Laptop - no OS present

mickw65 · 27th June 2006, 9:37 PM

A mate brought his wife's laptop to me saying it didn't work.

It's a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4300, P3 I think.
After putting in the password, a message states there is no operating system present.

So, it's probably the hard drive?
He wants to know if it's worth fixing.
btw, the laptop gets ultra hot while charging.

[SMAK]Critter · 27th June 2006, 10:07 PM

$5 plus post...

SLATYE · 27th June 2006, 10:15 PM

It could just be HDD corruption rather than a dead HDD. If you've got a laptop-to-desktop HDD converter handy, plug the drive into your desktop PC and see whether it's readable.

mickw65 · 27th June 2006, 10:39 PM

Go away [SMAK]Critter.
If it's fubared or too exxy to fix, he'll give it to me and I'll post it up.
Not before then.

SLATYE, I haven't got a 44 to 40 pin converter.
Unfortunately, now his wife is saying she hasn't backed the data up recently.
Is there any way to alter the boot sequence on a lappy so I can plug in an external drive with an OS?

SLATYE · 27th June 2006, 11:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickw65

SLATYE, I haven't got a 44 to 40 pin converter.
Unfortunately, now his wife is saying she hasn't backed the data up recently.
Is there any way to alter the boot sequence on a lappy so I can plug in an external drive with an OS?

As far as I can tell, holding down Escape and then turning it on will get you into the BIOS on most Toshibas. That should include options to alter the boot sequence, although I'm not sure how good it'll be at recognising external drives.

EDIT: It'd be worth just testing it with a bootable CD in the CD drive - it may default to the 'standard' (A: -> D: -> C:) boot sequence. If that works, do what splosh123 says (below).

splosh123 · 27th June 2006, 11:36 PM

How about running some Linux Live CDs, there are some out there perfect for data anaylising etc.

mickw65 · 27th June 2006, 11:52 PM

Thanks guys!

Changed the bootup sucessfully.
Chucked in a recovery tools disc and there is no windows directory.
So I'm re-installing xp now, all is good for the moment.

If the directory disappears again, could it be a dying drive or maybe a virus?

SLATYE · 28th June 2006, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mickw65

If the directory disappears again, could it be a dying drive or maybe a virus?

Well, when Windows is reinstalled, use the HDD manufacturer's drive test tools to check whether the drive is still working perfectly. If it is, get a virus-scanner and do a full scan of the drive. If the manufacturer's tools report that the drive isn't in particularly good condition, get everything off as soon as possible.

mickw65 · 29th June 2006, 11:41 PM

More problems...

After installing the OS, the computer should reboot to run xp for the first time, yes?
It's hanging during this rebooting process, lots of hdd activity.

So I formatted it to FAT32 and installed 98Se without any problems.
Scandisk and chkdsk reveals no errors, any suggestions?

tin · 30th June 2006, 12:35 PM

Get the real diagnostic tool for the hard disk from the hard disk manufacturer... Or just get "Drive Fitness Test" from hgst.com cause it can test almost any hard drive anyway (repairing only works with Hitachi or IBM drives).

Edit: The reason I say this is because constant hard disk activity for long periods is often a sign of a failing hard disk. It might be bad sectors that could be repairable, or it could be worse. DFT from HGST will tell you if there's a drive problem.

27th June 2006, 9:37 PM	#1
mickw65 Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Mount Isa Posts: 171	Laptop - no OS present A mate brought his wife's laptop to me saying it didn't work. It's a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4300, P3 I think. After putting in the password, a message states there is no operating system present. So, it's probably the hard drive? He wants to know if it's worth fixing. btw, the laptop gets ultra hot while charging. __________________ OCAU MetaL Club Member #1365

27th June 2006, 10:15 PM	#3
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 21,040	It could just be HDD corruption rather than a dead HDD. If you've got a laptop-to-desktop HDD converter handy, plug the drive into your desktop PC and see whether it's readable. __________________ Main system: Pentium-D 805 \| 1GB (2x 512MB) PQI DDR400 \| Gigabyte 8I865GMK-775 \| Xtreama Radeon 9800Pro with Zalman ZM-80HP-D \| 320GB WD SATA HDD \| Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600

27th June 2006, 10:39 PM	#4
mickw65 Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Mount Isa Posts: 171	Go away [SMAK]Critter. If it's fubared or too exxy to fix, he'll give it to me and I'll post it up. Not before then. SLATYE, I haven't got a 44 to 40 pin converter. Unfortunately, now his wife is saying she hasn't backed the data up recently. Is there any way to alter the boot sequence on a lappy so I can plug in an external drive with an OS? __________________ OCAU MetaL Club Member #1365

27th June 2006, 11:36 PM	#6
splosh123 Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Brisvegas Posts: 432	How about running some Linux Live CDs, there are some out there perfect for data anaylising etc. __________________ "Your denial is beneath you, and thanks to the use of hallucinogenic drugs, I see through you." - Bill Hicks

27th June 2006, 11:52 PM	#7
mickw65 Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Mount Isa Posts: 171	Thanks guys! Changed the bootup sucessfully. Chucked in a recovery tools disc and there is no windows directory. So I'm re-installing xp now, all is good for the moment. If the directory disappears again, could it be a dying drive or maybe a virus? __________________ OCAU MetaL Club Member #1365

27th June 2006, 10:07 PM	#2
[SMAK]Critter Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Brisbane Posts: 818	$5 plus post...

29th June 2006, 11:41 PM	#9
mickw65 Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Mount Isa Posts: 171	More problems... After installing the OS, the computer should reboot to run xp for the first time, yes? It's hanging during this rebooting process, lots of hdd activity. So I formatted it to FAT32 and installed 98Se without any problems. Scandisk and chkdsk reveals no errors, any suggestions? __________________ OCAU MetaL Club Member #1365

30th June 2006, 12:35 PM	#10
tin Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Narrabri NSW Posts: 4,909	Get the real diagnostic tool for the hard disk from the hard disk manufacturer... Or just get "Drive Fitness Test" from hgst.com cause it can test almost any hard drive anyway (repairing only works with Hitachi or IBM drives). Edit: The reason I say this is because constant hard disk activity for long periods is often a sign of a failing hard disk. It might be bad sectors that could be repairable, or it could be worse. DFT from HGST will tell you if there's a drive problem. __________________ ©®£¤¥±²³¶µ»«¼½¾¿§ The software required Win95 or better, so I installed Linux. Question marks are the new full stop?