I just tried to install Ubuntu into a new partition on my HD. I used Vista to create an 80gb partition, which shows up as unallocated space. When I boot into the Ubuntu installer, it takes me to the place where you should choose how to "Prepare Disk Space", but I never get that menu. It just shows me no partitions and all buttons are grayed out. If I try to go forward, it says there is no root. If I try to go backward, it tried to load the partition manager, but nothing happens. So I just had to exit the installer and reboot into Vista. Why doesn't Ubuntu recognize my hard drive/partition/SATA controller?

Gigabyte GA-P45-DS3L BIOS F7
E7200 Core2Duo 2.53Ghz 1066Mhz FSB 3MB L2
(OC'd to 400mhz x 8 = 3.2Ghz)
SuperTalent 2x2G DDR2-800 PC6400 CL 5-5-5-15 (T800UX4GC5)
Seagate 500GB SATA2 7200 32mb HD
EVGA 8800GT 512MB Superclocked Edition
Ultra X-connect X2 550-watt PSU