Haiiii i buy new compaq laptop.....i have os vista....i want linux....but hard disk is not detecting.what i want to do...

If you installed Linux successfully on your hard disk then the hard disk is OK.
If you are installing Windows Xp and it does not detect the hard disk but the BIOS detects the hard disk then -
The problem is that XPinstallation CD does not have a SATA driver, unless you have a SATA drive on adisk etc. and can install the driver when XP asks for a hard drive driver then,XP cannot detect the hard disk and therefore won't install XP.The FIX.Go into the BIOS anddisable the SATA drive (enable IDE emulation), this will make XP think it is aIDE/PATA hard disk. Then you can install XP normally. When Windows hasbeen installed then install all the device drivers (including the SATA driver),then shut down and boot up and got into the BIOS and enable the SATA drive.

The Windows edition listed in BIOS (Vista) is referring to the operating system that came with the computer. BIOS's System Diagnostics will always say the OS is Vista, because that is the original OS that HP put on the system. BIOS itself, however, cannot detect an operating system on the new Hard Drive because there is no operating system. In order to get an operating system, you have a couple options:

Depending on the terms and length of your warranty, you may be able to get HP to reinstall the operating system back onto the new Hard Drive. The amount you would pay depends on the warranty. Many warranties, however, become void when you change physical components in the computer (especially with laptops). If this is the case, you will have to try the next option.
You can buy a retail copy of Windows either online or from an electronics store. The price will depend on what edition you purchase, but it will probably cost you at least $100 US.
You can install a Linux operating system on your Hard Drive. If you've never heard of Linux, it is an operating system based on much of the same code as Mac operating systems, but has a more "Windows-like" feel to it. Linux operating systems are NOT the same as windows, and some programs that work in Windows will not work in Linux; you would need to find the Linux counterpart for these programs. One of the best things about Linux operating systems are that they are absolutely free to download, install and use. A very popular and stable Linux operating system is Ubuntu, which can be found at: http://www.ubuntu.com/

No, the hard disk has nothing to do with what OS are you going to use; you can install whatever OS you want, even a free Linux, or if you install the hard disk along another one that already has an OS installed.

Usually the installer should have a function to allow you to wipe the disk, or delete partitions.

If it doesn't, and you do not care about the hard disk content, and it is acceptable to wipe out the entire hard disk, you can do so in Linux.

(There is a utility which will do everything for you - Darik's Boot and Nuke, you find it at http://www.dban.org/ . I'm also giving you the "manual" instructions below, though).

Boot with Ubuntu Live, open Terminal, become root with 'su'.

Now you need to know how your disk is "seen" by Linux. Since you only have the one disk and nonexistent disks will fail, we can try all the likely hard disk names. The first command that does NOT fail saying "No such device" is the good one:

fdisk /dev/sda
fdisk /dev/hda
fdisk /dev/cciss/c0d0
fdisk /dev/rd/c0d0
fdisk /dev/ida/c0d0

One of these commands (likely the first or second) will give you a menu ending in "Command (m for help)". type "p" and press Enter to list partitions; there should be only one and it should be a Linux type, probably 83. If it isn't, stop - something's wrong. But it should be.

The first column will say something like "/dev/sda3". Note the number at the end, here "3". You'll likely have "1".

Now type, "d" and press Enter. You'll be asked which partition to delete. Type the same number you saw earlier. Type "w" and Enter to save changes and exit. Type "q" and Enter to exit without changes. The partition can still be recovered, but the disk is now "unlocked".

Reboot and install the OS of your choice. The previous hard disk contents will be permanently lost, and you'll get a shiny new empty partition with a working OS.

You can also erase the disk without using fdisk (but you still need to know how it's named, and for that you can use fdisk) by typing

dd if = /dev/zero of = /dev/sda bs=1M count = 12

Here we suppose the disk turned out to be /dev/sda.

This will write twelve megabytes of zeroes to the beginning of the disk, effectively wiping any OS information there could be there. All disk data are as good as lost. The disk is now, to all installing purposes, a perfect blank. Reboot and install the OS of your choice.

Just for the record, omitting "count" will zealously wipe out the whole hard disk surface, all partitions, all data, irretrievably (except using residual hysteresis detection equipment - doubt if even NSA would take the trouble). This can be handy when decommissioning computers.

There are also

I had the same issue with sony vaio, try to download superdisc and the burn it to a bootable cd. Boot the system from the superdisc and then try to erase the MBR and then try to install, it should work.

No, you need to go into your computer's BIOS and set the ahcp mode to IDE. Then windows xp will see it just fine.

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rhel ? redhat linux ???

be that as it may if that happens to be a desktop computer... is it a sata hard drive ??

Robert

first of all let me tell u one thing u cannot install XP when you have Vista, cause higher version will never take a lower version of os. for this i recommend that u format your hard disk drive. now you say that you computer says there is no hard drive detected for this is recommend do little change in your cmos setup disable sata port thats it

you need to get some operating system.
like XP or Vista.
you can get XP disk with some of your friends if they have..
or you have to buy those operating systems...
and after loading disks into your disk drive disk is autometically get started...to load XP or vista..

Hi,

Initially it may be suspected that your laptop is detecting a hardware problem, probably the hard disk. Since it partially boots and there is display, the following can be ruled out: video card, memory and display systems. That would leave us the hard disk and the motherboard left. If the motherboard is in question, chances are it is the BIOS.

Pls try and verify that the hard disk is connected snugly. The hard drive is usually inside one of the slots covered by a panel/lid held by a single screw.

If your concern has not been corrected after completion of the above procedures, further diagnosis may be required.

Hope this be of initial help/idea. Pls post back how things turned up or should you need additional information.

Good luck and kind regards.

Thank you for using FIXYA.