Troubleshoot New HD not recognized in Bios

[Rozesky2]

Briefly explain your current issue(s)

I bought a new wd laptop hd and the bios does not see it

Steps taken to resolve, but have been unsuccessful

I tried other hds

I was restarting a computer and when it booted up it said to put in a bootable disk. So I tried a 160 gig hd with xp on it and it found it.
But when I tried not 1 but 2 new 500 gig WD hd it does not see them in the bios.
This is a windows 7 home premium computer. I am not sure what to do to get the laptop to recognize the hds.

Also I put the 2 wd harddrive one at a time as a secondary hd in the desktop computer I had and it would not recognize them either

I am not sure how to fix this

 

[donetao]

I also wonder about the hd being the corrrect ones but arent all sata drives inter chageable? I will try with hirrms boot disk in the morning
And I will reset the bios to default then too
The help is great.

Have a good night!!

 

[Rozesky2]

Only mixed the hd in the desktop as a secondary drive to check if it would see it

 

[Rozesky2]

Please review my above comments and advise.

The computer is a toshiba satelite l650
I cheaked how I seated it , it seems tight and correct all cables are correct
Yes and on the desktop the connectors are sata connectors
So they should be ok, again everything works with the 160 g older drive ( it is a toshiba)
Can a newer sata drive not read in the bios?

 

[jim lin]

since this is sata you might need to install a driver like the Intell Rapid Storage Technology Driver
before the bios can see the hard drive

so you would need to go to Toshiba website and look up your computer in support downloads and see if there
is a controller driver there

if there is you would need to install this from the Windows 7 DVD

google how to install drivers as you install Windows 7

during the install of Windows it gives you the chance to add drivers then



James

 

[donetao]

Hi At this time, I'm suspecting the mother board. Hoping BIOS default will solve this.
I'm sure there will be more suggestions and help tomorrow.
I'm just not understanding why you can't install W7 on a new sata HD and I'm not understanding why it recognizes a old HD with XP OS on it???
http://www.toshiba.com/us/accessori...-Replacements-and-Upgrades/500GB/PH2050U-1I54

 

[rodm177]

Maybe I missed something, and if so then please forgive...

BUT YOU HAVE TO format these drives even if they are for data alone.

That is why it saw the XP drive, it is already formatted and you installed a OS on it.

Unhook all drives except one WD New HD and run Win 7 disk, select custom, and format the drive, now do the 2nd WD HD.

No connect your orig hard drive with the OS on it and hook up the 2 WD HD as data drives and you should be good to go, will boot up and see 2 data drives.

 

[BoraMurdar]

All modern BIOS versions must see all the HDDs in the BIOS settings, if they are properly attached. Problem could be that they are not properly attached, some misconfiguration about the SATA connectors or cables. Are they SATA II or SATA III [They are compatible with each other tho]?
Can you try connect that unrecognizable HDD on some Desktop and see if it works there?
If you cannot do that, try downloading Hirens Boot CD, burn it on CD or DVD, insert your "unrecognizable" HDD, boot from Hirens and see if you can see HDD from there.

 

[Rozesky2]

Hi At this time, I'm suspecting the mother board. Hoping BIOS default will solve this.
I'm sure there will be more suggestions and help tomorrow.
I'm just not understanding why you can't install W7 on a new sata HD and I'm not understanding why it recognizes a old HD with XP OS on it???
http://www.toshiba.com/us/accessori...-Replacements-and-Upgrades/500GB/PH2050U-1I54

Donetao I am as confused as you. I got up and reset the bios to the default settings. Tried the new hd and again it wont recognize it. Then I put in the old 160 g hd and it shows up in the bios. It is so odd.
Also, When I put the hds in my desktop as a secondary drive to bring it up it again doesnt even see it in the

ok both new hds I have tried are sata III
I now know why the new drive would not recognize in the desktop....because it was not formatted. I am in the
process of formatting it now.
Then I will see if the laptop will see it in the bios and I can install win 7.
@BoraMurdar- I do have the connections right...because if I put in the older hd with win xp on it it recognizes it
I know that the newer bios just recognize a hd and I should be able to use my win 7 installation disc to install win 7 but since that wont work I will try this...DO you think because it is sata 3 that is why it will not see it in the bios?

 

[BoraMurdar]

ok both new hds I have tried are sata III
I now know why the new drive would not recognize in the desktop....because it was not formatted. I am in the
process of formatting it now.
Then I will see if the laptop will see it in the bios and I can install win 7.
@BoraMurdar- I do have the connections right...because if I put in the older hd with win xp on it it recognizes it
I know that the newer bios just recognize a hd and I should be able to use my win 7 installation disc to install win 7 but since that wont work I will try this...DO you think because it is sata 3 that is why it will not see it in the bios?

All the HDDs must be recognized in BIOS whether formatted or not. Its just maybe some misconfiguration in your BIOS settings, or motherboard confused itself. If that's the case, reset your BIOS to default settings, shut it down, remove the battery and power cord from the laptop, wait for 5 seconds, and press the power button to turn it on.
It will drain all the electricity from the mobo left and sometimes it works like a hard-reset. Put battery and the power cord back, and try again to attach HDD.
I have found the nice tutorial on Seagate site, it may be helpful if this steps above don't work
http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/168595en

 

[Rozesky2]

@Boramubar....I did do the format of the new hd , it did not recognize in the laptop. So I reset to the default bios settings for a second time. Removed the battery and power cord, waited 5 seconds and pressed the power button. Put everything back together and check the bios for the hd ..it still says none. Now at this point I would say maybe the motherboard controller in the laptop is bad..BUT I again put in the 160 g older hd with win xp on it the the bios immediately recognized it....it also is a WD hd. I am now reading what seagate has to say on their website for me to try ...the only thing that might apply is the make a seatools for dos and boot from it but the hard drive is good ..now my desktop finds it just fine.

 

[BoraMurdar]

@Boramubar....I did do the format of the new hd , it did not recognize in the laptop. So I reset to the default bios settings for a second time. Removed the battery and power cord, waited 5 seconds and pressed the power button. Put everything back together and check the bios for the hd ..it still says none. Now at this point I would say maybe the motherboard controller in the laptop is bad..BUT I again put in the 160 g older hd with win xp on it the the bios immediately recognized it....it also is a WD hd. I am now reading what seagate has to say on their website for me to try ...the only thing that might apply is the make a seatools for dos and boot from it but the hard drive is good ..now my desktop finds it just fine.

You didn't check your new HDD on another computer, right? [after the format]

 

[Rozesky2]

When I attach it as a secondary hd on my desktop it is now recognized in the bios (it was all along) and since I formatted it I can see it with my computer in windows and open it to save on it

I was just doing some reading and tell me if I am correct. it should not matter if I am using a sata I, Sata II or a sate III hd in the laptop it should recognize it in the bios correct?

 

[iTrendsNET]

I see some very good comments here from the team! I agree with @BoraMurdar - the HDDs should be recognized in BIOS whether formatted or not. Ditto for if BIOS cannot see them, Windows or a Linux CD should also not see them.

The make / model of the laptop is crucial information to allow trouble shooting such problems, so thanks for providing. It helps us confirm your machine does take SATA and this information is also helpful in allowing us to determine if the motherboard in the machine has any known issues. Fortunately, you have a great laptop and Toshiba is what I usually recommend and buy.

Like @donetao stated, thus could point to a motherboard problem. However, a quick Internet search does not bring up any major issues with the Toshiba L650, so unless you had some recent storms with major power surges that could have inflicted damage to the original HDD as well as to the MB, I think you should be OK.

If it were me, my next step would be to return the WD drives and purchase any other quality brand to confirm if that makes a difference. WD are fine and I have installed many through the years. I suppose it is possible that your laptop may just not like that particular model.

 

[BoraMurdar]

SATA II and SATA III are compatible. SATA I isn't. I thought that maybe it's problem with UEFI booting but, your laptop doesn't have an UEFI, right? If it has that may be the solution

 

[donetao]

Hi! You're getting some good advise. I'm wondering if the CMOS battery could be bad??
Just a crazy thought!! Some thing is keeping the MB from recognizing the HD's!
Let's hope it's not a bad MB

 

[Rozesky2]

@boramudar no it doesnt have UEFI...I wish it did that would be an easy fix then ..but it is a puzzle that is for sure.

I just took the new hd and put it in an older laptop I have a started the win 7 install. It sees the hard drive and if I wanted to I could continue with the install of win 7 on the hard drive. Well at this point I think I will just keep the hd for an extra so I will do that and then put it in the toshiba laptop to see if by some weird luck it will see it...if it does not and I have time (Christmas Eve you know ) I will go and buy another brand like seagate to try in the computer...
BUT the older 160 g hd it does see is WD
Thanks to everyone for hanging in there to help me...get comments good team work

I suppose the cmos battery could be bad or faulty?...but I had a crazy thought since I already had the hd out of the compaq laptop I used for my gandkids here at home I would try it in the toshiba laptop...this hd is a hitachi...sata 3 well it just recognized it in the bios
So maybe a new seagate or some other brand of HD would work...this is really odd.

 

[iTrendsNET]

@donetao - Bad CMOS is not too crazy a thought! In my experience, that applies more to very old machines or those that have sat for an extended time unplugged and in storage. If he does not have to reset at every boot the CMOS battery should be OK.

Also, I think the L650 came from the factory with Windows 7, so no UEFI.

** Based upon your latest reply, I think you can ignore the bottom suggestion. Suggest you try another make / model of HDD since the other drive you just tried worked.**

If you want to take a shot in the dark before considering returning the HDDs for a different brand / model, you could trouble shoot the memory. I would assume this laptop has 2 memory cards. With the unit powered off, I would remove 1 card and see if this makes a difference when trying to get BIOS to recognize the new drive. If doing this with the first memory card does not work, remove it and try it with only the second card. I had a desktop brought to me after a high priced network tech said hard drive failure and no way to recover the data. I checked it, said no way, pulled one memory stick and the machine booted with no errors. So I ended up tossing in a new $30 memory stick and the HDD is sill working fine.

 

[Rozesky2]

So for everyone...here is what I have found out ..in the toshiba satellite laptop l655d
1. I think the orginal HD is toast.
2. the toshiba bios will recognize an older 160 g wd with win xp on it.
3. the toshiba bios will recognize an hitachi HD sata 3 with win 7 from a compaq.
4 the toshiba bios will not see either of 2 WD 500 gig sata 3 hds. It say none when I put them
in and check the bios.
5. So for one last thing to check I am putting win 7 on one of the new WD hds and trying it. if that doesnt work I will buy a new other brand of hd to try.
So that sums up everything so far ...I think...it is at least narrowed down to why doesnt the laptop bios see the new hds when I put the one in another computer and I am putting win 7 on it now

 

[donetao]

Hi! Yuppers that's really odd. Hang in there and keep us informed. It's Christmas eve. I'm going to take a break.
Good luck. We-Will-Get-Er-Done
PS I have a Toshiba Lap Top so I'm watching this thread very closely.

 

[jamescv7]

k

I suppose the cmos battery could be bad or faulty?...but I had a crazy thought since I already had the hd out of the compaq laptop I used for my gandkids here at home I would try it in the toshiba laptop...this hd is a hitachi...sata 3 well it just recognized it in the bios
So maybe a new seagate or some other brand of HD would work...this is really odd.

I think CMOS is another isolated problem if your time and date that was set and couldn't load which reset from the manufacturer's date.