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HD not detected in BIOS...BUT...

2K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  qldit 
#1 ·
Ok, here's a good one.

HP Pavilion ZE4600 laptop, Windows XP home, SP2.

Suddenly machine won't boot from HD, Bios fails to detect HD (version KAM1.52) claims Internal Hard Disk is "NONE"

However, and this is where it gets wierd, i popped in the XP cd and booted into recovery console: "C:" shows up and i can log into the console and run "chkdsk", etc. tried a "fixboot" and "fixmbr \device\harddrive0". Still no dice. Bios claims no HD detected. Recovery console again, tried copy ntldr and ntdetect.com, reboot, same deal.

Boot with XP CD again, go to install, previous install shows up with option to repair. I chose repair... Windows coppied files, etc, reboot in 15 seconds yada yada yada, bios claims no HD Detected.

the damn thing keeps trying to boot from LAN!

I'd think the HD was dead as the BIOS fails to detect it, but the fact that it shows up and mounts when the system is booted from the XP CD has got me weirded-out.

HELP!
 
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#2 ·
The Windows behaviour is reasonably normal. On a fully working system Windows will detect a disk that is attached to the ide cable, even if you tell the BIOS NONE. If you thhink about it, that is the way it has always behaved in the past with CDs.
What you need to concentrate on is why does the BIOS not detect it? Are the parameters set incorrectly? Is the button battery dying?
 
#3 ·
DaveBurnett said:
....
What you need to concentrate on is why does the BIOS not detect it? Are the parameters set incorrectly? Is the button battery dying?
All the Bios settings are correct for normal operation of this configuration. I've reloaded defaults as well as setting them all manualy. I suppose the battery could be going dead, although the machine is only 2 years old. Problem is, being a laptop, getting to the battery is tantamount to replacing the mobo (I 've read the service manual, you have to remove the screen-hinges just to get to the BIOS battery!)

I've thought of flashing the BIOS, as there is a newer version available. But this laptop has no floppy drive, and despite trying to edit the BIOS flash utility into a bootable Dr.DOS ISO (tried UltraISO and WinImage/DeepBurner) I have been unable to get the machine to boot from such hacked CDs.

Now you've hit the nail on the head, WHY isn't the BIOS detecting the drive, despite the fact that it (the drive) seems to be functioning fine...

I've tried the remove-drive-boot-then-shutdown-replace-drive trick to try to force it to detect, but that didn't work either.

Now trying manual config of HD in BIOS....

No Dice. BIOS defaults back to detected HD "NONE"

I guess my next step is to replace the battery. Ick.
 
#7 ·
DaveBurnett said:
Mulder, this IS a Laptop!!!
LOL I didn't notice that. I guess switching IDE controllers is not an option! :D

But I actually had a situation once where the MOBO just wouldn't boot off the hard drive and switching controllers did it. I still do this day have no idea why because both controllers worked.
 
#8 ·
Eh...I suppose my problem also applies to this one. Short of taking my computer to the Computer Shop, I have not been able to get this computer equipped with a Hitachi HDD and a SeaGate HDD. My problem is, I can't get the damn BIOs to detect either one. I've tried to switch the IDE cables, no dice, then I just left it alone, as I hadn't messed with it for three years or so....
 
#9 ·
VTSAT. See if you can get hold of the Disk test program from the Disk manufacturer's web site. Most do an ISO version for CDs, but if not, that Virtual Floppy I pointed you at will let you create a floppy image file that you can use to burn a CD. It may be that the disk is begining to fail. In any case I suggest you do a back up of your system rather rapidly.
 
#10 ·
Good Evening Gentlemen, I have fixed a few of these kinds of problems recently by running the "HDD regenerator" program it is a shareware thing off the net and is restricted to one fix only for free...
Chances are your first cylinder has a dicky spot.
This thing runs without affecting the files on the machine, and actually has a recovering ability, it is a very interesting program.
You can download a file and load it on your machine, it then can be burnt to a CD or placed on a decent floppy as bootable media automatically.
It is a most interesting toy.
Cheers, qldit.
 
#11 ·
DaveBurnett said:
VTSAT. See if you can get hold of the Disk test program from the Disk manufacturer's web site. Most do an ISO version for CDs, but if not, that Virtual Floppy I pointed you at will let you create a floppy image file that you can use to burn a CD. It may be that the disk is begining to fail. In any case I suggest you do a back up of your system rather rapidly.
It's a Toshiba OEM drive, there's no support available.
I'll try the floppy image utility and let you know the results...

Thanks
 
#12 ·
qldit said:
....This thing runs without affecting the files on the machine, and actually has a recovering ability, it is a very interesting program.
You can download a file and load it on your machine, it then can be burnt to a CD or placed on a decent floppy as bootable media automatically.
It is a most interesting toy.
Cheers, qldit.
hmm, will check that out too!

thanks!

update:
HDD Regenerator did not detect the drive... Nifty little Utill though...

Now attempting to create a bootable BIOS update CD...
 
#13 ·
OK, so I got the BIOS Updator to write to an image, courtesy of Virtual Floppy Drive, saved as WinImage .IMA file, burned the image as bootable to CD (via DeepBurner), computer claims "non system disk or disk error".

I'm using an RW cd and have re-burned several times and created new images and re-burned as well...grrr.

I've never managed to burn a bootable CD in Windows (truth comes out, I'm a Mac guy at heart...) except from a Disc-Disc copy or an existing ISO... Maybe someone can tell me what I'm doing wrong?
 
#14 ·
G'day vtsat, I used to have that problem being unable to burn ISO's as bootables it is a real pain.
I use Nero now, place your ISO file on your desktop, open nero (nero express is easiest) when the screen opens, select "disk image or saved project", when the "open" box appears, use the drop down "files of type"", scroll down to the second last item from the bottom, "image files", this will allow you to see the ISO file when you select the correct location (ie the desktop) in the displayed screen, click on the ISO file you want to burn and it's title will appear in the "file name"field, then select "open" and you will then be back to normal procedural stuff.
Burning bootable disks then becomes easiest. When burning these things I usually drop the burning speed back to Xten or so to ensure there are no errors even with a hight speed burner.
You hard drive sounds like it has gone to the happy hunting ground, when the cannot be detected at all there is not a great deal of hope.
Cheers, qldit.
 
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