Setup Disk Not Detecting Hard Drive

I was in the process of trying to repair a hard drive which had Windows XP Pro. I left for a short period of time , only to find the computer was turned off when I got back. I was using the OS cd. So I started to redo it again. I dropped it into the cd drive and it started to go through the normal procedure till it came to the screen which gives you the option to install the OS or repair XP Pro. I hit the install option and then tried the repair option and I got a message which said "setup cannot find disk." I tried to use partion magic on it as well and got a message which said "No fixed disks" Win XP Pro is not finding the drive that needs to be partioned or any other partition either. Is there anything I can try or is there any software available to help me on this? I cannot get to the point where I can either repair it or install the OS again. I hate to waste an 80 GB hard drive. Any help will be surely appreciated. Thanks to all.

 

What was the original error condition that led you to diagnose that the HDD needed repair? Also, since you posted this in the Win95,98,Me & NT forum, was this a dual boot setup or was this posted inadvertently here instead of the XP forum? This 80 gig drive is what? model/type & interface .......

 

As for posting on this forum, this is second time I've posted something. I will look for the correct forum next time. as for trying to repair the drive , I would get a blue screen with something like because windows did not start up correctly it would take me through this screen which says windows will start in 30 seconds and then go through the same process again. The hard drive is a Western Digital WD800.

 

I do not believe that you can REPAIR an HD using the OS CD. You may well need to use the good old fashioned DOS floppies. And boot from the floppy not the HD. Booting from the HD cause conflicts.

BillyBob

 

So I'll assume that means you do not have a dual boot setup.

I'd really like to know the exact error message that you first got or what you now get. Then again, its possible that we could get real lucky if you want an answer along the lines of "try something like ......"

Have you tried an F8 and last Known Good Configuration?



Edit: WD800 narrows it down to about 20 different models - can you tell me what the interface is?

 

Possibly one might check whether BIOS sees the HDD? Not much point to run any software if disk isn't seen. by BIOS.

 

I tried to do the floppy and fdisk, got a message "No fixed disks present ". as for going into the bios I looked and this hard drive is not being detected as a master or slave.

 

Reboot and select proper device or insert boot media in boot device. So I put in the boot media and got the same message.

 

So you are back to fundamental troubleshooting - check your cables and your molex connectors, go into the BIOS and try to re-detect the drive.

 

WD HDDs are seriously picky about jumper settings - rather than just considering "is it master or a slave ", it's more like a choice of three "single / master (with slave present) / slave "

This can hinder the BIOS recognising the HDD correctly

Master (with a slave drive on the same cable) requires jumper in the middle position (of the 10 pin block); but for "single" (no other device on the ribbon cable), take off the jumper altogether (or use the "horizontal" setting, see below)

(the silkscreen lettering MA, SL, CS printed on the HDD below the jumper block is thus misleading, if your drive is "single" rather than "master with slave present ")

==

There's also a "horizontal" jumper setting, which has the same result as leaving the jumper off altogether (= single drive on cable), generally they ship the drives with the jumper this way.

The only effect of the "horizontal" jumper setting is to make it less likely that the jumper gets lost

==

(of course none of the above applies if you have opted for cable select, or are having to sizecap for 30GB, or have a WD 9pin jumper block. I believe the WD800 series all use 10 pin blocks)

best wishes, HJ.

 

http://support.wdc.com/download/
You may want the software available at the above link.

 

Thanks, But I've already tried what this web site has to offer. they are suggesting that maybe my hard drive is toast, which I do not want to accept as fact. I'm sure there must be some sort of software which may help .

Thanks Again

 

That isn't clear. The BIOS usually just lists the drives according to their position on the cables if ide or their cable attachment if SATA. In other words, is the drive seen at all in the bios? If it is, it may well be useable, and the mfgr's utility might be used to do a low level format and thus revive it. That's the only software that might be of help. If it's not seen by the BIOS it is very likely a paper weight.

 

Thanks,
Unfortunately it may be a paperweight because bios does not detect it. I was at the time trying to format this harddrive when I actually left it to finish up. When I got back, the computer was off and it did not finish formatting and that was the last time I was able to look at my files in that drive.

 

oh dear - not looking good

before giving up though: do give the WD tools a try, even if the HDD isn't recognised by the BIOS it may still respond to its own setup tools

if the WD toolkit can't find the drive, then afraid it really is time for the bin


best wishes, HJ

 

Have a look in the BIOS, if you are using a SATA drive you may need to disable the native mode in order to see it when using the windows CD.