How to Integrate SATA Drivers in A Custom Windows CD - A tutorial...

I was planning to present a simplistic guide to integrating SATA drivers into a custom Windows CD so people could benefit from the knowledge since SATA support and controllers are so common these days.

Then I realized, I never do anything "simplistic."

So, I present br0adband's "How to Integrate SATA Drivers into A Custom Windows CD" tutorial for your reading - and hopefully your learning pleasure.

It's long (25 pages) but it's got a ton of pics to guide you along the path to SATA integrated Windows installation nirvana. Obviously it won't fit into a forum posting here, so I decided to make it into a PDF file for easy downloading and printing out.

The margins are pretty wide on this file because of the pics - I didn't spend a lot of time resizing this, resizing that, I just made the guide and typed as I went along, like I always do (and I'm doing right now). Stream-of-consciousness content, that's me...

I hope it helps someone, teaches them something about how SATA drivers work, how the driver integration process works using nLite, the preferred tool for such activities, and gets you started on creating your own custom Windows CD.

You can get the guide from:

Download Linkage (PDF file in a Zip, 683KB)

Good luck, and if you have questions or comments, post them here in this thread or email to the address in the PDF.

Have fun, always...
bb

 

Man, and all I do is put my Linux CD in and boot from it. Teaches me to take the easy way out

 

these instructions worked perfectly for my Gateway MX6931.

For the Gateway MX6931 you can get the drivers from support.gateway.com
Goes by:
D00455-001-001.exe - Gateway Notebook Computer Intel SATA Support Driver Version: 5.5.0.1035

I first let the driver install app that I downloaded create a floppy disk for me. Then I just copied those files from the floppy drive to my hard drive and used those files in step 7H.
One weird thing was that the file size only increased like .5 meg for me in step 8.

Everything else was flawless.

and to this...

LOL! Finally something is easier on Linux than XP and you think you have a right to gloat! Maybe in a few years...

 

www.nliteos.com

 

It's all a matter of what you perceive of as "easier". If you know the systems, either can be quite easy. It is much easier for me to get a Linux install up and running with all my personal preferences than it is for me to get a Windows machine to the same state. That includes patching time, which SUCKS on Windows. Reboot for every patch, many can't be installed simultaneously... whee!! I like just typing "apt-get dist upgrade" and leaving it alone for an hour, rebooting only if a kernel or graphics driver was updated and going on my merry way.

Anyway, rant got totally off-topic there Good guide for XP users, but if you just use an XP SP2 install disc, you're already set.

 

Uhmmm... no, you're not. XP SP2 does not come with enough SATA drivers to have it installed on current hardware, that's the point. I have a real XP SP2 CD, hologram, direct from Microsoft itself (I'm a Microsoft Partner, have been for a long time), and it will not install on this Gateway MX6931 laptop even though the version of XP on the CD does have a standard SATA AHCI 1.0 compatible driver.

That's the whole reason I wrote that guide: for everyone to be able to create their own custom CD with the most current drivers they can find to ensure compatibility and the ease of an install without issues.

As for having to "Reboot after every patch" that's simply untrue. If you don't use Windows enough - you sure sound like you're a Linux distro user - then you're just missing something. If I install XP SP2 right now, off the custom XP SP2 CD I had to create from the content on the official hologram one, and then hit Windows Update after the installation, all the most current patches download in a batch and there is only one single reboot that needs to happen - just one.

Once a month, Microsoft has "patch day" and the month's updates are set up for Windows Update, and yes, that can usually require a reboot also. But saying "Reboot after every patch" makes it sound like after and in-between each and every individual update file that gets downloaded, which is untrue. If you'd clarified your statement it would have helped; as it is most people probably just believe you.

Linux isn't an operating system, it's a kernel. Slackware, Ubuntu, Redhat, etc... those are Linux operating systems, aka "distros." Linux distros operate one way, Windows operates another. Neither is any better than the other in all situations.

Your comment:

"If you know the systems, either can be quite easy."

is 100% true, but you seem to miss the very point you make by saying it.

And again, as for the updates, only something serious like a "kernel" driver or something that is tied into the operating system on such a deep level - just like they are on Linux distros - requires a reboot, especially security updates. But that's another story, and this thread has gone off-topic enough.

bb

 

Hey fellas I googled this same exact problem and you were the first post i found. Im real glad I did. There is one problem with the link though bbz_ghost. I keep on receiving a 'file not found on this server' error. If you could provide an updated link I would gladly appreciate it since I also have a gateway mx6931 laptop like mikec1234. Thanks!

 

My apologies, had some hosting issues the past day or so and forgot to fix the updated linkage.

Click here...

There ya go. Hope it helps...

bb

 

I really appreciate it...thanks!

 

I was sooo happy when I gound this because I have the same exact laptop and have been going nuts...
then I was sad when the pdf link wasnt working.

If anyone has it can they link or email it to [email protected]

Thanks so much.

 

It has enough to install on MOST sata hard drives. Those that don't work with the defaults are the exception to the rule.

Although most Windows updates will not require a reboot to install, they will require a reboot to actually run.

 

It works now. Thanks for making this.

 

Uhhmmm... Right. Hence my making it explicitly clear in the guide, and hence the reason for the need for a guide because most situations won't work with a bare naked XP/XP SP1/XP SP2 disc - it needs to have SATA drivers integrated.

No offense, but you don't even run Windows, and times change. This is simply not true anymore, especially where Vista is concerned. Oh, and for similar types of low-level updates on Linux distros, they require a similar reboot.

And I do run Linux currently in a triple boot situation (XP SP2, Vista Ultimate 64, and Ubuntu 6.10 64 bit) and I have had situations where a low-level update requires a reboot - no more often than Windows does. So I hope you weren't planning to offer up any particular Linux distro as an example to compare to Windows...

bb

 

Good guide bbz. I've used nlite to do this in the past and it also works well.

(btw, who cares about the linux vs windows debate in this thread, it would be nice to keep things on topic in this forum for once)

 

Wonder what made him think I don't run Windows? Just because I don't like it, doesn't mean I don't HAVE to use it.

And, I thought this guide concerned XP, not Vista?

 

I have a Win XP Home SP2 CD.

I'm going to reinstall XP tomorrow.....will I need the SATA drivers?

 

Probably not, but when the cd is loading up, there is an timeframe you have to push a button and say you want to install SATA drivers.

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

both links are down

can someone send me a new link or the file?

thanks

 

what he said ^^ ;(

 

yeh both links dead anyone got the file ?hook me up please!

 

Hi.

try this link

http://members.cox.net/br0adband/How_To_Integrate_SATA_Drivers_into_A_Custom_Windows_CD.zip

Regards

John.