Win7 installation problem on IBM SATA2 HD (MSI K8T mobo)

I can't install Windows 7 RTM on my SATA HDD. I have the following main hardware config:

- AMD Athlon64 3000+ with 2Gb RAM
- MSI K8T NEO2-FIR motherboard
- IBM HDD SATA150 500Gb (connected to the Promise 20579 SATA controller on the MSI K8T mobo)
- ATI Radeon 7000/VE

Installation process:

1. No drive is showed in list at the 'Where do you want to install Windows?' screen. Assumed it was because of my SATA controller.
2. Searched the internet and found WinXP/Win2003 drivers for the Promise 20579. Can't find WinVista or Win7 drivers.
3. Now the HD is found by installation so it seems like the Promise 20579 WinXP driver worked. I press Next when the screen says 'Disk 0 Unallocated Space' the waiting-circle appear but doesnt go away.
4. Restart computer with Win7 dvd
5. When I reach the 'Where do you want to install..' screen again a new partiton has been created 'Disk 0 Partition 1: System Reserved' with 100Mb total size and 86Mb free space and the type is System.
6. Select the Primary partion as installation drive and 'Installing Windows...' screen with 'Copying Windows files' appear but says 0% without loading activity from neither the DVD nor the HDD.
7. Restart computer.
8. Reach the 'Installing Windows...' screen again and this time the 'Copying Windows files' just shows a couple of seconds, then a check sign appear and the 'Expanding Windows files' appear, but the same thing here, i.e. no dvd and hdd activity, but in curiosity I waited maybe 10 minutes and then 1% appeared but still with no dvd/hdd activity. Strange.

I'm starting to get really annoyed with this. Have you heard about it or have you any idea how to solve it? I have searched the internet for a solution without any success. May it be because of my Promise 20579 SATA controller? I can't see any other possible root. And in that case, what could be the solution?

I appreciate every advice I can get in order to solve this. I would really like to try out Windows 7 on my computer.

// Mattias, Sweden

Hi Mattias - Welcome to w7forums
I'm not finding this board. All the FIR boards I see are socket 939. Your processor you have listed is for a socket 754. So I'm a little confused what to look for in trying to help.

You are completely right, clifford_cooley. Thanks for the remark.

My motherboard is an "MSI K8T Neo2-fir" socket 939.

I'm sorry for the confusion!

// Mattias

Do you have any options in your BIOS to make the SATA controller emulate an IDE drive? If so, could you try this temporarily.

I can only find XP SATA controller drivers too : http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=do...=1&prod_no=588

Ian: I really appreciate your guidance! Thanks for the link, but the drivers on that page is for the Via SATA controller on the Neo2-fir mobo, not Promise 20579 SATA controller.

Neo2-fir have two SATA controllers and since I have a SATA2/150 HDD I have to use the Promise 20579 controller for the mobo to detect it.

The answer to your question about option in BIOS to emulate IDE drive I have to answer No. I don't have that option.

By the way; I use the latest BIOS on the MSI K8T NEO2-Fir board, 3.31beta I think (not officially out, 3.3 is latest out but I got the 3.31b from the MSI support about 3 years ago).

// Mattias

Mattias if I am reading the details correctly you shouldn't need the promise driver unless you are using raid functionality.

I am not using RAID functionality and I didn't use the promise driver when I used Windows XP since the MSI mainboard recognize the SATA disk anyway. However, the Win7 installation doesn't detect my SATA HDD unless I load the promise driver via "Load driver" at the screen where you choose installation partition.

How do you mean I should do in order to make the Win7 installatioin detect my SATA drive without the driver?