TM4101WLMi - Changed the HDD, not being detected in the bios anymore

Hi everyone, I changed the hard drive on my travelmate 4101WLMi, replaced the original Hitachi 60gb 4200rpm with a Samsung 80gb 5400 rpm. I power on after the replacement, and find out the bios doesn't recognize any hdd anymore. So i tried to put the old Hitachi back in place but still nothing, no hdd being detected . If anyone has any tips or advice reguarding the problem,it would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance to everyone.

 

What sort of connector does the system use? Card edge or pin connector? Card edge are almost always polarized so there should be no issue there. Pin connectors can be a wierd making it possible to bend a pin when reattaching the connector. So check for smushed pins...smushed pins can be fatal as they can often break when trying to straighten them back out.

Last (or maybe first) is the new drive a regular old ATA/EIDE drive? Not a SATA drive? If it is a SATA drive it will no workie...maybe boxes will call name them in a somewhat decieving fashion. They can write it as "Serial ATA". Which makes it easy to grab the wrong drive.

Ortherwise, can you hear/feel the drive spin up at all during POST (Power up)? Another possibility is you need to enter your systems BIOS and tell it there is a new drive. Save the changes then see what happens. I suspect the BIOS could be confused by the swaps. Sounds silly but seen it happen...

Hang in there...

My money is one a bent pin or you didn't get the adapter off the old drive and on to the new drive the right way... BTW, I doubt you killed anything so don't panic much...well, yet anyay...

 

There may be some clues at http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/travel_install_faqs.htm . If this HDD has an ATA connector, note that some of the pins are for jumpers - see http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib.nsf/techdocs/B789225B230EA01C86256CEC007B2D3F/$file/T5K80_ig.pdf . It might be physically possible to be putting the HDD in the wrong way up and thereby getting everything connected incorrectly. One pin should be missing on the HDD and there should not be a hole in the corresponding position on the plug (but often there is).

And once you have checked that the HDD is connected properly, check the other end of the connecting cable. This may have become dislodged. The first priority is to get the old HDD running again. After that you can retry with the new one.

John

 

Hi grumpy3b, first of all, i wanted to thank you for the fast answer. I already checked if any pins on both the old and new drive are bent, they are okay. In the system BIOS i have no ways to interact with the peripherals settings (acer laps bioses are stupid >.<). I'm starting to suspect the controller on the mainboard suddenly died for no apparent reason. Oh and the new hdd is a ide one like my old, i connected it correctly, i'm 99% sure of that ^^

 

Thanks to you too John, i'll try to get my old Hitachi back running first =)

 

Ok guys, some news: i think it's not powering on the Hard Drive anymore (of course both the old and the new, no difference) I can't hear it spinning up at the start. What can i do now ?

 

Double-check the cable and connectors. Look hard to see if there is any damage to the cable. If still no life, then do you have, or can get access to, an external USB 2.5" caddy so you can check the HDDs? (I would expect them to be still OK unless you managed to misconnect comething sufficient to fry the electronics).

John

 

Sorry for the newbie question, but how do i check cable and connectors ? I just attached it to the pin thingie, there's no other connection i thought ? >.< thanks!

 

dakrypto,

sounds as if you have been doing the stuff ya need to for troubleshooting what is indeed a weird issue.

This is a way outta left field thought, but did you remove the battery and disconnect from power? It's very, very unlikely that could cause something to fry when removing the drive but one never knows for sure.

I think John's suggestion to connect the drive via USB (you need ANY el cheapo USB drive enclosure) might be your easiest step if you care not up on how to open the case to examine the connectors likely there are no true cables and the connectors are hardwired into the MB...anyway that might not do any good but stranger things have happened.

Even if you don't have any USB enclosures you can likely find them cheapest at a small computer shop where you live. Or if you have a Fry's or other HUGE Electronics store maybe there. Otherwise they can cost a bit more at places like Staples/Office Depot/Office Max/etc...oh, I have also seen them at the bigger Walmart stores. And remember you need a USB enclosure for a 2.5" drive not a 3.5" drive. Doesn;t matter if it is a USB 1.x or 2.0 for these purposes.

BTW, the idea of connection as a USB device is to check if the drive is actually OK. Beyond the enclosure you will also need another computer with USB ports to actually connect to...if all os doeable then connect one drive see if it works, take that drive out of the enclosure, put the other drive in and connect it...if the computer finds the drives when you connect them and you can hear them spin AND then find the drive in Windows Explorer then the drive is good. But do this for each drive...if both test OK then there is a problem with your laptop which might be beyond how much you yourself can do to Dx or fix.

good luck!!

 

If the problem is with the HD connector then there should be power in the USB slots and an external drive should power up. It may also be possible, if the BIOS permits, to boot off the external HDD (just get the BIOS to think it is a USB floppy).

I don't know the insides of this computer, but most HDDs are connected by a ribbon cable which would have the HDD connector at one end (with possibly an adaptor) and a connection onto the motherboard at the other end. This is more likely to be come form of plug/socket rather than be soldered.

John

 

Problem not solved.. it started to detect the old hdd suddenly so i put the new one back and it's again like before

 

Now it's not seeing not even the dvd-drive anymore >.< but that happened before while i was in windows too already i won't ever buy acer again..

I guess i'll just trash this laptop.. it's totally nouse. By the way i was gonna change the hard drive because i was getting random freezes of the laptop lately and i assumed it was the hdd .. but i guess it's not the only problem that this lappy has :\

 

bummer dude!! It could be the motherboard has gone on the fritz...I just had my dell inspiron 8500 mb croak so I get it about the frustration. I take it there is no warranty left on your system?

Too bad as I had read good things about Acer systems. But on the bright side you should be able to sell the components on eBay and get some money back. The display has to be worth a couple hundred give or take. The HDD's will bring something as will all the plastics& case parts...even the fan will be worth listing. People are always buying parts for laptops over there...it might not me much but it's better then using it as a paperweight...

Wish it had turned out better for you...

 

I appreciate all your efforts in trying to fix the problem a lot. And yes, warranty is gone so i'll just try to sell spare pieces around i guess