HARD DISC NOT FOUND

[rroxip]

I have a Compaq Presario CQ50-105NR Notebook PC. One day, all of a sudden I couldn't open it because it no longer detected the hard drive! I cannot reboot it, not even with the boot CD's.. When I enter BIOS it cannot detect it either! What can I do???

[JonathanL]

This could happen if the hard disk came loose from the connector on your notebook. You can check on how to do this yourself by following the instructions in this pdf (it's one of the manuals for your notebook) to get to the hard disk. Make sure that it is securely connect, and then try to start your computer again.

[rroxip]

Hi!

that doesn't seem to be the problem. it seems to be securely connect! are there any other options I can try? Thanks.

[JonathanL]

If that's the case then there's a chance that a piece of hardware went bad. When you turn on the computer do you hear any noise coming from the hard disk? If you hear no noise or just weird noises that doesn't seem normal coming from the disk that would mean the disk went bad.

If your laptop is still under warranty, contact HP Support so they can get your laptop serviced.

[Kalt]

It's either a failed hard drive, or the motherboard controller/BIOS is having an issue detecting the hard drive.  Do you have another computer that we could use to temporarily connect this hard drive to?

[rroxip]

hi! What are the chances that a hard drive could fail all of a sudden? It's a new laptop. My friend has one, the same model, and has no problems with it at all.!  If I try to switch the hard drives, is there a chance to damage somehow my friends' laptop?

thanks

[Kalt]

The chances of a failed hard drive are pretty high...it's probably the most common hardware failure related to notebooks.  I wouldn't put this device into another notebook...but if you have a desktop that has SATA ports, I would try connecting it to a port and going to computer and seeing if the drive is listed.

[Vaika]

The chances of a failed hard drive are actually fairly high.

Take into consideration that hard drives are one of the only pieces in the PC (besides the fans) that are CONSTANTLY moving.

Just as an example... take two people and make them both 'run' a marathon.  One person will be on their feet or on a bicycle, thus requiring constant movement, and the other one would be standing on a motorized vehicle of some sort, requiring minimal movement (if any).

Which one of them, assuming the motorized vehicle doesn't run out of gas/battery and they aren't allowed to stop, is going to collapse first?