Toshiba a100-027 HDD problem

[DomS]

Hello,
I have a Toshiba Equium A10javascript:void(0)0-027 which will not boot up:
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel Boot Agent.
Operating System not found
The HDD has now been wiped and can be seen OK, when connected to a desktop. XP Disk Management sees the (SATA 80GB) disk as "Healthy" and can format it, although Partition Magic 8 sees the disk as BAD and cannot format/partition it.
Also, when booting from a CD to install XP, it starts OK, then hangs in the primary setup screen, possibly when trying to copy files to the HDD.
Is the HDD controller on the motherboard of the laptop or on the SATA HDD?
TIA for any help/suggestions!
Dom

 

[almartin]

Run CHKDSK from the command prompt and see if it has bad sectors. The HDD controller is on the motherboard.

 

[fzabkar]

Try a comprehensive SMART diagnostic. Look for reallocated, pending, or uncorrectable sectors.

HD Sentinel (DOS / Windows / Linux):
http://www.hdsentinel.com/

HDDScan for Windows:
http://hddscan.com/

See this article for SMART info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

 

[almartin]

Try booting from your XP disc and run repair