Solved: Trouble replacing failed Harddrive in Dell Optiplex 755

[Notsuredomus]

I was given a PC still in the box but several years old. The Dell Optiplex 755
This PC comes standard from Dell with the OEM Windows XP Operating System.
Mine had apparantely been refurbished and fitted with Windows 7 Professional
1 week after getting the thing the Harddrive died on me.
I live in an area with no place to buy internal PC hardware
So I took apart an external HDD and placed it in the Dell PC
I tried running the image disk I had made as a back up but it was faulty and did not work.
So I downloaded a torrent Win 7 Pro and created a bootable disk image.
But when I try to load the operating system it cant find the HDD and says to load driver
However it does not recognize any of the drivers I attempt to load including the ones from Dell or Seagate
I can see the drive listed in Bios
All 4 manufacturers whose hardware or software are part of this issue keep referring me to one another with no solutions
Any help you can give me would be appreciated.

Dell Optiplex 755 64bit PC

HDD is a seagate (serial 6vp3604e) barracuda 7200.12 1TB

and the OS is Win 7 Pro with SP1 upgraded from XP

 

[CleaverX]

First of all, Dell has no official support for Windows 7 for that model, in that on the product page drivers are only available for Vista and XP, so you may need to install one of those first then upgrade to Windows 7.
As for the drivers issue, you need to use a different computer and download the Chipset drivers from Dell, then extract them and copy them on a CD, when you are asked for drivers, remove your installation DVD, insert the CD with the driver files. You cannot just copy the installer files on the disc, it does not work that way.

 

[replay]

I have loaded windows 7 on many optiplex 755's
With no issues atall......windows 7 will load all the generic drivers so everything will work.....sound Ethernet etc....etc

 

[flavallee]

I was given a PC still in the box but several years old. The Dell Optiplex 755
This PC comes standard from Dell with the OEM Windows XP Operating System.
Mine had apparantely been refurbished and fitted with Windows 7 Professional
1 week after getting the thing the Harddrive died on me.
I live in an area with no place to buy internal PC hardware
So I took apart an external HDD and placed it in the Dell PC
I tried running the image disk I had made as a back up but it was faulty and did not work.
So I downloaded a torrent Win 7 Pro and created a bootable disk image.
But when I try to load the operating system it cant find the HDD and says to load driver

The Dell OptiPlex 755 originally came with Windows XP, but some refurbished ones later sold with Windows 7 32-bit.

I know that for a fact because I bought 2 of them from www.newegg.com about 3 years ago.

What's the "service tag" number and/or "express service code" number on yours?

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[Notsuredomus]

Thanks but I did unzip the files they gave me before loading them and got a not compatible message

 

[Notsuredomus]

The service tag # is 1NCPQF1

 

[flavallee]

The service tag # is 1NCPQF1

Here is the Dell support site that's assigned ONLY to your Dell OptiPlex 755 Desktop.

According to its system configuration section, it shipped in February 2008 in the U.S.A. and came with Windows XP Professional SP2.

Its driver downloads section has drivers only for Windows XP and Windows Vista 32-bit.

Its primary devices though do have Windows 7 32-bit drivers.

Intel G31/G33/Q33/Q35 (Intel GMA 3100) Graphics

Analog Devices ADI 1984 Integrated HD Audio

Intel 82566DM-2 Gigabit Ethernet

Make sure to install the Intel chipset driver (SetupChipset.exe) first before installing any of the other Windows 7 32-bit drivers.

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[Notsuredomus]

So Flavallee you have booted win 7 os from disk on this machine. Then it has to be the HDD's boot manager. Any suggestions on getting this Disk to work or do I need to buy a internal drive that has the software needed. Since my HD came from an external hard drive it was plug and play and therfor had no need for the same install code as a drive intended to be internal. If anyone knows where I can get the drivers I need to get the drive I have working. Save me a 2hr car ride and 80+ dollars for the new hardware.

 

[replay]

When loading windows 7 there is no need for ANY drivers
Have a look in the bios and make sure u have the right sata ports enabled.....

 

[Notsuredomus]

Yeah they were set right. Just to make sure I tried every configuration. I am running a recovery program to try to get the boot records and drivers from the old Hard Drive but I am not optomistic. I am going to try installing the chipset drivers now just read that post. Will let you know. Thanks all for the effort. I do appreciate it.

 

[replay]

I am confused......u load windows.......then u load the chipset drivers after

 

[flavallee]

You're trying to install Windows 7 in that desktop in other than the normal way.

You set the disc drive first in the boot order in the BIOS.

You insert the Windows 7 disc and boot from it.

You then follow the directions to format the hard drive and install Windows 7.

After Windows 7 is installed, you install the Intel chipset driver and then the other drivers.

It's pretty much that simple.

This Windows 7 install guide may help you.

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[Notsuredomus]

Hey all. Thanks for the advice. I tried everything and I am not sure why windows would not boot on my HDD. I got fed up with it and installed windows onto it as a USB drive. Once windows made my external drive the new C drive I used it to boot my pc and back up my system on an old Hard drive then assign it as the primary and place my !TB hd in as a slave drive. lol I know a lot of work for something that should have taken an hour-hour and a half at the most. Thanks to everyone who responded. I appreciate it. Keep it Wild!