new DELL Laptop windows 8 or 8.1 no boot HD not detected

Mainmat

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Aug 17, 2015
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I never got far enough to find out the state of the windows or even what kind it is. It say 8 on the tag. It IS recognized in the Bios. I've reseated everything. All I get is a black screen 'Hard drive not detected try to reseat HD or F1 to try again or F2 enter setup, F3 PSA Your assistance would be greatly appreciated
 
Hi there Mainmat,

So you have a new Win 8 laptop and you get an error message that the HDD is not detected right?
If this is the case, you need to go to BIOS and see whether the drive is recognized and how(does it show its full capacity).
In case you have another system, you can just attach the drive with SATA to USB cable and see if it will be properly recognized. You can even test it with some of these: http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/forum/282651-32-best-diagnostic-testing-utility

Cheers,
D_Know_WD
 

Mainmat

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Aug 17, 2015
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Yes, it's recognized in the Bios. It lists the numbers and the 1000 gigs which is full capacity. That's one cable I don't think I have. I have numerous cables but that would be a handy one. I currently have two Desktop systems running, win7 and 10. But, unfortunately, they are desktops.
 

Mainmat

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Aug 17, 2015
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Hello, I'm looking at the Bios and on the Advanced tab there is an option that says: SATA operation (AHCI)
So, you are saying change mine to IDE and try reboot?
 

dfk

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Dec 23, 2013
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Windows 8 might not load if it was installed in different mode, so probably worth a try if AHCI doesnt work for you. Also would help if you could provide info on what Dell laptop model is that and drive model info if possible, thanks.
 

Mainmat

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Aug 17, 2015
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yes, pardon me, its a Dell inspiron 15 core i3 it has 1 terebyte HD.
 

dfk

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Steps to check if the drive is installed properly: see different instruction depending on drive height, 9.5mm or 7mm.
http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN142653/en

Try tapping <F12> quickly at the Dell splash screen to see if you can run diagnostics.
http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN155163/en

Reset the BIOS to Default Values
If your computer is set to first attempt to boot to another device, this may cause issues with successfully booting to Windows. To reset your computer's BIOS to factory defaults, perform the following steps:

Restart the computer.
- At the Dell logo during restart, tap the <F2> key repeatedly until you see Entering Setup in the top right corner of the screen.
- Depending on the BIOS, you may need to press a key listed at the bottom of the screen to load default settings. For example, <F9> on the Inspiron N5110.
- Press ESC to exit the BIOS, and be sure to select Save and Exit to save your changes.
 

Mainmat

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Aug 17, 2015
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I went through a procedure to reseat the drive again. Ran diagnostics again, all passed. No success
Attempting to reset Bios now to default. Still the same, no HD detected. I'm afraid the HD must've crashed but it made no sound, its nearly bran new and it registers in Bios just fine. I just don't get it