Error Message: Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your system to convert to windows xp sp2

go to bios setup and change the type of your disk drive from SATA to IDE and it should be installed..

You need to check your system ram or memory. If you have 2 system ram or memory unplug the other memory and install the windows xp sp2 again. If still having a blue screen try the other memory then run the setup again. Also if you have an extra hard disk drive you can test it that or plug your hard disk drive to the other laptop and run the windows xp sp2 using your hard drive. If you can install the windows xp sp2 on the other laptop that means your hard disk drive are good. If your memory and to the other laptop are compatible plug it and run the windows xp sp2 installer to see and to diagnose what are really causing problem. Have a nice day.

If you want both OS you need to do a partition on the HD to proceed.IThat what i can figure from your quest.But if you just want XP just do a clean installation of it.

Perform a clean install of Windows XPA clean installation consists of removing all data from your hard disk by repartitioning and reformatting your hard disk and reinstalling the operating system and programs to an empty (clean) hard disk. For more information about important things to consider before you partition and format you hard disk and how to partition and format your hard disk by using the Windows XP Setup program, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:313348  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348/ ) How to partition and format a hard disk by using Windows XP Setup programTo perform a clean installation of Windows XP, follow these steps:

1. Back up all important information before you perform a clean installation of Windows XP. Save the backup to an external location, such as a CD or external hard disk.
2. Start your computer from the Windows XP CD. To do this, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.
   
   Note To boot from your Windows XP CD, the BIOS settings on your computer must be configured to do this.
3. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.
4. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.
5. Read the Microsoft Software License Terms, and then press F8.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP.
7. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP Setup.

If you have successfully installed Windows XP, you are finished. If these steps did not help you install Windows XP, go to the "Next Steps" section.

You can try also to do reformat your hard drive as fresh unallocated one before doing formatting again to install windows. And check your installation disk for scratches.

Solution: Rename the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CATROOT2 folder to something such as catold to prevent WinXP's Setup program from locating the folder and halting the installation. If you are still in Setup, press SHIFT-F10 to launch a command prompt from within Setup. At the command prompt, type cd\win dows\System32 to open the System32 folder and then type rename CATROOT2 catold, press ENTER, restart the computer, and attempt the upgrade again.

If you cannot reach a command prompt from Setup, reboot the computer from a Win95, Win98, or WinMe startup disk and rename the folder from the command prompt. You can also launch a command prompt by booting from the WinXP installation CD and running the Recovery Console.

That happens because the BIOS uses a SATA controller that is not included in Windows XP install disk.

Usually you can solve the problem going to BIOS settings and changing SATA/RAID settings.Check your BIOS settings, and disable SATA RAID mode.This is done in different ways depending on the BIOS.

On HP/Compaq computers for example you press F2 on startup to enter BIOS, then disable SATA mode on bios settings.
On other makes the procedure can be slightly different.

Another way to fix the problem, is by creating your own XP setup disk with SATA drivers included, see: Resolving "Setup did not find any hard disk drives" during Windows .

This can be caused by errors on the CD-ROM media, or by a bad CD-ROM drive. Try using a different CD-ROM drive if you have one.

Its true. the Bios or HDD driver wont allow you to install Win XP on it.. This BIOS is compatible with only Win Vista. The only easy way to do it is by creating 2 partitions while installing vista. once vista is installed- install XP with Dual boot and than format the vista partition.

you'll need to run windows setup again.
Insert the cd restart and when asked to start with cd click enter.

I know this problem, The HDD is a SATA disk, win XP setup cannot identify a SATA controller on it's own you need to load the driver (from a disk) so you may need to download it first. I think this is the correct link http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=ob-51521-1&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3369431&os=228&lang=en extract the files and burn to a CD or Floppy then run win XP setup by booting from CD you should see in the begining of win XP setup from CD it prompt you to press (I think) F2 to add RAID or SCSI Controllers, (this prompt is at the bottom of the screen) Then follow the propmts to load from the disk you made earlier. you should be able to select the controller from a list. (short list) you should then be able to continue and hopefully Win XP setup should now be able to see your HDD and give you choices about which partition (as per normal) you want to remove all partitions before installing winXP (you can then make whatever partitions you wish) Hope this helps