up vote 1 down vote favorite
share [g+] share [fb]

I have a blank hard drive which I am trying to install Windows 7 on.

The BIOS can see the drive is connected but when I go through the Windows setup it doesn't detect the drive.

If I load my other hard drive with Windows 7 on it, My Computer can see the drive (as the BIOS did), but if I start the install through Windows, the setup still cannot see the disk.

Some information that may help:

  • I'm trying to install Windows 7 Professional 32-bit
  • The disk is a 500GB WD SATA
  • The motherboard is an MSI K9A2 CF-F
link|improve this question
1  
How does the install program inform you that "it doesn't detect the drive"? Is the disk partitioning menu screen empty, or does the install program abort with a "no drives were found", or ??? – sawdust Sep 2 '11 at 23:41
feedback

1 Answer

up vote 1 down vote

More than likely, Win 7 doesnt recognize the SATA hard disk controller. You need to press F6 after the installer fails to load additional drivers. The drivers should with the motherboard drivers from the MSI website. Copy them to a USB stick to make your life easier. Once the drivers are loaded, the install should see the drive.

link|improve this answer
1  
"F6" has been deprecated. The Win7 installer has a menu option to load drivers (from the select drive/partition screen) that will let you browse media to find the drivers. – sawdust Sep 3 '11 at 0:23
I will try this when I get home, but if Win7 doesn't recognize my disk, howcome I can see the disk in My Computer when running other Win7 instance created from the same disk? – Ash Burlaczenko Sep 3 '11 at 8:55
feedback

Your Answer

 
or
required, but never shown
discard

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.