Here is what you can do, enter the bios and change the "Drive Controller" to  "RAID Autodetect/ATA" then you should be able to load recovery console. After you are done you will need to change that bios setting back to RAID Autodetect/AHCI  or Xp will not load.   If you ever reinstall XP, change the bios setting to RAID Autodetect/ATA before install, and leave it that way, no more sata problems, it will not affect performance of the drive or OS.     [URL]#wp1052309   .
I am trying to access the RC.   SATA2 HDD, Western Digital, 250 GB.   Even though the BIOS recognizes the HDD, when I try to access the recovery console by booting to the Dell Windows OS CD that I received with the Dimension 8400  [ BIOS Revision A03 ], after pressing R, I am greeted by  Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any hardware-related disk configuration is correct.  This may require running a manufacturer supplied diagnostic or setup program.   I suspect that the SATA drivers are needed.   The computer has 2 optical drives, no FDD.     Thanks for your advice.    
Recovery Console problem