AskGordRoutley.com Blog

Answers to computer questions!

Hate Vista – reverting to XP – having problems…

LM asks: Hi Gord. I absolutely HATE Windows Vista that came pre-installed on my computer. I’ve been trying to format the hard drive and replace it with a copy of Windows XP I have, but the XP set-up can’t find and recognize my SATA hard drive. What’s the problem here?

My reply: If you use a SATA Hard Drive in Raid mode (non IDE mode) when you are installing the Windows XP Operating System, you have to copy the proper driver to a floppy disk (1.44M FDD) from the Drivers section on your Motherboard OEM CD. If you don’t have a floppy drive it can be done using a USB thumb drive instead. Just replace USB for FDD in the set-up process below. If you don’t have the OEM Driver Disk, go to the Motherboard Manufacturers website to find the right RAID/SATA driver for your Motherboard and then copy it to the FDD or USB drive.

If you do have the OEM driver disk, you can usually find the proper drivers as follows:

> If your Mobo has the SiS Chipset South Bridge is SIS96x, then copy it from \RAID\SiS\FloppyImage\96x
> If your Mobo has the VIA chipset, then copy the driver from \Raid\VIA\Driverdisk
> If your Mobo South Bridge has the ATI chipset, then copy the driver from \RAID\ATI\FloppyImage
> If your Mobo South Bridge has the ULi chipset, then copy the driver from \RAID\ULi\M5287

Then follow these directions:

1. Boot from your Windows XP Operating System CD (you may have to set your BIOS to boot from CD). When you see the first installation screen (blue), simply press F6 to install the Raid driver by FDD later during the process (you’ll see a prompt for this).
2. The installation screen will appear on the Windows Setup screen to let you specify an additional device driver. You then press “S” and put the driver disk into FDD >>> Enter.
3. Choose the right RAID Controller for  Windows XP >>> Enter >>> Enter.
4. Then Windows XP will copy the SATA RAID Driver before entering Windows XP HDD Partitioning screen.
5. Your SATA HDD should then be available for installation.
6. Then follow the regular Windows XP installation procedure to install the OS.

November 14th, 2008 Posted by DoC | Computer Frustrations, Computer Maintenance, DIY (Do It Yourself), Hardware, SATA hard-drive, Techie Tips from Gord, Windows XP, hard drive | one comment

Resizing the taskbar problem in Windows XP…

MK asks: The taskbar at the bottom of my Windows XP screen has doubled in width. The active applications and/or websites appear on a separate taskbar just below the Quick Launch icons. I have tried unlocking the taskbar and dragging the two-headed arrow down from the top of the taskbar. The double width of the taskbar does not change at all. How do I get rid of the excess width, or in my case, height, of the taskbar? It is driving me nuts!

My reply: What probably has happened is that you have made the taskbar extra long by moving the “Dotted Line” too far to the right. To fix this, you will need to grab the bottom dotted line by using your left mouse button and move it up and closer to the left on the top. This will, in effect, make the Quick Launch bar shorter. Once you have moved the dotted line, you should be able to shrink the taskbar back to normal size.

When you hover the cursor over the edge of the taskbar or toolbar, and the resize pointer is NOT displayed?

If the taskbar is locked, the default for Windows XP Home Edition, you can NOT resize the taskbar or any toolbar. To resolve this issue, right-click the taskbar and clear the Lock the Taskbar check mark.

You can also:
1. Open your Control Panel / Taskbar and Start Menu.
2. Select the Taskbar tab.
3. Clear the Lock the taskbar check box.
4. Press Apply and OK.

If this doesn’t solve your problem look here >>> http://www.timeatlas.com/mos/5_Minute_Tips/General/How_to_Resize_or_Move_Windows_Taskbar/

October 28th, 2008 Posted by DoC | Computer Frustrations, Computer Tweaking, DIY (Do It Yourself), Just plain weird!, Software, Taskbar, Tweaking, Windows XP | one comment