XP not installing in NTFS partition: On a brand new Compaq Presario with Vista Basic, I created 2 30 GB partitions, 1 that has Vista, & another to install XP. I formatted the XP partition NTFS. Every time I boot from the XP CD, it says that no HDD could be found; it never goes any further.

Check the BIOS for the hard disk access mode. Vista sets it to use AHCI mode. Change to IDE mode and runt he XP install again.

If you have a SATA drive then you need to got through F6 process.

Install Windows XP on SATA without a Floppy (F6) - No Floppy...no Windows on SATA? Wrong! - Softpedia

Thanks! It does have SATA HDD. Never had any trouble installing XP on SATA drives before. I did look at BIOS settings, but there aren't many...

yah im totallyh having the same issue, the partition and all worked fine and i renamed the drive letters and names etc, yet it never asks me which partition to load XP onto... hmm gotta figure out what this f6 craps all about

where are you guys getting the driver for the sata controller? I have an hp dv2660se and i cant find it on the hp website! Maybe a link would be helpful?

I have a refurb'ed Compaq Presario, which is a HP product. HP's tech' support is utterly deplorable: They've been of no help whatsoever! All they told me is that, if I ever succeed in dual-booting with XP or install XP, my warranty would be automatically voided. If anyone finds-out where to get that SATA driver, I'd greatly appreciate if they'd let me know!