Want to add 2nd SATA Drive with new OS installed on it.

[Ramiroo]

Hello everyone,My desktop has a IDE main drive with Windows vista and now i want to install another Hard Drive through SATA connector and want to install a Windows Server 2003 and want to select which windows to boot at the start up.I know that dual boot system is possible using Windows XP and Windows Vista but i am not sure if windows server 2003 supports dual boot with windows Vista.I am totally aware of how to do the installation but I dont know if my motherboard supports the sata connector.I have a HP a6330f Desktop that I bought in 2008 so I think the board is new enough to have a SATA port.Please help me in this issue.

[Maxforu]

To know if your motherboard supports SATA port or not check the motherboard manual or search online the specifications of your motherboard by entering the model no of your motherboard along with the manufacturer.If the manual is not available then open the CPU and check the availability physically.

[Rawko]

In Win 2003 server you dont have direct support for the SATA drives so you will need to check with your motherboard manufacturer for the drivers.If you can find the drivers then you can either pre-install the drivers during setup which can be done using a floppy drive in WIndows but I have no idea about Win 2003 server or you can configure your SATA ports to emulate IDE and install the OS that way but you will not get the enhanced performance.You can switch the BIOS to enhanced mode but this might result in Win 2003 not booting and or not allowing the driver installation.So try it and let us know if it works.

[RoninBlade]

You can install in the following way if you have a spare IDE drive with you.Take spare IDE drive and install the OS on that drive.Once the OS is loaded and running you can enable SATA in the BIOS and reboot.Now the OS will detect the hardware and allow the driver installation.Now you can attach a SATA drive and clone 2003 to it from the IDE drive.Now remove the IDE drive and see if your OS boots from the SATA drive.Then, reattach your Vista IDE drive and test to see if both will boot by altering the BIOS boot order.You can change the order by editing the boot.ini file.