• Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 7

Topic: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

Hi folks; this is my first post on this forum; many thanks for allowing me to subscribe.

I installed a Kingston 128 gb SSD on my old Gateway Pro 933M running XP SP3 and 512mb RAM (the most it can take) in an attempt to improve performance. As the Gateway has no SATA connections (only IDE) I installed an I/O Flex PSA150 PCI SATA controller. The installation went fine; all the drivers worked and XP can see it and the SSD drive. I was able to clone the IDE drive to the SSD succesfully; but, when I disconnect the IDE drive and try to boot with the new SSD, I get a "no hard drive found; do you want to continue booting without a hard driver?" message.

When POSTing, I can see the Kingston drive and am able to enter the RAID setting on the new SATA controller. But, I do not see a way to make the new SSD a primary boot drive. The SATA controller is not an option to select in the system BIOS and the SATA controller also displays no option to make it bootable.

On another forum, someone posted about enabling "interrupt 19" but no option for that exists.

If someone has expertise with working on SATA controllers and knows how to make them bootable , your help is appreciated.

Many thanks.

  • From: Victorville, California
  • Registered: 2007-12-07
  • Posts: 278

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

If you can't change the BIOS to make an addin controller bootable then there is no way you are going to be able to boot from the SSD.

Is is safe to assume you have the lates update to the BIOS for the motherboard in use?

Check www.cyberguys.com for a SATA to IDE adapter - that could be one way around your problem.

Checked my Cyberguys catalog; connect SATA drives to IDE controller: 1 port device = item # 202 0252 $13.99; 2 port device = item # 202 0254 $17.19

Back to you

Last edited by ChiefZeke (2010-08-23 08:22:11)

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  • From: Atlanta, GA. USA
  • Registered: 2008-09-29
  • Posts: 48

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

You may have a SATA controller that is NOT bootable. Have you checked the docs that came with it?

Your BIOS should allow booting from an expansion card, so look and see what options are available.

If this controller is indeed NOT bootable, then perhaps the BIOS would not show it as an option.

Your old IDE drive evidently maintained the MBR and boot code needed to get the system up and running.

Have you considered a "repair install" of XP? Or another process that would put MBR and boot tracks on the SSD? Like a clean install from an XP disk with the hallowed DriverPacks on it?

If you use an install disk with SATA drivers slipstreamed, you SHOULD see the SSD in the XP Setup drive selection screen.

NOTE: cloning an IDE drive to a SATA drive is not gonna be what makes it go. You'll need partitioning and formatting that will likely be different for SATA than IDE.

I did some quick research and found nothing that verified this card is bootable, however it DOES support RAID, so I would THINK that booting would be supported, as well. But I could be wrong....

There is another CLOSED topic on these forums that mentions this device, found via GOOGLE search:

http://forum.driverpacks.net/viewtopic.php?pid=19337



MARK STRELECKI
Atlanta, GA. USA

Last edited by markstrelecki (2010-08-23 12:45:09)

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  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 7

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

Thanks to Mark and ChiefZeke; I had seen the earlier post, Mark, that you mentioned prior to doing my post, so thanks for pointing that out. ChiefZeke's suggestion looks like a good idea and I may pursue that. The I/O Flex is a strange card, but it was quickly available and I went for it. I do have the docs and they say nothing about the controller being bootable, so you may be correct Mark.

I also noted, in the closed post, a link to download a better driver for the SATA controller; so, I d/l it and copied the files to a floppy disk. I then began a clean install of XP and pressed the "F6" option and inserted the floppy. XP recognized and seemed to accept the SATA controller. However, during the install the XP install program once again required the floppy, but this time gave me the error  that the "disk or CD may be damaged". So, I copied the files to another floppy but am still getting the error.

I then restarted the XP clean install, once again pressed the "F6" key and inserted the same disk that worked earlier; this time, though, I got the same "damaged" error; so right now I'm dead in the water. Sadly, it looks as if this is the solution that may have worked.

As I mentioned, I will probably pursue ChiefZeke's suggestion and purchase a better and (hopefully) bootable SATA controller.

On another topic: are any of you familiar with this so-called "interrupt 19 (INT19)" option which supposedly, if enabled, allows the BIOS to "capture" the controller?

Thanks again.

  • From: Victorville, California
  • Registered: 2007-12-07
  • Posts: 278

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

bobcat250 wrote:

As I mentioned, I will probably pursue ChiefZeke's suggestion and purchase a better and (hopefully) bootable SATA controller.

On another topic: are any of you familiar with this so-called "interrupt 19 (INT19)" option which supposedly, if enabled, allows the BIOS to "capture" the controller?

Thanks again.

I did not say buy a bootable SATA controller - I recommended you purchase a SATA to IDE adapter which you can then use to plug the SATA SSD into the IDE connector.

A Google search on: interrupt 19 gives an explanation of what it does and it is a BIOS option - so if you do not have that option your are out-of-luck.

Also, from a book I have: "The BIOS Companion": An Interrupt Vector Table, which is 1K in size, including the name and address of the program providing the interrupt service. Interrupt vectors point to any of 255 routines in the BIOS or DOS that programs can use to perform low level hardware access.

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  • cdob
  • DriverPacks Guru
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2006-08-13
  • Posts: 270

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

bobcat250 wrote:

When POSTing, I can see the Kingston drive and am able to enter the RAID setting on the new SATA controller.

That's the SATA board BIOS. Card itself is bootable.

However this is a PCI 2.2 card. Does you system provide PCI 2.2 slots?

The SATA controller is not an option to select in the system BIOS and the SATA controller also displays no option to make it bootable.

Does system BIOS list a SCSI boot option?
This should run SATA card. Try this SCSI boot.

  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 7

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

I stand corrected; ChiefZeke did say to buy an IDE to SATA adapter, which is the card I found on the site. I like that option and it may be the only way I have to go.

Also; Mark asked if the Gateway had the latest BIOS updates. Unfortunately, no. I went to Gateway's site and, when I keyed in the unit's serial number, was directed to a newsletter saying the Gateway Professional division (from which this PC came) was sold to a company called "MPC" in 2007 who now has responsibility for all software updates and drivers. I tried to find a link to download the latest updates from MPC, but failed to find one.

As far as PCI version, due to the age of the machine (built in 10/2001), I would have to say it is not version 2.2

  • From: Victorville, California
  • Registered: 2007-12-07
  • Posts: 278

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

Go to www.belarc.com and download The Belarc Advisor. After it's installed and then updates itself you will be presented with a comprehensive list of your hardware - see if that will give you motherboard and BIOS info and, therefore, a possible name to try a Google search.

And is's a SATA to IDE adapter - not IDE to SATA - which is different (at least that's how Cyberguys lists it).

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  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 7

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

I am familair with the Belarc Adivsor, so I may give that a try. The IDE to SATA (or SATA to IDE) adapter is very tempting except that you don't get the faster SATA transfer speeds. I'm primarily using this PC as a music and video server which I access remotely via Winamp.

For music it's great, but video streaming is pretty bad; I figured the SATA/SSD combo would help a great deal.

  • cdob
  • DriverPacks Guru
  • Offline
  • Registered: 2006-08-13
  • Posts: 270

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

bobcat250 wrote:

I am familair with the Belarc Adivsor, so I may give that a try. The IDE to SATA (or SATA to IDE) adapter is very tempting except that you don't get the faster SATA transfer speeds.

The onboard IDE controller is part of chipset and use a fast connection to north bridge
The SATA is connected to PCI bus. PCI Bus transfer speed does limit SATA card.
The IDE adapter may result faster transfer speed as a PCI SATA card.

bobcat250 wrote:

For music it's great, but video streaming is pretty bad; I figured the SATA/SSD combo would help a great deal.

I doubt hard disk as true speed limit.

  • Registered: 2010-08-23
  • Posts: 7

Re: Unable to make SATA controller/SSD combo bootable

Thought I would mention that I did finally get the SATA controller/SSD combo to be the primary boot device. I used the "F6" option on the XP install and was able to load the "third party SCSI or RAID driver" as the procedure indicates. Once that happened, I was able to install XP on the SSD and make it primary boot device, though the boot menu does appear to give me the option of booting off the IDE drive

Now, it is booting to the SSD and I have noticed a considerable peformance increase. Although as Driver Packs Addict noted, the video steaming is unchanged; drive speed really doesn't matter.

I want to thank all that helped with this; much appreciated.


Dan