Recovery from SSD drive failure (3F0) on HP ProBook 450 G2

[cj1971]

My SanDisk SSD X300 SATA 2.5" 128GB drive has failed in my HP ProBook 450 G2 just a few months after the 1 year warranty has lapsed.  Error message : Hard disk - (3F0)

I have tried various suggestions on how to access / recover / repair the installation to no avail. The on board diagnostics cannot see the drive, repair installation of WIndows 7 cannot see the drive, and when i remove the drive and connect it to my desktop via a drive caddy, it still cannot be seen/accessed.

I think i will have to purchase a replacement drive, but how do i reinstall Windows on it when a key was not provided along with the laptop, only the intall DVD ?

[WAWood]

@cj1971

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

The product key for Win7 is printed on a sticker -- and that is usually on the bottom of the laptop or in the battery compartment.

If you use HP Recovery Media to restore your PC, you do not need the product key.

However, that requires that the replacement "drive" be the same size as the original drive that came in the PC.  If your came with the SSD preinstalled, then you are OK; but if you replaced a larger hard drive with a smaller SSD, the restore function will most likely NOT work.

HP Recovery Media is a set of DVDs and a CD, or USB stick, that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities. In some cases, you may be able to order a USB stick instead of disks. You have to order these from HP; they can not be downloaded.

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update". If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entry and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Service:

If you live in the US or Canada, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/phone-assist.html#section1

If you live elsewhere, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/ww-contact-us.html

NOTE: After you get through, stay on the line until you are finally able to talk to some one -- it can take a while!

If you have trouble finding a phone number, then try: 1 (800) 474-6836

If HP no longer provides Recovery Media for your model, a couple of other sites you can check are: http://www.computersurgeons.com/ and http://www.restoredisks.com/

Before using the media, read through this: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00006110

Good Luck

[cj1971]

Hi WAWood, and thank you for the swift response.

The product key is my main sticking point, there is no sticker on the body of the laptop or in the battery compartment.

It came with the 128GB SSD drive installed with Windows 7 Pro, along with an 'Application and Driver Recovery DVD ' and additional media to upgrade to Windows 10 if required.

I have no issue with purchasing a new 128GB SSD drive and re-installing the supplied DVD's, i was more worried about the Windows product key than anything else.

[cj1971]

I have received and installed the new 128GB SSD hard drive, and have used a Linux boot USB to partiion it as ntfs, but i cannot get any further. The supplied hp recovery disc is not recognised as a boot source when the PC is powering up, i have edited the bios boot sequence and ensured that it is set to Legacy boot rather than UEFI.

Any help or advice would be much appreciated.