hard drive

[CindyMcLeod]

I have a laptop computer that was purchased May 11, 2024. It worked fine until yesterday. I have been trying to just reset the computer to the day we purchased it. I have tried everything I could find on line and what little I know myself. It keeps coming back that there is no hard drive. My son is disabled and may have hit a button he should not have, but that is not helping me at the moment. When I first turn it on it says it is diagnosing my computer then goes to an "automatice repair" screen . I have tried resetting in multiple different ways but at the end of all of them it says that there is no hard drive installed. I am at a loss. Any help???

[Sneha_01]

Hi @CindyMcLeod,

Welcome to HP Support Community.

Thank you for posting your query, I will be glad to help you.

It sounds like your laptop is having trouble detecting the hard drive, which can be due to several potential issues. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help diagnose and potentially resolve the problem:

1. Check Physical Connections

• Power Off and Unplug: Turn off your laptop and disconnect it from any power source.
• Remove Battery: If your laptop has a removable battery, take it out.
• Check Hard Drive: If you're comfortable doing so, open the laptop’s access panel (refer to your laptop’s manual for instructions). Make sure the hard drive is properly connected. Sometimes, reseating the drive (removing and then reattaching it) can solve the issue.

2. Run Hardware Diagnostics

• Built-in Diagnostics: Many laptops have built-in diagnostics tools that you can access at startup. To access these:
  • For HP Laptops: Press Esc or F2 repeatedly while turning on the laptop to enter the HP PC Hardware Diagnostics.

3. Check BIOS/UEFI Settings

• Enter BIOS/UEFI: Restart your laptop and enter the BIOS/UEFI settings by pressing a key such as F2
• Check Hard Drive Detection: Look for a section like "Storage" or "Boot" and see if the hard drive is listed. If it is not detected, this may indicate a hardware issue.

4. Perform a Hard Drive Test

• Boot from Recovery Media: If you have recovery media (a USB drive or DVD with recovery tools), boot from it. You can often create this media from another working computer if you don’t have one.
• Use Disk Management Tools: From the recovery environment, you can use tools like Disk Management or Command Prompt to check the status of the hard drive. For example:
  • Open Command Prompt and type diskpart, then list disk to see if the hard drive is listed.
  • If it is listed but has issues, you might need to perform additional troubleshooting or repair steps.

5. Attempt to Restore or Reset

• Recovery Options: If the hard drive is detected in the recovery environment, you can try to restore or reset your laptop to factory settings. Follow the instructions for your specific brand and model.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have a good day.

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

Rachel571

HP Support