Blue screen when trying to install Windows XP on Intel-based ThinkPad Edge 520

[evaaenblom]

Hi,

I have a ThinkPad Edge 520, type 1143-B5G with a clean disk and I need to install Windows XP on it, for legacy reasons. I have read about the Intel Rapid Store Technology driver being necessary, but this does not seem to apply to the 520, only to 220 and 420. The settings recommended are not available on the 520 (nor is the driver itself), and the driver is listed as N/A for the 520 in the Lenovo list of drivers. But, I still get a BSOD error just as Windows is about to start from the installation DVD, after the DVD has loaded all the drivers it can think of.

Does anyone know how to solve this problem?

Btw - would it be possible to install XP in a separate, primary partition alongside Windows 7, on a disk that already has Windows 7 on it? Or is a clean disk necessary for this?

Kind regards,

/EvA

[zoltanthegypsy · Accepted solution]

Hello and welcome,

What settings are you looking for?  It sounds like this is a problem with HD operating mode.  Does the E520 BIOS have an option to change the SATA mode to compatibility instead of AHCI?  You won't be able to install a "vanilla" version of XP without adding the appropriate AHCI driver or switching to compatibility mode.

What BIOS version do you have?  I see this rather cryptic reference in the 1.20 BIOS:

" [Problem fixes] Fix an issue of read/write data on SATA compatibility mode."

It is possible to dual-boot XP and '7, but the easiest way to do that is to install XP first, and then let the 7 installer set up the dual-boot configuration.  You would still have the AHCI vs compatibility (IDE) mode problem.

Ah, lookinng a little deeper, there is an AHCI driver for XP in the Lenovo driver matrix.  The readme includes instructions on how to install.

Intel SATA Controller AHCI Driver for Windows

README for Intel SATA Controller AHCI Driver for Windows

Maybe that will get you going.

Z.

[evaaenblom]

Thanks! :-)
I managed to install XP (on a clean disk) after switching to Compatibility mode in the BIOS settings, but having to do that each time I've been using Windows 7 is a bit inconvenient, so the AHCI driver for XP is most welcome!
/E