not to say AMD isn't good or fast - they are. I'm using one now. However, I did run into many driver issues with nVidia. The fact is, Intel is probably the best company for drivers and that makes a big difference in how a chipset works.

The modern Intel procs seem to be considerably better then AMD so for me, it's back to my old stand-by :top: There's something to be said for maturity, and Intel has that in spades.

It's interesting (for me) because I used to exclusively build only Intel systems with Intel chipsets. I never had any issues. Then along came AMD's K6 III processor. That was the one that got me to change over. I've been with AMD since then however, their pairing up with nVidia for the chipsets has really sucked. At any rate, it seems that Intel has not only caught up again but eclipsed AMD for speed so that makes the choices easier.

Don't get me wrong, if someone offered me an AMD board and chip I'd take it in a heartbeat. I'd just prefer to go back to Asus/Intel/Intel - preferably using their ICH10R chipset :top:

Marvin, I know what you mean about AMD. My first build 10 years ago this month was AMD. I thought it was fast but I had trouble cooling the later chips. I know the 1.4 AMD was hard to keep cool. Start that thing up and forget to connect the heatsink fan, well you know what happened. I just thought I wanted one. Now after trying to get all these drivers it has changed my mind.

I cannot get the sound to work. I think it has the Realtec audio chip but so far I have not been able to download it. I also downloaded the motherboard manual from Foxconn. It was a PDF file and I clicked to open it and it never opened. Not sure what the problem was. I guess I need to try and open any PDF files to see what is going on.

People just do not know how much work one can put in one of these systems. I used to custom build but got away from that several years ago. I tell people just buy one, HP, Dell, IBM, Gateway, Compaq whatever they can find. I will fix them when they break , at least try to :rolleyes: This has only been a hobby of mine for years , I tried to get away from it but so far I have not made it.

I turn 63 soon and plan on playing golf and relaxing for the rest of my life , not stressing out working on computers :top:
Tom

Hi Tom;

For sound you can either go back to the vendor (FoxConn) or determine from the manual which Realtek chip it has and then download it directly from RealTek.

I hear you on the golf - I used to golf lots but the last time out I mentioned to my buddy that I could really take it or leave it - it kind of lost it's appeal to me :o

I figure if I had a great set of custom clubs I'd be laughing but there's no way I'm going to outlay the $$ required for something I've become lukewarm about (at best) :)

I have looked pretty good on the board and I do not see any numbers. It showed on Foxconn that it is indeed a realtek. I will try to download the manual one more time. I am puzzled on why the computer would not open it after I downloaded it. I am also trying to download from foxconn's site and it is taking forever. It must be in China or somewhere like that.
I play golf a lot Marvin. Being I work at a golf course I sometimes snag good deals on clubs. I play to a 8 handicap and hope to get that lower this summer. Who am I kidding , I am not getting younger but older :D . I still like to compete with the younger golfers and most of the time when we play I am playing about 6 or 8 different golfers all for money B) so I have to stay sharp.
We have a group that formed a mini mini mini tour last year. It is lots of fun and keeps me competitive. Go here when you have time
http://cmtgolf.org/
All the pictures are from our golf course .
Back to foxconn in the basement :top:

I think they are in India :lol:

Just be thankful you're not calling Microsoft's tech support (see pic)

That is funny Marvin. While you are here have you ever download a PDF file and it not open. I tried more than one. I came upstairs to my pc and they work fine. I am wondering what I did wrong. I have probably installed windows on a 1000 computers and never once had this problem. I click the file and it does nothing. I downloaded adobe 9 tonight and put it on the Foxfole :top: I mean Foxconn pc. I also went to Nvidia website and download the chipset driver. I also downloaded the sound driver from Foxconn. It extracted fine and said it installed but still yellow marks in device manager and no sound. It is late and I know better than work on a pc when I am tired. Maybe the virus is still on the HD. I just formatted and did not wipe it with the Seagate utility. Any idea's. Tom

I don't know what to say :)

Perhaps the download was corrupted (with respect to the .pdf) I don't know why the sound driver doesn't work. Those kinds of issues are hard to troubleshoot over the forum - they're also usually pretty straightforward. I mean, a .pdf download is a .pdf download unless it's corrupted. That's not common unless the source file is corrupted on their website. If that's the case then you would not be able to download a working version.

Anyway, I wish I could help you further but I've got to get back to what I was doing :top:

Marvin, I got the sound working but the PDF files still will not open. I unisntalled adobe and reinstalled and same thing. I have never run into this before. This computer works great and is super fast. All drivers loaded correct. I click the adobe file and nothing happens, it just sits there and never opens. This one is a new one on me. If I would get an error message I could at least troubleshoot the problem but nothing shows up. Tom

Marvin, maybe it was just the site I download it from. Foxconn. I download another adobe and saved it. It opened fine. The strange thing is that I downloaded the foxconn manual on my personal computer and it opened. Not on this one but like I said it opened a file at another site I use that has adobe files. Oh well, like I said it is late. This computer is flying. I found xp home local for a steal and now it is up and running great with SP3 and antivirus from microsoft. Thanks again, I hope I do not see this computer for a while. Any suggestions on a good cheap image program. I know I got to make one because I talked to the people that own this system and their surfing is not he best. She downloads everything like screen savers. She was in a wreck 10 years ago and has no short term memory so it will do no good to tell here not to download junk. The only owe me for I paid for xp. The rest is on the house. I have to take care of us older people. :rolleyes: Tom

Hahahaha - I got some customers like that except they have no excuse for it :lol: Mind you, I'm getting that way too and I haven't been in a wreck :unsure:

With respect to the .pdf's - it's possible that the FoxConn site is pooched or their connection is pooched etc. It is possible and I have run into things like that before although the most common cause is getting a cached file over and over again.

For instance, if you're using a Proxy Server and it's copy of the file is pooched then every time you request it you'll get the same one over and over. The most likely cause though is if you have your web browser set to use Temporary Internet Files (caching) this can do the same thing.

So, the only thing that comes to mind is clearing out your web browser's cache so that you force it to download the file remotely from FoxConn.

A good cheap image program? I don't know - I've never used one :o I've always ran backups on to tape or disk.

I'm glad you got the system back up and running :top: and that it's fast! Similar AMD's I've built have always been speedy although my workstation is in need of replacement - it's getting too old.

Today I am going to download that file again and see if it will open. If it will not then I will move the file to my thumb drive and transfer it to my computer and see if it will open. You ever worked on a computer and in the back of your mind you still have doubts that it is 100% right ? but because of the time you spent you just let it go ? That is the way I feel about this computer. I know it is fast but little things that has popped up during the installs make me feel uneasy about it. I guess I am paranoid. Tom

Marvin, I told you it was late and I had no business working on a computer that late. The PDF file was in a compressed folder and I had to extract the files. What a dummy I am. I right clicked on the file this morning and seen it was decompressed. Today will be better I hope. Tom

No, I never do that. I learned a long time ago that it will come back to byte you (pardon the pun). I used to own an automotive shop and during any repair, whenever I had that feeling, it always came back to bite me.

There's nothing worse then being in the middle of a 14 hour job, get that feeling, ignore it, and then have it return only to be torn down again to address whatever it was that was causing that feeling :rolleyes:

Do that a couple of times and you start to listen to that 'feeling' :lol:

Well, that's not exactly true. The other day I was working on my own car and I had to put a power window motor in it. It's got power locks, power seats etc all running through the same door. The job took way longer then it should have (I used to do them in an hour) and I got tired and frustrated.

During re-assembly I had a feeling that I should check the operation of all the functions (window/seat/power locks). I was too tired and it was getting late so I didn't bother (read - I was careless, or, I could care less). Put it all back together and sure enough, there's something interfering with the operation of the power lock on that door.

So, in the case of my car, I have to go back into it again to address something that I could have addressed in less then 5 minutes. It does happen to me to but I will draw a line of distinction between my stuff and a customer's. :lol:

I reviewed the PC that I was working really good Marvin and I now do feel good about sending it out. It is FAST. I have a very fast Internet speed and this computer shows it.
I ended up making a partition and using Norton ghost I bought off ebay to make the image. I also burned the image to DVD. Unless the motherboard goes out on this PC then I should be able to have it back running in minutes if someway it gets trashed. I also have an emergency disk to do that in case I cannot get to the operating system.
If the person that built this PC would have took a little extra time and done this, well I would not be working on it today. I could save customers tons of money if they would let me set up their PC like I did this one.
I actually had a computer tech come up to me last week and tell me not to be giving my free information to people. He said he had made lots of money cleaning up PC's with virus infections. I told him sure. :D :D :D
I wonder sometimes who actually writes all these viruses and Trojans ? Maybe the makers of virus protection ?/ :wub: :wub:
Ok, I am just talking here. Anyway Marvin thanks for your expert help here. I hope I continue to see AskMarvin.ca :top: :top: :top:
Tom