Can't get new hard drive working..

[Liam2349]

I think you have an issue with your CPU or motherboard. Old hard disk doesn't work, new one doesn't work, Windows disc doesn't work...

I would return this new laptop and get a refund.

If you have two sticks of RAM, you can try taking one out, putting them in different slots.. if not, just send it back.

Also, not much point in partitioning the disk unless you plan to install a different OS onto each partition. Might as well just have one big partition, and the system reserved partition.

[Icm76]

not much point in partitioning the disk unless you plan to install a different OS onto each partition. Might as well just have one big partition, and the system reserved partition.

I don't agree with this. Windows is notorious for slowing down over weeks/months vs a clean fresh install. By keeping the OS separate on a partition with plenty of spare space the defragment can do its' job most effectively and the user can do their housekeeping more easily i.e. keeping the out of date and temporary files deleted regularly

Ideally games and applications can be on their own partition(s.) Advanced users with more physical HDDs/SSDs can go further. Assign windows page file, temp, scratch space for applications e.g. Photoshop, swap space for Linux etc can all be assigned to partitions on physically separate disks from the OS and primary application(s.) In the case of mechanical HDDs, any swap/scratch space is best allocated to somewhere in the outer third of the disk - max data transfer rates occur at the outer edge of the disk, but the head might move less far on average a bit further in. Infrequently used file storage can be placed at the end of the disk where it's slowest.

[Someone-Else]

One other thing, i seem to recall many years ago I had a similar problem with the pc not seeing the HD, I connected it to another pc as a slave drive and then got the 2nd pc to format it. You may need a caddy as yours is for a laptop.

[wine~o]

I hate these damn manufacturer specific OEM editions of Windows, they are more pain than they're worth. I spent ages last year trying to recover my neighbours Dell PC, never again. I told them to get vanilla Windows or Linux next time they buy a new system, it's so much easier...

Anyway, just to clarify - the recovery disc that you made how did you make it? is it from a hidden partition on your original hard disk that came with the laptop? i.e. to do a full factory reset on the OS? If it's like the Dell you have to press some awkward combination of keys at a specific moment during boot up to access the factory reset options. Somewhere there should be an option for you to manually choose which partition to use for the boot partition and which to use for the OS*

My recommendation would be to stick with Windows 7 partition and disc formatting tools, don't use any 3rd party stuff or even Linux partition tools (bitter experience tells me that Windows won't play nicely with other partition systems)

How are you partitioning the new disk? iirc you can have a couple of primary partitions + extended (which may contain more partitions within it) or three - four primary partitions. Windows needs at lest one primary partition (for boot) but it might need a primary for the OS as well. I would make no more than two primaries and the rest extended. In theory you can do whatever you like with extended, but I would make no more than two more partitions in the extended area (bitter experience again)


*With vanilla retail versions of Windows 7 I detest all the fixed, default options - I usually install a first copy of Windows to a spare disk, once it's running it doesn't have to registered and additional copies of Windows can be installed exactly where you want them with whatever partitions and drive letters you want to assign. I'm wondering if you can get your Toshiba OEM install media to run from a Windows desktop? You can find vanilla Windows ISO images here: w7forums Note that the OEM keys you have will not activate the versions on the links above, but you can run them for 30 days without registering, which at least allow you to try the alternative method of installing.

Downloaded win 7 from the link you gave, burnt to disk and installed. It worked....so as you say the problem lies with the original version being OEM, specific to Toshiba. (Should have bought a Toshiba Hard-drive...)

Sadly it was still not possible to load the original version back..and restoring files from the backup on the external hard drive doesn't work either

Back to the drawing board..

[Icm76]

Downloaded win 7 from the link you gave, burnt to disk and installed. It worked...

At least now the hardware is all shown to work.

I think the Toshiba vs Western Digital HDD doesn't make any difference - there's nothing physical ingrained into the Toshiba HDD that make is more or less compatible with the Toshiba laptop. The problems always stem from the manufacturer specific OEM versions of Windows. They use them for a couple of reasons - partly it's because the manufacturer can be 100% responsible for all the additional drivers and bloatware crap that they insist on installing, they put it all in one install media and then automate the process. The second reason is that the licence key is always tied to one motherboard, by withholding the basic Windows intsall disc the manufacturer can retain control of your system, make life difficult and charge a ****ton of money for 'support' and the media. Regardless, your licence key is tied to the specific Toshiba version of Windows and your motherboard.

So, have you got the licence key? either it's printed on the 'Certificate of Authenticity' which should be physically printed on the laptop somewhere, either a gold or silver label (it might be inside somewhere e.g. where you open the laptop to change disks.) If you haven't got a physical label with a key, either: contact Toshiba to ask for it, or if the installed version is still running on the original faulty disk, download a licence key extractor tool.

Once you have the key, you could try installing the standard, generic OEM version of Windows from the link. Try to activate it with your key, it won't work, but then select the option to activate by telephoning Microsoft. Plead ignorance, tell them that your original HDD is faulty, you got a new one but the Toshiba recovery media doesn't work but the standard version does. They might accept the situation and agree to activate you.

If MS resolutely refuse to activate you then you might be forced to buy some install discs from Toshiba. Install media only has no licence key so is worth the price of a blank DVD, but it's a great wheeze for some of these feckers to ask for £20-£40 'handling' fee. I wouldn't pay it since they're just holding you to ransom for something that should be included in the first place.

Have you still got some warranty left? How old is the laptop? Given that the hard disk is faulty and they generally have a MTBF of around 1,000,000 hours you have a strong case that the disk has failed far before the reasonable expected life. Technically you have prove a fault was inherent to the goods if they're older than six months, but you could push the issue with Toshiba and the original retailer.

The retailer might even just you a standard OEM windows to use if that's a cheap and convenient option for them (as opposed to taking the laptop back and replacing the original HDD) but it's quite possible that they might have Toshiba media to send you anyway.

[Icm76]

For the sake of amusement, how much do Toshiba want to charge for a DVD with media only?

https://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/

[wine~o]

£ 30.90...

[Icm76]

greedy ******* parasites

[Liam2349]

not much point in partitioning the disk unless you plan to install a different OS onto each partition. Might as well just have one big partition, and the system reserved partition.

I don't agree with this. Windows is notorious for slowing down over weeks/months vs a clean fresh install. By keeping the OS separate on a partition with plenty of spare space the defragment can do its' job most effectively and the user can do their housekeeping more easily i.e. keeping the out of date and temporary files deleted regularly

Ideally games and applications can be on their own partition(s.) Advanced users with more physical HDDs/SSDs can go further. Assign windows page file, temp, scratch space for applications e.g. Photoshop, swap space for Linux etc can all be assigned to partitions on physically separate disks from the OS and primary application(s.) In the case of mechanical HDDs, any swap/scratch space is best allocated to somewhere in the outer third of the disk - max data transfer rates occur at the outer edge of the disk, but the head might move less far on average a bit further in. Infrequently used file storage can be placed at the end of the disk where it's slowest.

Fair points, I have an SSD for my OS, big games, and most important apps.

Nice job getting the Windows working, but Wine~O, why did you keep the laptop for so long?

[wine~o]

Nice job getting the Windows working, but Wine~O, why did you keep the laptop for so long?

Why wouldn't I keep it ? It was working Fiiiiiiine until this Hard-drive problem....

[Liam2349]

Nice job getting the Windows working, but Wine~O, why did you keep the laptop for so long?

Why wouldn't I keep it ? It was working Fiiiiiiine until this Hard-drive problem....

Because warranties. You said it was new. Return, get a replacement, or a refund. It's what I always do - very simple with anything fulfilled by Amazon, but I'm guessing this wasn't fulfilled by Amazon.

You still have rights though.

I know you had files on it, but perhaps in future, back them up regularly to this new hard disk you bought. You can get cheap enclosures on Amazon and eBay that you can connect to your laptop through USB, then it's just a case of copying files over for backups.

[wine~o]

Aaaaaaaahhhh got you, When I said earlier "New laptop" it was to differentiate it from the "Old laptop" which I'm using now..

The "New laptop" is actually over 3 years old...

[Icm76]

what happened to BG's post calling all the advice BS? are you going to post something more constructive BG and explain what you object to?

The "New laptop"...

can you clarify - is the faulty hard disc actually working? enough to load Windows still? or did you format it?

[wine~o]

BG's post ? what ??

I've put the old drive back in, didn't boot so I'm running DRevitalise again, thats been running since Sunday evening....

So far 2936 bad sectors repaired, 21490 Mb scanned of 305245... I think this might take a little while

[Icm76]

BG's post ? what ??

that was pretty much my reaction when I read it, and why I was hoping he would be more helpful if he knows something we don't...

..anyway, I have half an idea that may help and I'm not sure if this applies. I remembered a lot of people had hassle with SSDs and migrating Windows due to the SSDs using 4kb sectors. Now I thought this wasn't an issue for Windows 7, but it perhaps it is for early versions. I do know that the WD disk you bought was pre formatted with 4kb sectors, and I think Windows 7 later versions definitely use 4kb sectors as the default.

I need to Google more, but if we can get the new HDD formatted using whatever the default was prior to 4kb sectors becoming standard it might be worth another shot installing the factory reset or recovery media that you have.



EDIT: some explanation here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2510009

if you can boot the knackered drive into Windows long enough to determine the sector size, which might be 512b according to the page above, then you can use that info to reformat the new drive to the same spec.