I am attempting to install windows 2003 R2 standard addition on the following system to a clean 160 gb SATA HD. Processor: Intel core 2 duo e6600 on a Dell dimension 9200C 4gb ram I have tried to preload sata drivers at f6 but no help. I was successful loading server 2008 r2 on this same machine but it was a demo and I have a license for 2003. This PC came with Vista installed. Please help in any way you can. Thank You

Microsoft windows Server was not intended to run on personal computers. It is for that you can face several problems when you try to install them. Even if the install was done succesfully, you will have problems with drivers because the most Microsoft Windows Server 2003 drivers are not available for laptops. I recommend to you to use Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. I am always using it and I have no problems with my virtual servers. This is a link to download it: http://www.microsoft.com/downloadS/details.aspx?FamilyID=04d26402-3199-48a3-afa2-2dc0b40a73b6&displaylang=en Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread. Best regards.

Check the HCL for the Windows OS you are trying to install and verify that your devices are supported. http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx Regards, Salvador Manaois III C|EH MCSE MCSA MCTS MCITP(x4) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bytes & Badz: http://badzmanaois.blogspot.com My Passion: http://www.flickr.com/photos/badzmanaois My Scripting Blog: http://sgwindowsgroup.org/blogs/badz

Why would server 2008 r2 Install fine but server 2003 blue screens. The hardware is compatible with server 2003.

Even if the hardware is supported, Microsoft Windows Server operating systems were not designated to run on laptops. It is for that strange issues can appear when you try to install Microsoft Windows Server 2003 on your laptop.

It is not a laptop it a workststion with a 64 bit E660 core2duo cpu and 4gb of ram. Server 2008 installs fine and runs. The question is why will server 2003 not install without a blue screen during the install.

What controller driver did you try to use? What was the result? I'd try the XP driver. You may also get around this by changing SATA Operation to/from AHCI/ATA mode. in system cmos setup. Regards, Dave Patrick .... Microsoft Certified Professional -Microsoft MVP [Windows]

Even if it is workstation, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 was not intended to be used on a such machine.

Thanks Dave Patrick. changing from ACHI to ATA worked.