[Tootech]

Noose, all of what you have explained makes a great deal of sense, and explains why you cannot see the hard drive.

Thanks for coming back and letting us know.

Attempting to download a CD is not the right way to go, and please be aware that Free PC Help will not help you reinstall Windows with a downloaded XP CD or Recovery CD.

Let us know how you get on with Fujitsu. If you manage to get a CD out of them, have a look back at the suggestion to run a chkdsk from the Recovery Console.

Failing that, you could use a USB adapter and plug your drive into another machine and chkdsk it from there - it does sometimes work.

Often, that is all that is needed to get a system to boot again.

[noose]

Don't worry im not going down the download route! I did find a company tht specialises in selling fujitsu recovery disks...heres the link Fujitsu Siemens Scales and Scenic PC European and Eire XP Repair, Recovery and Restore CDs from Genner Sales Europe and Ireland.

Wat do you think? if I don't get any luck with getting a cd from fujitsu maybe I can get one from the company above,damn site cheaper..

Will I be able to put my hard-drive into my mums dell laptop? then chkdsk? Is that easy? And u mentioned about using a usb adaptor? I don't really get what u mean by that? i know wat a usb adaptor is...

[Tootech]

I've used Genner Sales before, they do have a .co.uk website...

XP and Vista Recovery CDs, Repair CDs and Restore CDs to reinstall Windows onto the hard disk drive of major brand computers.

My experience with them has been good. Normally you receive an XP or Recovery CD - not an MS original, a driver CD and instructions.

USB to SATA adapters, have a look here...

SATA IDE to USB Converter Universal Drive Adapter Cable on eBay, also, IDE, Cables Connectors, Computing (end time 15-Dec-08 00:52:29 GMT)

There are lots of around, you would probably be able to buy one locally. Basically there is a cable with a USB connector on one end, and a SATA connector on the other. Also, there is a mains power adapter that will plug into the drive. That means you can power it, and plug it into the USB port of another machine. It's really a caddy without the case

Then you can pull all your data off the drive, put it back in your laptop and wipe it. It's probably the easiest thing to do .

[RandyL]

I hope you get the right one this time. If you order the wrong one you might be out money needlessly. Personally I would spend the extra 25 pounds and buy from fujitsu. At least then you are assured of getting the right one this time.

Also note that you will still need your license key that hopefully is still attached to your computer.

[noose]

Just had some light shed on this situation from my brother whom had the laptop before me from new,before he gave me the laptop he went to do a clean install and he had same problem,basically cudnt find the sata drive...The reason for this is that the laptop has been made for vista but my bro wanted xp home instaed coz he prefered it,so it wnt let u reinstall coz its downgrading..He actualy came onto this web site and asked for advice and got told a solution,and its somewhere on this help forum,im havin trouble finding it....aparently a few others have had the same problem,but have sorted it thanx to peoples advice on this site..

Don't supppose anyone knows the link or the solution??

Who is your brother Noose?

[noose]

I found it haha......my brothers name on this forum is stylianou

Resolving "Setup did not find any hard disk drives" during Windows XP Installationa

Look Noose your gonna have real problems installing XP to a Vista based laptop mate, I wish you had said this in the beginning.

[noose]

Lol,but i didnt think tbh.....sorry....cant be tht difficult can it? neway,i only be able to do a repair to solve the issue of gettin stuck at the loading screen,the reinstall another day...all the info is on tht page,ill just follow it up,its worked for others...

[Tootech]

If I have this right Noose, this was a Vista laptop, and because you brother didn't like Vista, he reinstalled XP?

Good luck with the slipstreaming.

[noose]

I really don't know what to do now folks,im really frustrated,the laptop is sitting there and i can't even use it,its useless really..What do i do? I can't actually get into windows on my laptop because it gets stuck on loading screen,i cnt go in safe mood,wnt let me do sod all..coz my system is built for vista i cant run the xp disk i got with the laptop because my computer has a storage controller that isnt supported natively in xp,usually an SATA controller.

The laptop im using at the moment has xp home installed,is there anyway i can make a disk up on this laptop im using? so when i run the cd my laptop will recognise it so then i can get past that stupid message about not finding a hard-drive on this system,then run repair or even a clean install??? theres got to be a way round this? I will even pay someone if i have to,im not sending it off to fujitsu though......someone please help

[noose]

He got the system from fujitsu,but had xp installed on,he didnt install it on,fujitsu did the installing

[noose]

Yeah but that means forking out money for vista,but my machine came out of the factory with xp home,but its vista based laptop..i havnt got the money to go and buy a new operating system,maybe in time i will....i just want xp back and my laptop back to normal...

[RandyL]

noose it would seem that there is no operating system on it at all. First you said your brother downgraded it and now you say it came with XP on it.

Either way you need to install an OS. There is only one way to do that. Buy the disks.

[noose]

there is an os on it,its running xp home,the laptop itself is a vista ready machine,but it has xp home currently installed on it,thats how it came from the factory. Its been running fine until sunday when it crashed,then when i re-booted it,it keeps getting stuck at the xp loading screen,wnt start in safe mode either..so inserted the xp home recovery cd that came with the laptop and when it got to setup i was greeted by the message about not finding a hard-drive on this system..i only wanted to do a repair or a fresh install but it wont let me..The cd-rom tht came with the laptop wont read my sata drive..
Looks like ill be on the phone again to fujitsu charged at 60 pence a minute

[BeeCeeBee]

Noose with all due respect it is time to close this thread.

It is becoming impossible to follow and much too much of the information is second hand. If you have a valid XP license on the bottom of the lappy that should simplify your ability to get your hands on the proper discs for your machine. If not you will have to secure a new OS. Either way you must follow Randy's advice if you hope to ever use this machine again.