I've nearly at my wits end here. I'm building my own system from scratch and I can't get Vista 64 bit installed on it. Here's the hardware specs:

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ABS Aplus ABS-CS-EL Diablo Black 0.8mm SECC ATX Full Tower Computer Case - Retail

Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 Yorkfield 2.66GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80569Q9450 - Retail

EVGA 132-CK-NF79-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI DDR3 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail

EVGA 01G-P3-1284-AR GeForce GTX 280 SSC Edition 1GB 512-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail (x2)

Seagate Barracuda ES.2 ST31000340NS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM (x2)

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3P13334GK - Retail (x2=8gig total)

COOLMAX CUQ-1200B 1200W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply - Retail

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model LH-20A1L-06 - Retail

LG Super Multi Blu-ray Disc Burner & HD DVD-ROM Drive Black SATA Model GGW-H20L - Retail

Logitech MX518 2-Tone 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB + PS/2 Wired Optical Gaming-Grade Mouse - Retail

Logitech G15 2-Tone USB Wired Standard Gaming Keyboard - Retail

Westinghouse 42" 16:9 8ms 1080p LCD HDTV w/ ATSC Tuner TX-42F430S
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This is my first pc build, so doubtless I'm doing something wrong. I think it may have something to do with my hard drives. When I boot it up, it passes the POST, but then I notice that it says:

"Detecting eSATA drives: No eSATA drives found."

So does that mean that it isn't reading my hard drives? In the BIOS menu, they do show up though. Also once I bypass that message and try to install my OS it has given me one of two different errors. Either:

"Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
1. Insert your Windows installation disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assitance.

File: /windows/system32/boot/winload.exe
Status 0xc0000221
Info: The file is possibly corrupt. Its header checksum does not match the computed checksum."

Or

"Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
1. Insert your Windows installation disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assitance.

File: /windows/system32/ntoskrnl.exe
Status 0xc0000098
Info: The file is possibly corrupt. Its header checksum does not match the computed checksum."

I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm pretty sure I have all my cables hooked up properly...I've checked them about 100 times. It may be something in my BIOS that I'm overlooking though. Anyone got any ideas or suggestions? I have tried resetting the CMOS already too btw...

Should we assume that you installed the SATA drivers during the OS install? During install there is a point when you use the F6 key to install the SATA drivers.

i couldn't even get into the point where i start installing the OS... it gets to where it says it's loading the files in prep for install and then gives me those error messages...

You need to go into the BIOS and set the boot order. eSata is EXTERNAL sata hard drives. Reset the boot order to IDE on the newest MB's and it will still see Sata drives as IDE drives. You may have to set the system to boot from RAID drivers on earlier motherboards. If you are using a XP Cd to install you also may have to use Nlite to slipstream sata drivers into the install ( i've already had to do this on a BTX computer build).

http://www.msfn.org/articles.php?action=sh...;showarticle=49

a very thorough method of making the best slipstreamed CD.

http://icrontic.com/articles/slipstreaming_windows_easy

SRX660

I agree, it sounds like you need to change your boot order to the hd that you want to boot from.