Laptop Does Not Detect New Drive

[Kite]

Hello,

I have a Dell Inspiron 700M. All of a sudden, my hard disk (Hitachi Travelstar 40B) could not be detected on bootup - not even by the bios! I swapped the Hitachi Travelstar with another similar disk (same brand, same size) from my IBM T41. There were no problems with the bios detection this time around - hence I thought I have eliminated motherboard issues, so I went out to purchase a 320GB EIDE Western Digital [WD3200BEVE] hard disk.


However, when I tried putting the WD3200BEVE into my Dell Inspiron, it could not detect at the bootup stage. I next tested the WD3200BEVE in my IBM T41 and a no-name USB enclosure. In both cases, there were no problems with the detection.

I have verified on Dell's website that the WD3200BEVE is compatible with Dell Inspiron 700M. I have also confirmed that I have the latest copy of the bios for the 700M on the Dell website. In trawling through some of the comments at newegg.com, I downloaded the software at Western Digital to run a diagnostic test and re-format/partition/copy. Still does not work - only surprise was that the diagnostic test showed no factory serial number and no SMART status.

Not sure what else I can do at this stage.

Please help!

[ha14]

Well attach your hard drive then use drivergenius to update drivers and it will instal if a driver is missing.

Smartdefender
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-5034871.html

[brayden]

Harddrives usually don't need drivers ha14 and if it doesn't pick up in BIOS it is probably a hard ware issue. I got the same issue with a Seagate IDE drive. using the same ribbon cables and peripheral cables the DVD/RW drive works but the seagate drive doesn't. I can't be bothered doing anything about it. btw try getting your drives replaced at the shop you bought them from. sounds like it's defect.

[Raymond]

brayden is right, there are already drivers for hard drives.

I am stumped by your case as well because it doesn't seem to be your new hard drive problem because it worked on your usb enclosure. It cannot be your motherboard or the eide cable because you've tested with another hard drive.

Can you try doing this? Assemble your WD hard drive to the USB enclosure, and connect it to a working computer with Windows. It should be able to detect since it worked the last time.
Now download WD diagnostic and test the WD hard drive. Let us know the results.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=505&sid=3&lang=en

Try the Lifeguard tools as well in setting up your hard drive.
http://support.wdc.com/product/download.asp?groupid=505&sid=1&lang=en

[Kite]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the quick reply.

I want to clarify that I have tested the WD3200BEVE hard disk as follow

1. Dell Inspiron 700M Primary Hard Disk - cannot detect in BIOS
2. IBM Thinkpad T41 Primary Hard Disk - can detect in BIOS
3. plugged into no-name external enclosure with USB interface to Dell - can detect in BIOS
4. plugged into no-name external enclosure with USB interface to IBM - can detect in BIOS

As for the Western Digital Diagnostics :
Detection - Yes but no Factory/ Manufacturer's serial number and no SMART status
Quick Test - Pass
Full Test - Still running.

Formatted/Partitioned/Imaged with

1. Easeus/Macrium/BartPE - cannot detect as a primary hard disk
2. Western Digital Lifeguard Tools - cannot detect as a primary hard disk

No problems when connected via USB enclosure

Suspected motherboard/compatibility/BIOS issues - But Dell has confirmed that
WD3200BEVE and Dell Inspiron 700M are COMPATIBLE. Also found comments in amazon.com by shopper that they have no installation issues with WD2500BEVE (250GB) and Dell Inspiron 700M. No comments on WD3200BEVE installation in Dell Inspiron 700M as it is still pretty new. Noted similar issue with a poster using Packard Bell laptop.

So far, have swapped IBM's Hitachi Travelstar into the Dell and also ensured that Bios is last version available on Dell's website.

There is a shareware known as hdinfo.exe which is supposed to provide more information on the hard disk and all bios/motherboard details related to the hard disk. Not sure whether there is a freeware version.

All calls to the service center and the original shop have not been answered as yet so yes, I'm pretty desperate ...

[Kite]

Just want to report:

The WD hard disk was finally recognized, and the issue was not its size, but its brand.

It seems that WD hard disks needed to have an extra IDE/EIDE controller driver loaded for the Dell Inspiron 700M, but my original harddisk was a Hitachi Travelstar, so it was not pre-loaded. I found the file on the Dell Download website. Though it was stated as for use with 40GB, 60GB, 80GB WD Hard disk, I had a hunch that it was probably applicable to all WD Hard Disks.

[Raymond]

Thanks for sharing. Now we know some branded PCs don't use the standard Windows IDE/EIDE controller driver.