Windows XP SATA drivers: download, ISO, floppy disk

Installing Windows XP on a SATA hard drive is not a straight-forward task as Windows XP does not recognise the SATA drive. In order to install operating systems such as Windows XP on SATA drives, the latest SATA drivers are required.

Installing Windows XP on a SATA hard drive without proper SATA drivers is impossible as SATA mode would have to be disabled in the BIOS to continue with the installation. Windows XP Pro SP2 fares well with SATA drivers, but here is what can be done in cases where the driver is not recognized.

Check out the make/model of motherboard 

Above all, getting the latest stable Serial ATA drivers for your motherboard is necessary. To do this, it is essential to know the exact model of the motherboard. If you still have the manuals, you can refer to them in order to identify the make and model of the motherboard.

Visit the manufacturer's official website and download the drivers for the Serial-ATA controller of your motherboard and save them to a floppy disk (if you have one!) after unzipping them.

Installing Windows

Two scenarios are possible:

• You have a floppy drive

After setting the BIOS to boot on the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, insert the Windows installation CD and follow the steps to install Windows XP. When Windows prompts you (shown at the bottom of screen), press the F6 key to install the third party drivers for the Serial ATA hard drive

• You do not have a floppy drive

In this case, you need to unzip the drivers for the SATA controller and use the nLite software to integrate them on the Windows XP installation CD. This way, XP will be able to recognize your SATA drive.

Alternative method

If you can not find the proper SATA drivers, or the above tips do not work for you, a final solution is to disable the SATA mode from the BIOS, which can decrease your hard drive performance.

• Access the BIOS setup.
• Navigate the BIOS and look for the option to disable SATA.
• Save the BIOS option, and restart the installation of Windows XP.
• If you can not find this option, a BIOS upgrade may solve your issue
• Important: If you want to install XP in dual boot with Vista, disabling the SATA controller can sometimes cause a malfunction on Vista. It is advisable to check if Vista is still functional before starting the installation of XP.