Laptop won't start-up - missing file

allthedoyles

Its a Toshiba Satellite Pro P300 and twe get this message .- Nothing will shift it .
We do have the Windows XP CD . - ........Nothing will shift this message :

Tefral

Have you set the boot order in the Bios to boot from the CD before the hard drive? If you have the first thing you should see is "Press any key to boot from CD...."

allthedoyles

Yes , and it takes me to ' windows setup '

it loads all the files and takes me to a screen with:

1. press enter to set up xp
2. press R to repair

wont allow me go any further ..............will try again

allthedoyles

It says that:
setup did not find any hard-disk drives installed in yiur computer

F3 to quit

zenno

I was late.

zenno

try R for repair this is where you need to go.

allthedoyles

anyone know what the problem could be ?

allthedoyles

allthedoyles wrote: »

It says that:
setup did not find any hard-disk drives installed in yiur computer

F3 to quit

R for repair don;t work ......Same as above -- cannot find the HDD

zenno

allthedoyles wrote: »

R for repair don;t work ......Same as above -- cannot find the HDD

umm... i had some simular problem before on xp i'll have to go over some stuff to figure it

Slozer

allthedoyles wrote: »

It says that:
setup did not find any hard-disk drives installed in yiur computer

F3 to quit

Looks like it cant find your hard drive. Can you see any in the bios?

zenno

have a look here and see if it relates to your problem http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows/resolving-setup-did-not-find-any-hard-disk-drives-during-windows-xp-installation/

allthedoyles

Slozer wrote: »

Looks like it cant find your hard drive. Can you see any in the bios?

Sure , In the boot menu it says that HDD1 : Hitachi HTS542512K9SA00

zenno

can you give more details on how this problem occured or is this computer a new one that you have purchased from someone ?

Slozer

allthedoyles wrote: »

Sure , In the boot menu it says that HDD1 : Hitachi HTS542512K9SA00

Was there an os already on it when you got the first screen?
I would power down, open it up, disconnect the HD and then reconnect it again.

allthedoyles

am justing helping out a friend in need before sending it to the IT shop .

Dont know how this happened

zenno

allthedoyles wrote: »

Sure , In the boot menu it says that HDD1 : Hitachi HTS542512K9SA00

go back in to the bios and click enter on factory reset just incase the bios settings have been messed up. just to be sure. and let the computer restart.

something doesn't sound right as when you install the windows xp disc you should be able to either repair or install the operating system. unless your master boot record has been damaged then in that case you would have to be able to get into repair to fixmbr

Slozer

allthedoyles wrote: »

am justing helping out a friend in need before sending it to the IT shop .

Dont know how this happened

Sounds like its not talking to ur HDD. If its under warranty, straight back to the shop.

zenno

also you might have to use an external floppy disc drive with the correct sata drivers on it to get your hdd noticed.

maybe this is the case ? Download Drivers for Toshiba Satellite Pro P300 Notebook for Windows XP

XP Drivers: Toshiba Satellite Pro P300 Notebook is shipped with Windows Vista, which is quite good but most of us dont like Windows Vista. Downgrading Toshiba Satellite Pro P300 to Windows XP requires Windows XP drivers, which you can find on this page. Download all Windows XP drivers for Toshiba Satellite Pro P300.

are you sure someone wasn't trying to downgrade to xp ? from vista ? this is the only scenario that i can see that is causing your problem. anyway if this is the case you will need to install vista and when that is installed as it will see your HDD then download and install the Pro P300 Notebook AHCI Intel SATA Driver for Win XP on the link below and then you should be able to install xp. but if you say that xp was already working on your laptop then i cannot understand why it is not recognizing your HDD. good luck though.

Link... http://www.getpcmemory.com/drivers/download-toshiba-satellite-pro-p300-notebook-windows-xp-drivers/

Allyall

Are you sure it's XP and not Vista?


Have you tried Repairing XP in Eight Commands?

allthedoyles

Allyall wrote: »

Are you sure it's XP and not Vista?


Have you tried Repairing XP in Eight Commands?

Not sure if it is XP or Vista , .........I was givena Vista CD with it .

Its 2008 and I have now taken out teh HDD and put it back in again .. Same problems .

great info above - thanks

Allyall

OK, I'm going to assume it's Vista.. :P

Try this:

Put the (Vista) CD in, When asked to press any key to load fro disk, do that.

When the Vista splash screen appears, click "Repair your computer".

When System Recovery Options appears, select "Command Prompt".

In Command Prompt Type:

bootrec.exe /fixmbr
bootsect.exe /nt60 all /force

Then Type

attrib -h -s C:\boot\BCD
del C:\boot\BCD
bootrec.exe /rebuildbcd

Hopefully after this has finished, you will get a message saying completed successfully, or something similar..
If you did....

REMOVE CD FROM DRIVE..

Then Type

shutdown -r -t 0

Cross your fingers, arms, legs, toes..

zenno

allthedoyles wrote: »

Not sure if it is XP or Vista , .........I was givena Vista CD with it .

Its 2008 and I have now taken out teh HDD and put it back in again .. Same problems .

great info above - thanks

assuming that vista was pre-installed on that laptop then it will be the case that you will have to install the xp sata drivers if you want xp to run on that system otherwise the vista operating disc should see your drive and install no problem. definitely good info above from allyall.

zenno

Allyall wrote: »

Put the (Vista) CD in, When asked to press any key to load from disk, do that. When the Vista splash screen appears, click "Repair your computer".

the thing is he might not have the cd optical drive set as boot drive, so if you tried what allyall said above and it doesn't happen restart the laptop with the disc in it and as soon as the computer starts keep pressing the F12 key every second until a screen comes up giving you the option to boot from optical cd drive then when you click this you will see "press any button to continue" then click any button and it should start installing./

allthedoyles

Thanks - I am of the opinion that it must be Vista , and am thinking of buying a Vista disc to fix the problem.

We cannot find the original Vista set-up disk

zenno

allthedoyles wrote: »

Thanks - I am of the opinion that it must be Vista , and am thinking of buying a Vista disc to fix the problem.

We cannot find the original Vista set-up disk

to be honest I would leave vista as it is a seriously terrible operating system, don't buy it dump it and go with windows 7 home premium or professional more stable and faster response compared to the dysfunctional vista. trust me you will be doing yourself a favour.

hearny

The version of windows originally on the laptop is usually on the sticker on the base of the laptop with the product key.

You could also boot to a linux live cd like Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download) If you burn that to a cd /dvd and boot from it you should be able to find out the current version.

If you check the folder structure on the laptop xp stores user profiles in C:\Documents and Settings whereas vista and windows 7 keep the profiles by default in C:\Users (Its not foolproof but it will give you a good idea which version is on it).

You will also be able to recover files if you have an external hard drive.

I see your location is down as Waterford, I am about a mile from the city centre if you bring the laptop to me I can tell fairly quickly what is on it, and what to do with it, I have Vista, XP and 7 Discs too (and linux live CD's to boot).

Allyall

allthedoyles wrote: »

Thanks - I am of the opinion that it must be Vista , and am thinking of buying a Vista disc to fix the problem.

We cannot find the original Vista set-up disk

Boot CD. Download and Burn.

EASYBCD

LINK
Shows Tutorials etc. I don't use the CNET links anymore, as they are just a wrapper with Babylon toolbar, to download the program. (The link on their page is from Cnet/download .com)

Another EDIT.

Vista, up to date, with all Service Packs, isn't that bad...
It's less buggy then the CURRENT version of windows 7 UP TO DATE..

7 with current patches/service pack, is not good.

FINAL EDIT.

Some Praise for Vista
Not really praise, as Windows 7 isn't included in the mix, but Windows Vista is making progress on security and other issues.

But. Don't discount vista as quickly anymore.. Lots being done behind the scenes..

allthedoyles

Tried everything , but nothing worked to shift that black screen.

So now we have decided we are going to buy the actual boot disk direct from Toshiba .( Vista )

It is available for €35 from www.backupmedia.toshiba.eu

All we have to do is enter the laptop serial number and we got it .

We presume that this will solve all our problems ?

HTB

I wouldnt hold my breath if I were you .....

allthedoyles

Surely if we re-install the operating system , it will cure the problem .

Is it not a software problem ?

hearny

Did you try the EasyBCD as suggested above.

Here are the instructions taken from
http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBCD/Recovering+the+Vista+Bootloader+with+EasyBCD

Run EasyBCD and go to the "Bootloader Setup" window:
Select "Install the Vista/7 Bootloader to the MBR" from the second menu, then click "Write MBR"
(Note - the first section applies to External Devices (e.g USB flashdrives). Do not use it on your HDD)
Reboot to test.

Are you still getting the same error or has it changed.

Kinetic^

allthedoyles wrote: »

Surely if we re-install the operating system , it will cure the problem .

Is it not a software problem ?

Have you run a test on the hard drive?