I have a Optiplex 360 and want to install XP. I have the XP disk, but it will not install; it keeps telling me to insert the disk.

My apologies, I missed that somehow.

Yeah, I am a little stumped at this point as well.  I suppose that could be a possibility; wouldn't surprise me at this point.  I will try that when I get the chance and let you know what happens.  I may also brave tech support and give Dell a call if nothing changes.

Good luck getting Dell to help you..lol. Even if the sata storage drivers are needed for the hdd to be detected, which I think they will, that would not explain why it's asking for the disc. Those drivers have nothing to do with the rom. The more I think about it the more I believe your disc is missing some files.

My apologies, I missed that somehow.

Yeah, I am a little stumped at this point as well.  I suppose that could be a possibility; wouldn't surprise me at this point.  I will try that when I get the chance and let you know what happens.  I may also brave tech support and give Dell a call if nothing changes.

I'm a little confused what you mean when you say it does not contain the storage driver...do you think you could clarify?

That is what struck me as odd, however, there are no options in the BIOS that allow me to change between IDE and AHCI/RAID.  The system currently has Vista installed on it, and when I run the Intel Chipset Identification Utility it confirms that the system contains the 82801GB (ICH7) controller, also specifically stating that it is operating in IDE mode.  This paired with the fact that this particular controller is not listed in the Intel Rapid Storage driver set has led me to assume that the system only operates in IDE mode.  I would love to be proven wrong here, I was hoping to be able to take advantage of the performance gains available with SATA drives.

Thank you again for your assistance.  It does make me feel a little better knowing I am not the only one whom this problem is vexing.

I did not say it "Does not contan the storage driver". I said it "does" contain the storage driver.

As for switching between ahci and IDE not all bios specifically state IDE mode or AHCI mode. Some simply state "Native" mode which is IDE. I have done a little research on the issue but, there is not a lot of info out there. According to my findings there is no option, as you have already noted, to change from AHCI to IDE/native. It is determined by the type of drive installed which makes no sense to me since according to Dell it does support Raid. Go figure.

I think my next step would be to slipstream sp3 into the windows xp disc and try it again. Honestly, it sounds like your disc may be missing some files.

I'm a little confused what you mean when you say it does not contain the storage driver...do you think you could clarify?

That is what struck me as odd, however, there are no options in the BIOS that allow me to change between IDE and AHCI/RAID.  The system currently has Vista installed on it, and when I run the Intel Chipset Identification Utility it confirms that the system contains the 82801GB (ICH7) controller, also specifically stating that it is operating in IDE mode.  This paired with the fact that this particular controller is not listed in the Intel Rapid Storage driver set has led me to assume that the system only operates in IDE mode.  I would love to be proven wrong here, I was hoping to be able to take advantage of the performance gains available with SATA drives.

Thank you again for your assistance.  It does make me feel a little better knowing I am not the only one whom this problem is vexing.