Problems finding hard dis installing Vista

W

wedged

New Member
Am reinstalling Windows Vista after a virus infected my PC. I am reinstalling vista but after booting from DVD Vista does not recognise my SATA hard disk on the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen. There are no issues with the hard disk and this happened once before but I can't remember how I solved this.

My problem is the Vista installer not recognising my hard disk so I can install Vista. I have an Alienware pc with hitachi deskstar hard disk and asus a8n-sli deluxe motherboard.

I have to reinstall as a virus has caused my windows explorer to malfunction and it also installed a trojan which stole my key.

I have tried a couple of ASUS raid drivers via a usb hard disk with no luck. We can't find any appropriate hitachi drivers.

I think this is related to the hard disk controller? Any ideas?
 

My Computer

System One

Nah. Reset BIOS to default settings and then try booting from the DVD again. If it doesn't work, come back and let us know.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built
    CPU
    AMD PHENOM X4 9600 BE 2.3GHZ @ 2.46GHZ
    Motherboard
    TA790GX 128M AM2+
    Memory
    8GB OCZ PC6400 800MHZ DDR2 RAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GTS 250 1GB VRAM
    Sound Card
    SB5120 24-BIT 7.1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    AOC 2330V 23" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB SEAGATE HDD
    PSU
    650W
    Case
    GENERIC
    Cooling
    3 120MM FANS
    Keyboard
    MS WIRELESS DESKTOP 3000
    Mouse
    MS WIRELESS DESKTOP 3000
    Internet Speed
    6MB/s
    Other Info
    Main Machine. Just upgraded my RAM to 8GB. Next task will be to get a new processor for this machine ( 9650 was for my secondary machine )
i had a similiar problem a while ago when my sysytem got locked and then i could not reformat my hard drive then when i got a new hard drive the vista dick would not recognise my new hard rive i had to keep messing with the bios my setting the startup to only start from the cd drive i have the same motherboard as you asus a8n-sli deluxe what i mean is where you go in the bios to choose what order your system boots weather it boots first from the cd\dvd drive or hard drive or what ever i had to dissable everhting accept the first choice enable it to only boot from cd-rom dissable the rest of your choices it should automatically find your hard drive hope this helps if not e-mail me at address removed by Dwarf i have a couple other ideas k good luck
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    MICROSOFT VISTA ULTIMATE 32 BIT
    CPU
    AMD ATHLON 64 (3200) 32 BIT PROCESSOR
    Motherboard
    ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE
    Memory
    2046 MB OR 2.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVIDIA G-FORCE 7300 SE\7200 GS
    Sound Card
    REALTEK 97 ALC850 8-CHANNEL
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER G195HQ(ANALOG) 15" FLAT PANEL FLAT SCREEN
    Screen Resolution
    1366X768 32 BIT COLOR
    Hard Drives
    1.5 TERRA BITE WESTERN DIGITAL HARD DRIVE
    PSU
    750 WATT POWER SUPPLY
    Cooling
    1-120MM\FAN-3-80MMCASE FANS-1-80MMCPU FAN-1HARD DRV FAN
    Keyboard
    GRANDTEC INDESTRUCTIBLE KEYBOARD MODL GLW-1000
    Mouse
    LOGITECH BASIC MOUSE
    Internet Speed
    ROADRUNNER CABLE WITH TURBO?
    Other Info
    I HAVE PLENTY OF FANS MY SYSTEM CORE TEMP. NEVER RISES ABOVE 39 DEGREES CELCIUS MY CASE TEMP IS ALLWAYS AT 33 DEGREES CELCIUS I THINK THATS PRETTY GOOD MY CPU IS ONLY A AMD 64 SINGLE CORE BUT IT IS SUPPRISINGLY VERY FAST I NEVER HAVE ANY FREEZE UPS OR HANGUPS IT ONLY CRASHED 2X IN A YEAR I AM AMAZED HOW GREAT IT RUNS I CLEAN REG AND MAINTANANCE WEEKLY MUST BE WHY..
Hello wedged,
Its a long shot, but try unplugging the main power lead from the PSU, leave for a few minutes and retry.
As i said its a long shot, but has worked for me in the past.
Good luck and post your results.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Build
    CPU
    QX9650 (black box) [email protected]
    Motherboard
    Asus P5Q Premium
    Memory
    8GB-4x2GB Corsair Dominator DDR 2-1066
    Graphics Card(s)
    2 x ASUS EAH 4870 X 2 (Quad)
    Sound Card
    Supreme FX 2
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Fujitsu Siemens 22inch flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    150 Gig WD Raptor
    300 Gig Maxtor
    300 Gig Maxtor, (External)
    PSU
    CoolerMaster 1000
    Case
    CoolerMaster N-Vidia stacker 830
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12P x 1x120mm fan, 6x120mm case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G15
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    20Mbps
    Other Info
    Audio FX Pro 5+1 gaming head set
hello wedged any luck let meknow i am new to the forum but i know a little bit bout pc's i am not an expert and i will never claim to be but over the years of building my own system and alot of reaserch i have learned quite a bit i really do think this might work give it a try and post a reply what bios came with your motherboard if they are the same as mine cause we do have the exact motherboard but i also have a lap top so i could try some different things with mine and see if i could maybe help u out cause i know how frustrating it is when i cant figure things out when i know it should work but pc's are so tempermental could something so simple sometimes course sometimes it not too lol lol but any way i have received alot of help from people over the yrs myself and if i can help some one else out glad to try to help so let me know k bye for now good luck sincerly jaymus777
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    MICROSOFT VISTA ULTIMATE 32 BIT
    CPU
    AMD ATHLON 64 (3200) 32 BIT PROCESSOR
    Motherboard
    ASUS A8N-SLI DELUXE
    Memory
    2046 MB OR 2.0 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NIVIDIA G-FORCE 7300 SE\7200 GS
    Sound Card
    REALTEK 97 ALC850 8-CHANNEL
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER G195HQ(ANALOG) 15" FLAT PANEL FLAT SCREEN
    Screen Resolution
    1366X768 32 BIT COLOR
    Hard Drives
    1.5 TERRA BITE WESTERN DIGITAL HARD DRIVE
    PSU
    750 WATT POWER SUPPLY
    Cooling
    1-120MM\FAN-3-80MMCASE FANS-1-80MMCPU FAN-1HARD DRV FAN
    Keyboard
    GRANDTEC INDESTRUCTIBLE KEYBOARD MODL GLW-1000
    Mouse
    LOGITECH BASIC MOUSE
    Internet Speed
    ROADRUNNER CABLE WITH TURBO?
    Other Info
    I HAVE PLENTY OF FANS MY SYSTEM CORE TEMP. NEVER RISES ABOVE 39 DEGREES CELCIUS MY CASE TEMP IS ALLWAYS AT 33 DEGREES CELCIUS I THINK THATS PRETTY GOOD MY CPU IS ONLY A AMD 64 SINGLE CORE BUT IT IS SUPPRISINGLY VERY FAST I NEVER HAVE ANY FREEZE UPS OR HANGUPS IT ONLY CRASHED 2X IN A YEAR I AM AMAZED HOW GREAT IT RUNS I CLEAN REG AND MAINTANANCE WEEKLY MUST BE WHY..
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