S-ATA hard drives conflict

Recently my computer with two S-ATA hard drives (250 G each) would not boot up and load Win XP Pro normally. Even after running an "error" correction scan it would not load properly. I then installed Win XP on the second hard drive and switched the bootable in BIOS to that 2nd hard drive.

When I disconnect the original hard drive ( I want to reformat it and reload) my PC no longer boots from the newly configured hard drive. In other words both hard drives must be connected for the new bootable system to start. Is this a problem with S-ATA hard drives and what is the solution to my problem.

Thanks

 

When you installed the second copy of XP did you install the SATA drivers at F8 on the second install screen?
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No I did not use the F8 command. I set it up as an ordinary ATA/IDE hard drive.
No SATA drivers used.

 

Something else it may be.

Try booting the Win XP CD with only the new Windows HDD connected. Go to the Recovery Console on the first screen you come to. For information at the command prompt, enter a ? or the word help. Use the commands FIXMBR and FIXBOOT.

Matt