Hard Drive Failure?

[New_Guy1]

Hello

My desktop computer has been acting up as of recently. Before boot times use to be very fast but now boot times are taking a lot longer. Then when I would boot the computer it would say media presence not detected and try to boot over the network. I looked online and saw that a solution to this was to reorder the boot order so I ensured that windows boot manger was the first and followed the instructions online to disable the boot over network. Now when I attempt to boot I get a screen that says no operating system installed on the hard drive. I then ran a hard drive test which the hard drive failed. Then I reran the test and the hard drive passed. So is my best option to replace the harddrive? In this case is this the 16gb ssd harddrive that needs to be replaced or the 1tb hard drive?

Thanks for your help

[old_geekster · Accepted solution]

@New_Guy1, welcome back to the forum.

It would be your main hard drive (HDD) that needs to be replaced.  The SSD is simply used as a cache for the HDD.  You should consider replacing the HDD with a SSD.  The performance increase is amazing.

I have a loaner HP 860-170vr Gaming desktop.  It came with a HDD installed.  Upon first boot, I couldn't believe how slow it booted.  I installed a Samsung EVO 840 500 GB SSD that I had purchased earlier.  It made a world of difference.  If you buy a HDD it should be the same size or larger than the one being replaced.  This is to assure that the Recovery media will work.

If you decide to go with a SSD I suggest Samsung.  They seem to work the best with HP BIOS's.  I will be glad to tell you the best way to install it.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.

[New_Guy1]

I was thinking about going to ssd if I have to replace the harddrive. I would not want to spend that much for 1tb ssd but I was thinking about a 500gb ssd. Currently on the desktop I am only using about 100gb of space. So would the move to 500gb drive be fine?

Thanks

[old_geekster]

You are welcome, @New_Guy1.

Yes, a 500 GB SSD would be fine.  I added a SSD to my previous post after you had read it.  See the red Samsung above for my recommendation.

I said that I would tell you the best way to install the SSD.  I have done it several times and it works well.  I leave the HDD connected as it came from the factory if it is still functioning.  Connect the SSD to another SATA port on the motherboard.  Install the Samsung Data Migration software on the HDD and run it.  It will ask you to choose a target drive which will be the SSD.  Once the HDD has been cloned to the SSD, you should shut down the computerujnhy disconnect the HDD from the motherboard and boot.  It should boot to the SSD.

If you need more help, please let me know.

[New_Guy1]

Well as mentioned in the post the bios does not detect an operating system on the harddrive and the computer will not book. I do not have any important files on the old hardrive. Would it be best to just do a fresh install on the ssd?

Thanks

[old_geekster]

You should use the Recovery media that you made when you bought the computer.  This is the best way to do the Recovery.  If you didn't make it, you will have to buy a full version of Win 10 and do a clean install.

[New_Guy1]

I had a hard drive failure before when my computer was under warranty with hp and they sent me recovery discs which worked on the harddrive they sent. Would the same process work here?

[old_geekster]

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@New_Guy1 wrote:
I had a hard drive failure before when my computer was under warranty with hp and they sent me recovery discs which worked on the harddrive they sent. Would the same process work here?

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Yes, I believe that the disks they sent should work.  They would be for your computer.  This allows them to assure that the OS is being installed on the proper computer.

[Dforce10]

Hi. I am in a similar situation. My hard drive failed and I have no backup or recovery disks made. I ran the hard drive test and it failed. I got the same OS not detected message. The question I have is how would I go about ordering a recovery disk? When my hard drive failed I was on Windows 10 that had been updated from Windows 8.1

[old_geekster]

@Dforce10, welcome to the forum.

It would be better if you start your own thread.  Once a thread has been closed it will not get any views.  Only the original posters are notified that you posted.  You should make certain that you show the model of your computer and the current operating system.