Thinkpads Forum

I need help. I got a new hardrive for my pos computer but don't know how to install it. I know where it goes. but know nothing about partitions or how to make them.

You need to tell us what Operating System. You said you could install the hardware, so I'll take that as given. You also need to tell us what computer, specifically do you have diskette and CD Rom. Basically you can use startup diskettes that load the CD (of the Operating System) for every system from Windows 98 forward. If you are using an NT variant, format the whole disk as one NTFS partition. ... JD Hurst

I am instaling 98se. what i get is a screen with a pic of a floppyso i put the floppy in. I get microsoft windows 98 startup menu.
1. start computer with cd-rom support
2. start computer without cd-rom suport
3. view help file
1and 2 gives me this message
Preparing to start your computer.
This may take a few minutes. Please wait...
Windows 98 has detected that drive C does not contain a valid FAT OR FAT32 Partition. There are several popssble causes

1. The drive my need to be partitioned. To create partition on drive, run FDISK from the ms-dos prompt.

2. You may be using third-party disk- partitioning software. if you are using this type of software, remove the emergency boot disk and restart your computer. then folow the on scree instructions to start your computer from a floppy disk

3. Some viruses also cause your drive c not to register. you can use a virus scaning program to check myour computer for viruses

The diagnostic tools were sucessfully loaded to drivr c.

device driver not found; MSCD001
NO VALID CDROM device drivers selected

to get help, type help and press enter

I type FDISK and get...
no fixed disk present
A:\>

What information can you tell us about this new hard drive itself (brand, size, new/used, etc)? I just put a 60GB drive in my 2645-45U, so larger drives do work.

First off, let's check the BIOS version. With the computer off, hold down F1 and turn the machine on. When the memory size appears on screen and it beeps, let go of F1 and you'll end up in BIOS. The version should be listed on that screen. The latest version for a 2645-45U is IBET54WW - if you have something older than that, you should probably upgrade it before continuing (downloads and instructions are available on IBM's website). If you're already at the latest, we'll move on.

I am (unfortunately through direct experience) familiar with the "no fixed disk present" message - I got it a couple of weeks ago when installing my new drive.

Reinstall the old drive and try to boot the system without the floppy. If it comes up, the good news is that the HDD controller is fine. The bad news, of course, is that the "new" drive may be no good (that's what happened to me).

Let us know your BIOS version and if you can still boot off the old drive.

Good luck,

Rob

The old drive is dead that is why I am switching it out. the bios version is
IBET37WW 12/17/98

calired67 wrote:The old drive is dead that is why I am switching it out. the bios version is
IBET37WW 12/17/98

Thanks for filling us in.

If you had said that the old drive worked fine in the machine, I'd say go ahead and update the BIOS before we go any further.

However, with the old drive not working, I'm wary of doing that just yet.

Can you give more information on the death of the old drive? I'd be particularly interested in how FDISK responds when you try to use it on that drive (same response as with the "new" drive?), as well as how you determined that it's dead. My concern is that the old drive didn't die, but rather the laptop's IDE controller might have.

Consider picking up either a 2.5-3.5 inch internal hdd mounting kit (can be had for under $25 with a little looking) and hooking the two drives to another computer one at a time. It would give you a chance to interact with them independently of the Thinkpad. If you can get either drive to spin up and work on another computer, it might cast some doubt on the laptop.

If you hook the drives up to a desktop PC and it recognizes them, you should be able to run the manufacturer's diagnostic utilities. Hitachi, for example, calls theirs the "Drive Fitness Test". If you've got a high-bandwidth connection, download and make a copy of "The Ultimate BootCD" - it's got the diagnostic programs for most of the major manufacturers already assembled. Of course, if the desktop doesn't recognize them, that won't work.

Rob

calired67,

You need to go into the BIOS and set the machine to BOOT from the CD, FDD, HDD1 as the default. Stick the W98SE CD in the optical drive and reboot the machine! The CD will FDISK and FORMAT the HD automatically if necessary.

There's no necessity to partition the HD as the 600 series will see and use the entire drive.

No floppys needed either!

Regards,

James

James,

I think he has a more pressing problem first - he's getting the same error message from FDISK as I did when I had the dead E7K60 in mine - it doesn't seem to be recognizing the drive as being present.

If FDISK can't see the drive when booted off of floppy, how will it see the drive when he boots off of the CD?

Rob

Hiya Rob,

I think in this instance the HD error is an artifact of the attempt to load the CD driver without the CD installed.

Or, if the OP was using an external floppy vs. internal, then yes, it could simply be a duff HD.

I'd still like to read a report from the OP that he installed the HD, initialized the unit in BIOS and then attempted to install 98SE.

Regards,

James

JHED,
i check the bios and it is already set cd fd hd1.

calired67 wrote:JHED,
i check the bios and it is already set cd fd hd1.

Have you initialized the unit in BIOS with the new HD installed?

Then, after initializing, have you tried just booting from the CD?

Regards,

James

I think the laptop is dead. All I am getting now is a black screen with175 in the upper left hand corner

Someone told me that the BIOS chip might be scrambled.He said the 175 was an eror code? Is this something i could fix myself? or should i sek professional help?

First: I had a recent backup (this comes in as the last step)

FIrst I did the physical instalation

Then I popped in the Win-98se Emergency Boot Disk (EBD)

Booted w/o CD support (Faster and I did not need it)

Next I ran the program FDISK which is included on the EBD

I told it to use the maximum amount of space on the hard drive

Then I ran the program FORMAT (FORMAT C: /s /V:My_Name)

This REQUIRES the EBD be in the floppy drive.

This makes the disk bootable in DOS, not in windows

Having done that I broke out the Recovery CD for the backup program I used and ran it to restore from backup. The alternative would be to use the WIN-98se Install CD if you have one and wish to do a clean install

NOTE: If you are planing on a clean install you should not need to do the EBD bit, the win-98 Install cd should have these programs on it and should run them automatically Of course there is a lot of difference between SHOULD and WILL I have NEVER done a cold install of 98 or 98se, I've always upgraded from 3.1 (Which does partation and format the disk for me)

This is because I don't have a 98 install disk, just upgrade disks.

There are other ways but that's how I did it.

175 means the first CRC on the BIOS chip is wrong. This will stop the machine from booting until that chip is reprogrammed. It sounds like your BIOS update went very wrong.

You cannot reprogram the chip with normal means because you have to boot to do that.

You can have the chip replaced. Some web sites will do it for about $80 to $100.

You can replace the systemboard. I'm still not sure what machine you have, but you can get parts machines or specific parts from eBay or a local laptop repair shop.

Best of luck