IBM Thinkpad T 20 Hard disk drive

[senaka76]

I have a IBM thinkpad T20, the hard drive failed and I installed a new one, but it fails to identify it, , But from the winodows installation I can see the New 40GB hard drive, I can even install windows into it, Yet when it restarts it says "Hard disk not installed : install operating system", any idea how to overcome this problem ?

The new Hard drive is a Seygate 40Gb


thanks

[Harryc]

Run the DOS version of seatools and run the long test on the drive. If it passes 'zero fill' the drive and try to install the OS again.

Seatools for DOS

How Do I Low Level Format (or Zero Fill) an ATA (IDE) or SATA Hard Drive?

What does "low level formatting" an ATA (IDE) or SATA drive mean?

Actually the term "low level" is a bit of a misnomer. The low level process first used years ago in MFM hard drives bears little resemblance to what we now call a "low level format" for today's ATA (IDE) or SATA drives. The only safe method of initializing all the data on a Seagate or Maxtor device is the Zero Fill option in SeaTools for DOS.


Why would I want to Zero Fill my drive?

The most common reasons to Zero Fill an ATA (IDE) or SATA hard drive are:

1. The drive has contracted a virus that cannot be removed without destroying the boot sector.
2. You are changing from one operating system to another and wish to remove everything from the drive.

[aditya1956]

By saying "I am able to load windows" you mean that bcoz your booting sequence has the CD priority before the hdd, you are able to enter into the windows installation scenario and do it....right ?

Its strange. I have a T20 and it recognises 40gb & 80gb Hitachi HDDs alright. I have not tested it with a Seagate, but I think it should work.

Have you tried going into the BIOS by pressing F1 and checking what it had to say about the hdd ?

You also can simply go into the bios, press F9 to load the default_settings, then press F10 to save and exit. Many a times it clears such kinds of things.

You can also try to partition and format the hdd with any standard bootable_utility like a Windows98 bootable floppy/UBCD etc., and then boot to see whether the problem has vanished or not. Here you should see "no operating system" kind of a thing but not the "Hard disk not installed " one.

Finally you can test hdd with PC_Doc.

[senaka76]

thanks i will try all of your suggestions and come back to u

Run the DOS version of seatools and run the long test on the drive. If it passes 'zero fill' the drive and try to install the OS again.

Seatools for DOS

How Do I Low Level Format (or Zero Fill) an ATA (IDE) or SATA Hard Drive?

What does "low level formatting" an ATA (IDE) or SATA drive mean?

Actually the term "low level" is a bit of a misnomer. The low level process first used years ago in MFM hard drives bears little resemblance to what we now call a "low level format" for today's ATA (IDE) or SATA drives. The only safe method of initializing all the data on a Seagate or Maxtor device is the Zero Fill option in SeaTools for DOS.


Why would I want to Zero Fill my drive?

The most common reasons to Zero Fill an ATA (IDE) or SATA hard drive are:

1. The drive has contracted a virus that cannot be removed without destroying the boot sector.
2. You are changing from one operating system to another and wish to remove everything from the drive.