REPLACE HARD DRIVE HP PAVILION P6540F

[joe_6pack]

I want to replace the hard drive in my HP Pavilion nP6540f (it's old - don't laugh) and am a bit confused about what to buy and how to set the SATA Controller mode.  (I assume) The WDC WD1001FAES-60Z2A drive I have is SATA-I, but it shows up as a SCSI Disk Device with a RAID interface when I run Speccy.  Do I buy a SATA drive and, if so, how do I set the SATA controller mode in the BIOS setup?  This is the only drive I have, so I don't see the purpose of having a RAID setup.  Please help, as I'm afraid this drive is on its last leg and could crap out at any moment.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

Below is the link to the product specs for your PC.

The hard drive has a SATA interface.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c02155464/

If you want the same storage size drive, you can get one like this...

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cache-Desktop-Drive-WD10EZEX/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=154111...

As far as the drive controller setting...see what options your PC has.

It may have IDE, AHCI, and you already know it has RAID.

For a single drive, the best setting would be AHCI, although RAID is fine too.

Never set it to IDE because that is the worst performing setting.

AHCI and RAID provide equal performance.

Do you have a way to reinstall W7 on the new drive?

If not, I can give you a couple of options.

[wb2001]

@joe_6pack,

You asked for it   but I can helpl. Your unit has AMD 785G chipset:

1) SATA II aka SATA 300 hard drive.  It will accept a newer SATA III aka SATA600 without a problem.

2) Only get either a 1TB (1000GB) or a 2TB (2000GB) hard drive.

3) There is no other issues you need to address. Do not tamper with the BIOS. If it is not broken, why do not want create an issue?

If the WDC drive is still 100% functional, it a matter of a simple clone process.

1) WD offers free clone software.

2) You can use the existing cables off the DVD drive to attach the new Hard drive. (temporary)

3) After the clone, you move:

a) the new drive to the drive bay.

b)  the new hard drive connects to the original drives cables IMPORTANT !!

c)  reconnect the DVD drive cables

4) reboot the system

[joe_6pack]

Thanks for the info. I don't have to replace with another WD. I was just looking for the same drive I already had because I wasn't sure what to get. I'm open to suggestions if you have any.

BTW, my PC is kind of old and I wonder if I should invest in a new drive or just get a refurbished one.  Thoughts?

Thanks again.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I recommended that drive because it is reliable and I have personally used that model.

You can get a Seagate version of the drive too.

I wouldn't take a chance on a refurbished drive.

As long as you have a way to reinstall W7 for free, and you are happy with your PC, I don't think $46.00 is much to put into it.

You can't buy a decent PC for $46.00.

Here is the Seagate alternative for a few bucks less...

https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Desktop-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000DM003/dp/B005T3GRNW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF...

[joe_6pack]

Thanks for the help. I really appreciate it.  Think I'm going to go with the WD drive. .One quick question - Do I have to change the SATA controller mode setting in the BIOS from RAID to AHCI?  RAID for some odd reason makes the SATA drive show up as a SCSI in Speccy and WD Data Lifeguard.  Why would it do that (sorry - two questions)?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

In order to change the drive controller setting from RAID to AHCI, you would have to reinstall W7 after you change the BIOS setting.

So if your plan was to clone the drive, it won't work in AHCI mode, since the clone was for a RAID configuration.

If you have a way to reinstall W7, then you can change the setting to AHCI.

If you don't, then don't change the setting.

If you need a free way to clean install W7 using the product key on your PC's case, let me know.

Otherwise, you can purchase W7 recovery media for your model from this non-HP vendor at the link below.   HP no longer sells recovery media for that model series.

http://www.computersurgeons.com/p-22712-windows-7-64-bit-10nasumw608-recovery-kit-br347av-for-hp-pav...

[joe_6pack]

I have a set of recovery DVD's that HP provided me years ago when I had a hard drive issue.  I'm pretty sure my plan of attack is to run the recovery disks on th new drive when I install it, and subsequently upgrade the OS to Windows 10.  This way I can avoid having to reinstall the MANY updates to Win 7 that I anticipate I'll have to!

This whole issue started when I came back from vacation and turned my PC back on.  Everything was fine before I left, but I think when I restarted I became a victim ov the dreaded October 2018 Windows 10 update!  The PC restarted, rebooted after encountering a problem, and would not let me select a keyboard when it went into Repair mode (stupid USB port drivers!).  After a LOT of attempts to get the PC restarted (and a lot of language my wife didn't appreciate), I made the decision to use the HP system Recovery and revert back to Win 7.  Fortunately I had backed up all my documents, pictures and music, so I didn't lose anything important.  After I got the sytem restarted in Win 7 (with the MANY updates i described before), I ran a check on the hard drive with WD Data Lifeguard.  That extended test crapped out because of too many bad sectors, so I decided my best course of action was to replace the hard drive.

So much for my tale of woe.  Thanks for your help - I really appreciate it!  BTW, what are your feelings on Win 10?  I still run Win 7 at work and have had no problems at all.  Do you think I should go the Win7 - upgrade to 10 route, or clone the drive I have working in Win 7 now?  The upgrade allows me to use AHCI and avoid copying a drive with bad sectors, but the clone would save me a ton of update and installation time.  Thoughts?

Once again, many thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Looking at the specs for your PC, it has the onboard AMD Radeon HD 4200 graphics adapter.

Unless you added a video card, that onboard graphics adapter has known issues with the newer versions of W10, unless Microsoft has recently made a fix for that.   Folks were reporting the graphics driver wouldn't install and they were left with the Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.

You do know that you can clean install W10 at any time by using the media creation tool, correct?

You can make a bootable 8 GB flash drive or save an ISO file that you can burn to a DVD.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

You don't need to install W7, and then upgrade it to W10.

If you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, check the 'skip' box and W10 will install and automatically activate once you are connected to the internet.

You can always change the BIOS setting to AHCI now, try installing W10, and see what happens.

If you want to make a bootable installation DVD, I have zipped up and attached the Microsoft tool below, to transfer the ISO file to a DVD so that it is bootable.

To make a bootable W10 flash drive installer, the tool will do that automatically for you...

1. Select Download tool now, and select Run.
2. If you agree to the license terms, select Accept.
3. On the What do you want to do? page, select Create installation media for another PC, and then select Next.

4. Select the language, edition, and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) for Windows 10.

5. Select which media you want to use:
6. USB flash drive.  Plug in a blank USB flash drive with at least 8GB of space. Any content on the flash drive will be deleted.

[joe_6pack]

I have that Win 10 installer on a flash drive - I'll just use that and try to avoid the installation of their video driver.  I have that Raedon driver file, so I can revert if need be.  I'll try the AHCI - Win 10 route and let you know how it turns out.  I assume the hard drive comes pre-formatted, so I won't have to do that.

If worse comes to worse, I always have the Win 7 recovery disks!  I got to the 9th to decide, since Amazon's free shipping is slow.  I'll use my old PC as a glorified internet surfer for now and (knock on wood/fingers crossed) hope the old hard drive holds up until then.  Once again, mucho thanks!