HP Laptop recognizes hard drive just long enough to install windows

Posted by Joe on Super User See other posts from Super User or by Joe
Published on 2010-04-08T03:24:35Z Indexed on 2010/04/08 3:33 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 259

Filed under:

notebook

|

laptop

|

hard-drive

|

Windows

|

boot

I have an HP laptop, DV6500 (CTO). It refused to boot one day, so I ran some diagnostics (a friend lent me "Hirens Boot Disk", "UBCD" and "PC DR 6"). Everything passed, except for the hdd. I replaced the HDD with a used drive of unknown condition. Installed windows with no problems. Installed the wireless driver, tried to reboot ... no luck.

So I went to Best Buy, bought a brand new Western Digital 320gb HDD. Put it in the machine, installed windows (vista home premium). Installed the wired networking driver. Tried to reboot. No luck.

Put the first hdd back in the machine, reinstalled windows. Started to install some drivers, went to reboot, and the machine won't come back to life.

Put the second hdd in the machine, rinse wash and repeat.

I've replaced the memory, even though it passed diagnostics. Problem exists with both brand new memory, and old memory.

The BIOS recognizes the hard drive. The computer freezes directly after the bios splash screen, and there is no hard drive activity light.

I've tried two linux live distros (gentoo and ubuntu). Neither would run on this laptop, but will on a different HP laptop. UBCD and Hirens Boot Disk both ran, as did PC Doctor 6 which refuses to test anything (gets stuck at "enumerating hard disks").

Is there anything else I can try?

© Super User or respective owner

Related posts about notebook

Python Tkinter Tix: How to use ScrolledWindow with grid in Tix NoteBook

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi guys, I'm adding several widgets to a Frame which is located in a tix.NoteBook. When there are too much widgets to fit in the window, I want to use a scrollbar, so I put tix.ScrolledWindow inside that Frame and add my widgets to this ScrolledWindow instead. The problem is that when using the… >>> More
Beyond a Notebook PC: The Fujitsu LifeBook T4410

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
You dont have to wait for the iPad. This versatile tablet PC from Fujitsu reads both stylus and freehand, multi-touch gestures, and it weighs in at 4.5 pounds. >>> More
BitLocker Boosts Notebook Security

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
If your notebook PC runs Ultimate or Enterprise editions of Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can increase security by encrypting the hard drive with BitLocker. We'll show you how. >>> More
BitLocker Boosts Notebook Security

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
If your notebook PC runs Ultimate or Enterprise editions of Windows 7 or Windows Vista, you can increase security by encrypting the hard drive with BitLocker. We'll show you how. >>> More
Lenovo ThinkPad T400s Notebook Review

as seen on Internet.com - Search for 'Internet.com'
Every so often, Lenovo leaves us reaching for superlatives. This time it's a 14.1-inch notebook that weighs less than four pounds, is under an inch thin, bristles with ingenious engineering and makes a $1,599 price seem downright reasonable. >>> More

Related posts about laptop

Why does my laptop resume immediately after suspend?

as seen on Ask Ubuntu - Search for 'Ask Ubuntu'
I seem to be having some problem with suspend mode. Every time I try to suspend my laptop, it just locks the screen. Or maybe it successfully suspends just to resume only an instant after. What could cause such a behaviour? I'm running 32-bit Ubuntu 12.04 with the 3.2.0-25 kernel on a HP dv5-1178er… >>> More
Use laptop A's LCD as secondary monitor for laptop B

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have a working laptop (laptop A), but am interested in using the laptop's LCD as a secondary monitor for my main laptop (laptop B)...is there a way to do this via software or cabling without modifying laptop A? OS's are Windows XP SP3 and Windows 7. >>> More
Charging a laptop battery, without a laptop.

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I have an old-ish laptop that only works on AC power because the battery is old and no longer holds a charge. I live in Christchurch New Zealand where there has recently been a number of very large earthquakes. During one of these earthquakes my laptop was thrown from my desk to the floor and now… >>> More
Aluminum Laptop Cases vs Leather Laptop Cases

as seen on Article City - Search for 'Article City'
Both aluminum and leather have been known for their excellent qualities in the world of business, travel and even fashion; but when it comes to choosing one, there are certain qualities that put alum... [Author: Shannon Hilson - Computers and Internet - March 23, 2010] >>> More
How to compare old laptop to new laptop?

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
I hope this question doesn't get closed at once :) I have an old laptop, a Compaq NC4200, which is going its final laps around the track these days. Battery is dead, and everything kinda runs slow. It also has only 1GB of memory, and even though I don't know if it can take more, I probably wouldn't… >>> More