Eee PC IDE drive not detected

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jlrb

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I recently purchased an Eee PC 1000HA. After a few days of normal use, the machine froze while editing a PowerPoint presentation. I clearly remember seeing the HDD LED in a steady green. I then turned the netbook off. After I started a cold (normal) boot, I realized the HDD LED never lit again. The following message was presented on-screen: "Reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key".

I then tried to boot with the recovery CD through an external drive. The recovery program (on the CD) started nicely, but was unable to write to the HDD. Next, I pressed F2 to look at the BIOS setup. I then realized, under the "Advanced" tab, "IDE configuration", that the primary IDE master was not detected. In fact, the HDD LED never lit again after the first failure.

Of course, it can be an HDD failure, but I would rate it very unlikely (the netbook is less than 2 months old, and had a very mild use). Therefore, my question is: has anyone experienced a similar failure? Is there any procedure to make the BIOS "seeing" the HDD again?

Jose
 

ampedal

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There's a good chance your hard drive just came loose.

On the bottom of the case on 99% of laptops there is a way to access the hard drive. It should look like a door with a couple small screws. If you can't figure it out, I'm sure someone could tell you how to find it.

Once you locate the hard drive - try pulling it out and reseating it.

If that doesn't work. Try listening to it with the bay door removed. Does it hum, rattle, sound odd?

I'm sure we can figure it out...and if not - Asus has an RMA program, I'm sure it's still covered
 

jlrb

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I did as you suggested, being careful to not break the plastic cover and voiding the warranty. The hard disk was firmly seated in place, but I just disconnected it and re-connected again. No luck. Computer does not boot and BIOS says it has detected no hard drive at all.

The hard disk was a brand-new 160 GB Seagate Momentus, but it looks like it is defective. I will probably have to return the machine to Asus for replacement or repair.

Thanks anyway for the advice.

Jose
 
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