Satellite A200 28H : F6 floppy won't work while installing XP

Question

Hi,
I'm trying to install Windows XP pro on my new laptop (Satellite A200 28H), and since it needs SATA driver, I have downloaded the appropriate driver for my laptop (Satellite A200 28H), put them on a floppy to use with a USB floppy drive (which works fine), pressed "F6" when appropriate and all... But it just won't work. I have had a computer technician background for a few years, so even thouh this is no longer my job and I might be a bit rusty, I think I still know at least a bit what I'm doing... Well, apparently I'm more out of picture than I thought !
I have tried several things, and here is what I get :
* If I do not use the floppy at all, Windows XP will not find the hard disk. That was expected, no problem here, save for the fact it is utterly useless to me :)
* If I force the driver on the floppy, despite Windows telling me it already has a driver it can use, then within 10 seconds I get a BSOD with the 0x7B stop message (boot device not found or unreachable).
* If I use the floppy, but do not force the driver and instead listen to Windows ("oh, you already have a driver ? Ok, then, use it and nevermind that floppy"), I can actually finish the installation process. Windows will copy all the files it needs on the drive, it will even reboot properly after that and go on installing itself. But when the installation is over, the computer will reboot, I will see the loading screen for a second, and then, BSOD stop 0x7B again.
I'm pretty sure I have downloaded the proper driver for my computer. Actually, I also tried a couple of wrong drivers too, just to be sure (ie I should use Intel Matrix for ICH8M, but I also tried the one for ICH7M to be sure), I tried with drivers downloaded from the Toshiba website, from the Intel website, and from whatnot-other-website-for-newbies-or-powerusers, and I always have the same behaviour as described above.
I have tried partitioning / formating during the installation, and I also have tried leaving the file system untouched. If I do the latter, the only difference is that I am offered 2 possible OS to boot from, both being Windows XP, and both failing miserably.
It's probably interesting to mention that, if I use the recovery DVD and start fresh and clean with Vista, I have no problem whatsoever, save for the gazillion process loaded at startup, the already half-used RAM and the hundred or so useless applications I don't give a darn about... And the fact that some applications I need to work just can't be installed on Vista.
If anyone has any idea about how to fix it, I'd be most grateful !

Answer 1

Hi
The procedure including the SATA drivers into the Win XP using the external USB floppy drive is very easy.
First of all you have to download the Storage Manger and have to put it on the floppy.
During the Win XP Setup procedure you have to press F6 button to include it from the external floppy drive and follow the further instruction on the screen.
_Note;_
Very important is that your Win XP CD would contains the SP2!!!
Without the SP2 a BSOD could appears and could break up the installation!!!
Dont format or dont create any partitions after the SATA driver installation. This can erase the installed and included SATA driver from the HDD.
Last but not least some external FDD drives are not supported. I read that some users had some problems with an external FDD drives they tested another drive and it worked finally
Check the recommended points maybe it could be useful
Bye