🚀 go-pugleaf

High Life <jason[remove this]@basstech.com.au> wrote in message
news:0UjV5.11425$GW5.73610@news-server.bigpond.net.au...

> I just brought a replacement HDD (IBM 5GB) for a laptop (KTX880)
> and tried to install it but the its having trouble recognising the drive.
> Are there any special procedures for installing laptop HDD?

> I get varying degrees of success with no real pattern, once the BIOS
> recognised the drive as a 5GB (which it is) but would not recognise the
> drive when I rebooted, other times when I boot - the sytem specs screen
> show the drive as anything from 'None' to 8MB to 19MB!? But if I manage
> to boot to a floppy (which I can only manage occasionally),

That last suggests the laptop has a major problem and its that
thats producing these other effects with the hard drive too.

I'd concentrate on fixing that and you'll likely find that
the hard drive recognition problem goes away too.

> FDISK will not find any drives no matter what the BIOS thinks.

> The old drive was a 1.3GB drive, could the BIOS version be the problem?

Shouldnt produce those very erratic results even if it was a problem.

> If this is the case is there anything I can do as KTX
> have gone out of business and I dont think I'll be able
> to find a BIOS upgrade anywhere for this machine.

You'll likely find that a drive overlay will work even if the bios does need updating.

> What else could be causing this erratic HDD recognition?

Looks like the laptop has a substantial hardware problem.
What happens if you put the 1.3GB drive back ?