Cant Install XP Pro x64

Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.

I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card reader
in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any RAID
drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I have
alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.

During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy was
detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.

So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver, how
do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Charlie
Sun Oct 28 08:22:00 PDT 2007

1.) There may not _be_ XP x64 drivers for your RAID controller. But if
there are, eVGA would be the place to start. You can also look at the
website for the RAID controller OEM. I don't know that board so don't know
which one it is. If you don't see one for XP x64, look for one for Server
2003 x64. That will work just fine.

2.) You'll almost certainly need to unplug that card reader thing if it
plugs into USB internally, as most do. Having USB hard drives attached
during install tends to screw up the enumeration of hard drives and cause
failures.

3.) There is no easy way around having a floppy for the install. Borrow one
from another machine, or buy an inexpensive one. USB is acceptable in most
cases. The pre-Vista versions of Windows _only_ support floppy for loading
drivers via F6. The only other alternative requires building a special
version of the install CD that has the drivers streamlined into it. It's
non-trivial. Given that the cost of a floppy drive is on the order of $15-20
USD, I'd suggest that's a lot more sensible option.

4.) You say you have a lot of data that you don't want to lose on your RAID
0. Please be aware that having 3 drives in RAID-0 actually INCREASES your
risk of catastrophic failure and total data loss. RAID-0 provides no
redundancy and the failure of any one of the 3 drives will totally screw
you.

--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel


"Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
> Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
> computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
>
> I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
> reader
> in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
> RAID
> drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
> have
> alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
> want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
>
> During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
> press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
> controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy
> was
> detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
>
> So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
> the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
> how
> do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
>
> Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Ronis
Sun Oct 28 08:44:00 PDT 2007

Charlie, ty for your fast response. I will address each of your points:

#1. I found my RAID driver within a very well written HOW TO area of the
EVGA website. Thanks for the reference

#2. Ill try unplugging the card reader if it causes issues down the road -
its currently assigned drives H-L or something silly like that.

#3. Ugh, I cant get around the floppy disk issue? I suppose I can go buy a
USB drive from a local vendor and then return it after im done . . . First
Ill try putting my files on a USB Flash Drive and pray, then probably go buy
a USB floppy.

#4. Thanks for the reminder about RAID and catastrophic failures. I'll save
all my critical files on either a networked HDD or the other non-RAID HDD on
my system. I wanted (and got) sheer speed, I just dont want to reinstall and
update 180GB of programs if I can avoid it.

Thanks so much.

Ron

"Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:

> 1.) There may not _be_ XP x64 drivers for your RAID controller. But if
> there are, eVGA would be the place to start. You can also look at the
> website for the RAID controller OEM. I don't know that board so don't know
> which one it is. If you don't see one for XP x64, look for one for Server
> 2003 x64. That will work just fine.
>
> 2.) You'll almost certainly need to unplug that card reader thing if it
> plugs into USB internally, as most do. Having USB hard drives attached
> during install tends to screw up the enumeration of hard drives and cause
> failures.
>
> 3.) There is no easy way around having a floppy for the install. Borrow one
> from another machine, or buy an inexpensive one. USB is acceptable in most
> cases. The pre-Vista versions of Windows _only_ support floppy for loading
> drivers via F6. The only other alternative requires building a special
> version of the install CD that has the drivers streamlined into it. It's
> non-trivial. Given that the cost of a floppy drive is on the order of $15-20
> USD, I'd suggest that's a lot more sensible option.
>
> 4.) You say you have a lot of data that you don't want to lose on your RAID
> 0. Please be aware that having 3 drives in RAID-0 actually INCREASES your
> risk of catastrophic failure and total data loss. RAID-0 provides no
> redundancy and the failure of any one of the 3 drives will totally screw
> you.
>
> --
> Charlie.
> http://msmvps.com/xperts64
> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>
>
> "Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
> > Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
> > computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
> >
> > I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
> > reader
> > in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
> > RAID
> > drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
> > have
> > alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
> > want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
> >
> > During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
> > press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
> > controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy
> > was
> > detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
> >
> > So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
> > the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
> > how
> > do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
> >
> > Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
>

XS11E
Sun Oct 28 09:47:54 PDT 2007

Ronis <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> #3. Ugh, I cant get around the floppy disk issue? I suppose I can
> go buy a USB drive from a local vendor and then return it after im
> done . . . First Ill try putting my files on a USB Flash Drive and
> pray, then probably go buy a USB floppy.

If I recall correctly, the XP installer demands the files be on drive
"A". If you can make BIOS see the flash drive as drive "A" it will
work, otherwise it probably won't.



--
XS11E, Killing all posts from Google Groups
The Usenet Improvement Project:
http://improve-usenet.org

Charlie
Sun Oct 28 10:30:17 PDT 2007

1.) Good.

2.) Strongly recommended

3.) Nope. Won't work. No workaround short of a slipstreamed install. The XP
x64 install is the same basic NT install that has existed since the original
version of Windows NT - NT 3.1. It's _very_ stupid. I have two floppy
drives - one an ancient internal drive I pulled from a system I was
discarding. The other a USB floppy. I have both in zip-lock bags, sitting on
a shelf in the back of the parts cabinet. They're there for the very few
times I need such a thing. Buy an inexpensive floppy - doesn't need to be
USB, but certainly it could be. But non-USB is cheaper. You'll need it if
you ever need to recover the system, so you might as well hang on to it.
Keep the cable with it, and stick it somewhere for if you ever need it.

4.) Data - no problem. Programs? You're going to have to completely
re-install. You can't "upgrade" to x64, you need to do a clean, fresh,
install. That means wiping and formatting the OS partition.

Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windows.64bit.general
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 8:44 AM
Subject: Re: Cant Install XP Pro x64


> Charlie, ty for your fast response. I will address each of your points:
>
> #1. I found my RAID driver within a very well written HOW TO area of the
> EVGA website. Thanks for the reference
>
> #2. Ill try unplugging the card reader if it causes issues down the road -
> its currently assigned drives H-L or something silly like that.
>
> #3. Ugh, I cant get around the floppy disk issue? I suppose I can go buy
> a
> USB drive from a local vendor and then return it after im done . . . First
> Ill try putting my files on a USB Flash Drive and pray, then probably go
> buy
> a USB floppy.
>
> #4. Thanks for the reminder about RAID and catastrophic failures. I'll
> save
> all my critical files on either a networked HDD or the other non-RAID HDD
> on
> my system. I wanted (and got) sheer speed, I just dont want to reinstall
> and
> update 180GB of programs if I can avoid it.
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Ron
>
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:
>
>> 1.) There may not _be_ XP x64 drivers for your RAID controller. But if
>> there are, eVGA would be the place to start. You can also look at the
>> website for the RAID controller OEM. I don't know that board so don't
>> know
>> which one it is. If you don't see one for XP x64, look for one for Server
>> 2003 x64. That will work just fine.
>>
>> 2.) You'll almost certainly need to unplug that card reader thing if it
>> plugs into USB internally, as most do. Having USB hard drives attached
>> during install tends to screw up the enumeration of hard drives and cause
>> failures.
>>
>> 3.) There is no easy way around having a floppy for the install. Borrow
>> one
>> from another machine, or buy an inexpensive one. USB is acceptable in
>> most
>> cases. The pre-Vista versions of Windows _only_ support floppy for
>> loading
>> drivers via F6. The only other alternative requires building a special
>> version of the install CD that has the drivers streamlined into it. It's
>> non-trivial. Given that the cost of a floppy drive is on the order of
>> $15-20
>> USD, I'd suggest that's a lot more sensible option.
>>
>> 4.) You say you have a lot of data that you don't want to lose on your
>> RAID
>> 0. Please be aware that having 3 drives in RAID-0 actually INCREASES your
>> risk of catastrophic failure and total data loss. RAID-0 provides no
>> redundancy and the failure of any one of the 3 drives will totally screw
>> you.
>>
>> --
>> Charlie.
>> http://msmvps.com/xperts64
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>>
>>
>> "Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
>> > Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on
>> > my
>> > computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
>> >
>> > I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
>> > reader
>> > in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
>> > RAID
>> > drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
>> > have
>> > alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I
>> > dont
>> > want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
>> >
>> > During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
>> > press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or
>> > RAID
>> > controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no
>> > floppy
>> > was
>> > detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
>> >
>> > So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website -
>> > just
>> > the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
>> > how
>> > do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
>> >
>> > Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
>>


--
Charlie.
http://msmvps.com/xperts64
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel


"Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AE51821C-DD54-4C71-BFD7-3CABBACF653E@microsoft.com...
> Charlie, ty for your fast response. I will address each of your points:
>
> #1. I found my RAID driver within a very well written HOW TO area of the
> EVGA website. Thanks for the reference
>
> #2. Ill try unplugging the card reader if it causes issues down the road -
> its currently assigned drives H-L or something silly like that.
>
> #3. Ugh, I cant get around the floppy disk issue? I suppose I can go buy
> a
> USB drive from a local vendor and then return it after im done . . . First
> Ill try putting my files on a USB Flash Drive and pray, then probably go
> buy
> a USB floppy.
>
> #4. Thanks for the reminder about RAID and catastrophic failures. I'll
> save
> all my critical files on either a networked HDD or the other non-RAID HDD
> on
> my system. I wanted (and got) sheer speed, I just dont want to reinstall
> and
> update 180GB of programs if I can avoid it.
>
> Thanks so much.
>
> Ron
>
> "Charlie Russel - MVP" wrote:
>
>> 1.) There may not _be_ XP x64 drivers for your RAID controller. But if
>> there are, eVGA would be the place to start. You can also look at the
>> website for the RAID controller OEM. I don't know that board so don't
>> know
>> which one it is. If you don't see one for XP x64, look for one for Server
>> 2003 x64. That will work just fine.
>>
>> 2.) You'll almost certainly need to unplug that card reader thing if it
>> plugs into USB internally, as most do. Having USB hard drives attached
>> during install tends to screw up the enumeration of hard drives and cause
>> failures.
>>
>> 3.) There is no easy way around having a floppy for the install. Borrow
>> one
>> from another machine, or buy an inexpensive one. USB is acceptable in
>> most
>> cases. The pre-Vista versions of Windows _only_ support floppy for
>> loading
>> drivers via F6. The only other alternative requires building a special
>> version of the install CD that has the drivers streamlined into it. It's
>> non-trivial. Given that the cost of a floppy drive is on the order of
>> $15-20
>> USD, I'd suggest that's a lot more sensible option.
>>
>> 4.) You say you have a lot of data that you don't want to lose on your
>> RAID
>> 0. Please be aware that having 3 drives in RAID-0 actually INCREASES your
>> risk of catastrophic failure and total data loss. RAID-0 provides no
>> redundancy and the failure of any one of the 3 drives will totally screw
>> you.
>>
>> --
>> Charlie.
>> http://msmvps.com/xperts64
>> http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/charlie.russel
>>
>>
>> "Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
>> > Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on
>> > my
>> > computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
>> >
>> > I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
>> > reader
>> > in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
>> > RAID
>> > drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
>> > have
>> > alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I
>> > dont
>> > want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
>> >
>> > During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
>> > press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or
>> > RAID
>> > controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no
>> > floppy
>> > was
>> > detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
>> >
>> > So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website -
>> > just
>> > the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
>> > how
>> > do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
>> >
>> > Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
>>

Randy
Sun Oct 28 10:35:53 PDT 2007

Try looking in the devices in control panel hardware tab. Go down to SCSI
controllers and raid devices, you can usually see the id for the raid setup.
Do a search on google for the drivers. The driver setup will end with a
Textoemsetup file if the driver is then transferred to a removable drive,
floppy, or flash card it can be referenced when asked for. It is usually
done with the floppy drive because that is how installation is setup. Look
in windows explorer and see if card reader shows in explorer, You may need
to go into bios and set machine to boot from cd first, removable drives
second then hdd's.
"Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
> Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
> computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
>
> I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
> reader
> in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
> RAID
> drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
> have
> alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
> want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
>
> During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
> press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
> controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy
> was
> detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
>
> So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
> the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
> how
> do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
>
> Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

Randy
Sun Oct 28 11:00:34 PDT 2007

I forgot to mention that when you go into bios only work with "Boot
Priority" leave "HDD" section alone as this determines which hard drive is
the boot drive. You still might need to have a floppy drive if bios will not
set card reader a a boot device before hdd's and recognize it as "A" drive.
Remember also that xp64 drivers are limited and you may be best suited by xp
pro x32. Thr raid drivers might be available but I have found that such
things as printer and scanner drivers have not been ported for x64 and with
the advent of Vista64 most of the attention seems to go to drivers for that
x64 OS. xp pro 32 will work just fine if you have it...Aloha
"Randy Gentry" <Gentryr001@hawaii.rr.com> wrote in message
news:eRKt%23jYGIHA.4684@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Try looking in the devices in control panel hardware tab. Go down to SCSI
> controllers and raid devices, you can usually see the id for the raid
> setup. Do a search on google for the drivers. The driver setup will end
> with a Textoemsetup file if the driver is then transferred to a removable
> drive, floppy, or flash card it can be referenced when asked for. It is
> usually done with the floppy drive because that is how installation is
> setup. Look in windows explorer and see if card reader shows in explorer,
> You may need to go into bios and set machine to boot from cd first,
> removable drives second then hdd's.
> "Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
>> Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
>> computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
>>
>> I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
>> reader
>> in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
>> RAID
>> drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
>> have
>> alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
>> want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
>>
>> During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
>> press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
>> controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy
>> was
>> detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
>>
>> So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
>> the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
>> how
>> do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
>>
>> Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
>
>

Ronis
Mon Oct 29 09:39:11 PDT 2007

Thank you all for the outpouring of support and info. The reason I need a 64
bit OS is that my computer has 8 GB of RAM and 2x8800GTX cards. I usually
have 1-1.5 GB of free RAM when Im running under full speed, so I cant do a
32bit OS.

I found a super cheap USB Floppy at newegg.com for $17+shipping, and thats
pretty cheap. Unfortunately, I dont have a free floppy drive bay as my 52 in
1 card reader filled it. No matter, so long as the USB Floppy will work, I
can go buy a $50 drive from Staples (the closest vendor), install, return it
and wait for my $17 drive to arrive.

Im not sure I understood what Randy wrote about changing boot order as I
already have to boot from the CD to install the OS. If I could trick the
computer into thinking the USB port on my 52 in 1 card reader was drive A . .
.

Thank you all, I believe my problem will be solved by the time my post
actually goes live as Staples is 3 blocks from my house.

Thank you all very much for the support.

Ron

Changing drive

"Randy Gentry" wrote:

> I forgot to mention that when you go into bios only work with "Boot
> Priority" leave "HDD" section alone as this determines which hard drive is
> the boot drive. You still might need to have a floppy drive if bios will not
> set card reader a a boot device before hdd's and recognize it as "A" drive.
> Remember also that xp64 drivers are limited and you may be best suited by xp
> pro x32. Thr raid drivers might be available but I have found that such
> things as printer and scanner drivers have not been ported for x64 and with
> the advent of Vista64 most of the attention seems to go to drivers for that
> x64 OS. xp pro 32 will work just fine if you have it...Aloha
> "Randy Gentry" <Gentryr001@hawaii.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:eRKt%23jYGIHA.4684@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> > Try looking in the devices in control panel hardware tab. Go down to SCSI
> > controllers and raid devices, you can usually see the id for the raid
> > setup. Do a search on google for the drivers. The driver setup will end
> > with a Textoemsetup file if the driver is then transferred to a removable
> > drive, floppy, or flash card it can be referenced when asked for. It is
> > usually done with the floppy drive because that is how installation is
> > setup. Look in windows explorer and see if card reader shows in explorer,
> > You may need to go into bios and set machine to boot from cd first,
> > removable drives second then hdd's.
> > "Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
> >> Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
> >> computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
> >>
> >> I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
> >> reader
> >> in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
> >> RAID
> >> drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
> >> have
> >> alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
> >> want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
> >>
> >> During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
> >> press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
> >> controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy
> >> was
> >> detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
> >>
> >> So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
> >> the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
> >> how
> >> do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
> >>
> >> Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.
> >
> >
>
>
>

R
Mon Oct 29 15:14:02 PDT 2007

Hi, Ronis.

> Unfortunately, I dont have a free floppy drive bay as my 52 in
> 1 card reader filled it.

No matter. Just connect the cables (power and data) to the floppy outside
the computer case. Especially since this is to be a very temporary
arrangement.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX
rc@grandecom.net
Microsoft Windows MVP
(Running Windows Live Mail beta 2 in Vista Ultimate x64)

"Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:D1631451-7056-4A7D-9209-AF12FC0C9659@microsoft.com...
> Thank you all for the outpouring of support and info. The reason I need a
> 64
> bit OS is that my computer has 8 GB of RAM and 2x8800GTX cards. I usually
> have 1-1.5 GB of free RAM when Im running under full speed, so I cant do a
> 32bit OS.
>
> I found a super cheap USB Floppy at newegg.com for $17+shipping, and thats
> pretty cheap. Unfortunately, I dont have a free floppy drive bay as my 52
> in
> 1 card reader filled it. No matter, so long as the USB Floppy will work,
> I
> can go buy a $50 drive from Staples (the closest vendor), install, return
> it
> and wait for my $17 drive to arrive.
>
> Im not sure I understood what Randy wrote about changing boot order as I
> already have to boot from the CD to install the OS. If I could trick the
> computer into thinking the USB port on my 52 in 1 card reader was drive A
> . .
> .
>
> Thank you all, I believe my problem will be solved by the time my post
> actually goes live as Staples is 3 blocks from my house.
>
> Thank you all very much for the support.
>
> Ron

McG
Fri Nov 02 07:55:13 PDT 2007

"Ronis" <Ronis@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:0F6C8A58-25CB-40E8-B6B9-1251D5230D89@microsoft.com...
> Ive decided that I absolutely HATE vista (which came pre-installed on my
> computer) and want to install XP Pro x64 on my computer in its place.
>
> I have a 3 HDD RAID 0 configuration, no floppy drive (a 52 in 1 card
> reader
> in its place), and an i680 EVGA MB. Additionally, I was not given any
> RAID
> drivers with the computer, just the OS software and a recovery disk. I
> have
> alot of data already on the 3 other partitions of my RAID drive so I dont
> want to destroy the RAID to get XP Pro x64.
>
> During the OS install, I get an error that no HDD was detected. When I
> press the F6 (I think that is the key) to install 3rd party SCSI or RAID
> controller, I eventually get pushed to another screen that says no floppy
> was
> detected then booted back to the no HDD was detected screen.
>
> So, where is this RAID driver (its not obvious on the EVGA website - just
> the newest "motherboard drivers" are there) and once I have the driver,
> how
> do I get the XP Pro x64 installer to install it since I have no floppy?
>
> Any and all help would be greatly appreciated.

I ran into that situation 18 months ago when I built my current desktop. I
had to flash the BIOS just to use the X2 4800+ CPU and also load the RAID
drivers. It's simple. You either use a floppy drive temporarily or
(possibly, haven't tried this yet) CD. I just used a 3.5" floppy drive for
doing this, myself.
McG.