🚀 go-pugleaf

High Life <jason[remove this]@basstech.com.au> wrote in message
news:SSlV5.11532$GW5.74809@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Rod Speed <rod_speed@yahoo.com> wrote
>> High Life <jason[remove this]@basstech.com.au> wrote

>>> 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.

> Actually when the drive isnt installed, it boots to a DOS prompt
> using a win98 boot disk with no trouble. Just sometimes when
> the drive is installed it is almost seems like it skips the boot
> sequence and comes up with 'no operating system found'.

Thats normal if you havent actually installed an OS on it yet.

> I did notice when I first got the drive that it had a 'rattle' in it,
> I thought this was strange but seeing as though it was new
> I presumed it was normal, could the new drive be faulty?

'rattles' are a problem, it can just be the drive recalibrating.
That doesnt last long tho if it is just recalibrating.

'rattles' can also be the drive having no success reading
the platter and its recalibrating and retrying continually.

That can make the drive not appear to be present,
the drive doesnt respond to the bios interrogation
at boot time if it cant manage to start up properly.

The different is how long it 'rattles' for.

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

> The old drive is faulty so I cant reinstall it to test the rest of the system.

Thats a bit of a worry tho, its possible its actually the
laptop thats faulty and not the hard drive at all. Its a
real worry that it doesnt reliably boot a bootable floppy.

Corse the last could be unrelated, just a dud floppy drive too.

> I may take the new drive to a mate and get him
> to whack it on another working machine to test it.

Yeah, thats the best test to do now.