Hello,
I have purchased this laptop from the army stores while my unit is deployed in Iraq after I've read about its amazing specs (actually I opted for the SLi-3 but this model was the highest they displayed at the store).
Any how I originally accuired this laptop (sorry notebook) for games, but I got some un-impressive stability/compatibility issues.
Deciding to go with the old and reliable XP Pro SP2, I noticed that the Vista (Home Premium) licence that came with this notebook is an OEM one meaning I cannot reinstall it again once its been removed, hence I decided to go with a dual boot configuration where Vista sits on the first HDD (as it is doing now) and emptying the second Toshiba HDD for XP.
I folloowed a tutorial on the internet for dual booting (with Vista already installed), so I put the XP pro CD and restart the machine, XP setup started and when it reached the step where it checks for available HDD space for installation, it reported that XP could not find any HDD available on this machine and offered me only one way to go; F3 to quit
So I checked the specs again googled here and there and then noticed that there is an AHCI controller that I need to load its drivers during the initial XP setup (using F6) just like I do to a RAID controller.
I got the needed files and since X205 comes with no floppy drive, I used another PC to burn these files into a blank DVD.
Here, my luck started running out; as the HD DVD drive on the X205 refused to read that DVD, so I upgraded the HD DVD firmware using WinVup2_L802A_RATO35_rev2.exe file I got from Toshiba support site, after a reboot, the drive refused to read ANY CD or DVD i feed into it including the XP Pro installation CD. I tried all kinds of disks but the drive just refuses to see any of them.
I upgraded the X205 BIOS from ver 1.40 to 2.10 thinking that it would help but alas nothing changed.
Buttom line I am left with a laptop that refuses to read any CD/DVD (including the originals that came with the laptop itself) and the urgent need to install XP (so desparate that i am willing to loose Vista all togather)
1. What do u suggest to get the HD DVD drive back alive(I liiked for an older firmware but couldnt find any on Toshiba site)?
2. Assuming the DVD drive is back alive, would XP Pro installation program be able to read the Intel AHCI SATA controller from a CD/DVD or not? if not what to do?
please notice that i am in Iraq right now and have little (if any) access to resources other than the internet.
Regards,
Talal
I have purchased this laptop from the army stores while my unit is deployed in Iraq after I've read about its amazing specs (actually I opted for the SLi-3 but this model was the highest they displayed at the store).
Any how I originally accuired this laptop (sorry notebook) for games, but I got some un-impressive stability/compatibility issues.
Deciding to go with the old and reliable XP Pro SP2, I noticed that the Vista (Home Premium) licence that came with this notebook is an OEM one meaning I cannot reinstall it again once its been removed, hence I decided to go with a dual boot configuration where Vista sits on the first HDD (as it is doing now) and emptying the second Toshiba HDD for XP.
I folloowed a tutorial on the internet for dual booting (with Vista already installed), so I put the XP pro CD and restart the machine, XP setup started and when it reached the step where it checks for available HDD space for installation, it reported that XP could not find any HDD available on this machine and offered me only one way to go; F3 to quit
So I checked the specs again googled here and there and then noticed that there is an AHCI controller that I need to load its drivers during the initial XP setup (using F6) just like I do to a RAID controller.
I got the needed files and since X205 comes with no floppy drive, I used another PC to burn these files into a blank DVD.
Here, my luck started running out; as the HD DVD drive on the X205 refused to read that DVD, so I upgraded the HD DVD firmware using WinVup2_L802A_RATO35_rev2.exe file I got from Toshiba support site, after a reboot, the drive refused to read ANY CD or DVD i feed into it including the XP Pro installation CD. I tried all kinds of disks but the drive just refuses to see any of them.
I upgraded the X205 BIOS from ver 1.40 to 2.10 thinking that it would help but alas nothing changed.
Buttom line I am left with a laptop that refuses to read any CD/DVD (including the originals that came with the laptop itself) and the urgent need to install XP (so desparate that i am willing to loose Vista all togather)
1. What do u suggest to get the HD DVD drive back alive(I liiked for an older firmware but couldnt find any on Toshiba site)?
2. Assuming the DVD drive is back alive, would XP Pro installation program be able to read the Intel AHCI SATA controller from a CD/DVD or not? if not what to do?
please notice that i am in Iraq right now and have little (if any) access to resources other than the internet.
Regards,
Talal
