GX740 Optical Bay Hard Drive issue

So a bit of bad news good news here.

Bad news first:

The system hangs at bootup with my other HDD installed, just like when it was used as a USB external. I thought it was because it was FAT32 before first, so I formatted it and it's now NTFS but still hangs. I think the issue is that it tries to use it as a boot drive from the BIOS (BIOS recognizes my eSATA and two SATA drives). When I go select the boot order it only has the Samsung drive (the new one from my old USB external) as a possible HDD option. The only way I can let it boot up is if I manually choose the boot device.

Anyone have a fix for this?

Second and most annoying: I cannot remove this thing! It seems like it's stuck somewhere when I'm trying to pull it out. I can get as far as detaching it from the SATA port inside the laptop but then a little bit after that it gets stuck. I'm guessing it's one of the mounting screws... So anyone have an idea about how to get it out? Maybe disassemble the entire thing? I've tried pulling really hard on it and it's just not coming out.

Okay now the good news. The drive works well when I'm inside Windows. Everything is recognized and the speed isn't bad. CrystalDiskMark reported 73.13 seq read and 68.89 seq write. Pretty decent for a 5400RPM I guess...

 

Seconded.
I recently added and external 2TB hard drive via eSATA and now every time I reboot it tries to boot from the external drive. The only solution is to either disconnect the external drive during boot up or press F11 and select the internal hard drive manually. In the BIOS the external drive is identified as p1 while the internal drive is p4. Unfortunately when changing the boot order you can only select one hard drive and it only offers you the one with the lower p value.

If anyone has a fix for this it would be much appreciated.

 

OK, I managed to devise a work-around to the bootup issue that works at least for me.

The solution is to create a small partition on the secondary hard drive and install Ubuntu or any other linux distribution on it. It's best to just allocate the space on the other hard drive first and only format it during the linux installation (or you could even allocate the space only during the installation). If you're not really interested in dual-booting, as little as 2-3 GB should be sufficient - or probably even less if you use an older distro - that would require some research.

Once Linux is installed you need to edit the grub (or grub2 in case of some newer distros) bootloader to boot to Windows 7 by default and you're done.

The beauty of this solution is that because Linux will be installed on the secondary hard drive the bootloader on the primary drive remains intact. This means that if you remove or disconnect the second drive the system will boot the way it used to before.

Nevertheless this is just a workaround and if someone has a real solution that would be much appreciated.

 

Will try that Linux fix. I'll download Ubuntu on Monday.

Is it difficult to find and edit grub?

 

Not really. Also note that Windows 7 should appear in the bootloader even without any tweaks. You'd just have to manually select to boot to Windows as it would not be the default option. To make it the default option, here's what you do.

If you download the latest Ubuntu, which uses grub2, it's only a matter of renaming a file called 30_os-prober to something with a prefix of lower that 10, for example 06_os-prober. You'd have to issue the following commands:
1. cd /etc/grub.d
2. sudo mv 30_os-prober 06_os-prober
3. sudo update-grub
After that you should be done and can reboot. Now W7 should appear first on the bootloader menu and it should boot to Windows automaticcaly after 10 seconds. Or you could hit enter to boot to Windows instantly. In order to reduce the timeout you'll have to edit another file in Ubuntu. Run "sudo gedit /etc/default/grub". In this file you'll have to locate the line GRUB_TIMEOUT=10 and change the value to a desired one, for example GRUB_TIMEOUT=3, then save the file and exit. It should be possible to change the value to "0" to eliminate the timeout altogether. After editing the file you'll need to update grub again by typing "sudo update-grub". You can of course edit the boot order and the timeout on the same go, that is you don't have to reboot inbetween...

 

Okay I'm on my Ubuntu OS right now. I'm not sure if I did the installation right because Ubuntu is only loaded if I choose to boot from my primary HDD (with the Windows).

I chose the desktop installer and installed Ubuntu from Windows. Then I created a 35GB partition on my problematic drive and installed Ubuntu there.

So is this normal? Because even if I try to boot from the other HDD it hangs (doesn't go into Ubuntu).

Anyways I'll try your commands, thanks.

Okay here is the terminal message:

USER@ubuntu:~$ cd /etc/grub.d
USER@ubuntu:/etc/grub.d$ sudo mv 30_os-prober 06_os-prober
[sudo] password for USER:
USER@ubuntu:/etc/grub.d$ sudo update-grub
Generating grub.cfg ...
Found Windows Vista (loader) on /dev/sdc1
Found Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sdc2
Found Windows 7 (loader) on /dev/sdc3
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-24-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-24-generic
done

I had to enter my password blindly because it didn't show anything when I entered keystrokes.
So is it good to go now?

Thanks.

Edit: okay I just tried booting again and it doesn't boot off of the Samsung.

I think for some reason it's still hooked into Windows... How do I install it directly onto the HDD? USing a usb key?

 

OK. I logged to Ubuntu to make sure I get everything right. So let's try to get to the bottom of this...

First how exactly did you install Ubuntu if you didn't use a live CD or USB stick?

 

Okay I installed it via USB and I think I've got it now.

But the command you gave doesn't seem right because it loads into the recovery partition. Should I change it to 1 or 2 to make it load into Windows 7 (sdc3 I think is the correct one)?

This installation just seemed to make a mess of things in regards to the partitions I'm going to try again with a freshly formatted disk.

 

When restarting the computer, do you see the bootloader?
If you do, is there any delay in the bootloader that enables you to choose, which OS to load?
If yes, what are the options given?
Can you tell me what are the files you have in the /etc/grub.d direcotry.

EDIT. Oh, could you also tell me how many and which operating systems you have installed exactly and where.

 

I do see the boot loader.
I do see the timer.

I have 2 ubuntu options (one is recovery mode the other one is normal)

I also have WIndows Vista (it seems that's the recovery) and two windows 7 ones.

I have 3 physical hard drives, 2 in SATA internal and one eSATA.

I have 320GB that came with the laptop as one whole partition, then Ubuntu is installed on a partition on the second internal HDD (problematic one) with a file partition also on the second HDD. On my eSATA it's just one 500GB partition (whole disk)

I think I messed up by installing i386 instead of AMD64... because the computer doens't restart after finishing the installation and I have to manually hold the button to turn it off. And when I log on again it says something about MCU error hardware not found/supported or something. Then right before it logs in my screen artifacts but then it's normal.

This didn't happen when I used the Windows installer with AMD64 version...

 

OK.

I think I may be on to something, so hang on...

OK, so this part is confusing me... Did you install a 32 bit version of Ubuntu? And what do you mean by the Windows installer?

Unfortunately I'm not yet very familiar with the grub2 bootloader. Things were much more straightforward with grub... You only had to edit one file.

 

Well you know when you go to Ubuntu download page there's also a link to download wubi, which installs Ubuntu through Windows. Unfortunately it seems like the boot file is added to the HDD that Windows is on so that didn't work.

So I uninstalled Ubuntu and installed it again via the USB stick. Now it works except for the things I mentioned. I installed the i386 version which I assume is the 32-bit.

 

I see, actually I didn't know that.

Anyway, I'm going to try something now and if it works we might have a solution

 

OK...

So after some experimenting I think I may have found a solution... or rather, two solutions

It'll take some time to formulate them, so bare with me.
In the meantime could you type "grep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg" in the terminal and copy the results?

 

Sure... in the meantime my network suddenly won't work on it..... It just keeps disconnecting but WIndows works fine.

I think I'll try a fix that'll work.

Update: Okay it worked. I edited the grub file to change the default one to the correct one and changed timer to 2.
It works now but the Internet still doesn't work on Ubuntu... Shame because I wanted to take this chance to explore it a bit.

 

So here's the thing. The files whose names I asked you to change are actually scripts that search for all the OS installations available. The 10_linux searches for versions of the OS that's currently running and the #_os-prober searches for all other possible OS-es. The scripts are run consecutively starting with the ones with lower numbers. Therefore by changing the number of os-prober from 30 to 06 we ensured that it was run before 10_linux and that all the operating systems it discovered were placed higher in the bootloader. Why that wasn't enough to solve your issue was probably because there were other operating systems discovered before the one you wanted to boot to. There are two ways to change the default operating system that I tested and worked for me at least:

#1

1. run "grep menuentry /boot/grub/grub.cfg" - this will give you a list of all available operagin systems.
2. figure out which one is the W7 installation you want to boot to and remember its place on the list
3. run "sudo gedit /etc/default/grub" and replace the "0" in GRUB_DEFAULT=0 with the number of the desired operating system. Note that the numbering starts from 0 so the OS that was first on the list is #0, the one that was second is #1 etc.
4. save, exit and run "sudo update-grub". That should be it.

#2

1. open terminal and run "gedit /boot/grub/grub.cfg"
2. open another terminal and run "sudo gedit /etc/grub.d/40_custom"
3. copy all the menuentries similar to this
   Code:

    menuentry "Windows 7 Home Premium" {
           insmod part_msdos
           insmod ntfs
           set root='(hd1,msdos1)'
           search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set faf83b3df83af809
           chainloader +1
   } 

   from the "grub.cfg" file to the "40_custom" file. Change the order of the entries to your liking with the default operating system being the first.
4. save the "40_custom" file and exit both gedits.
5. type "sudo chmod -x 10_linux 20_memtest86+ 20_linux_xen *_os-prober" - that will disable these scripts. To re-enable them run the command with +x option instead of -x.
6. now type "sudo update-grub" and you're done

Note that with option #2 you may change the names of the operating systems in the bootloader (just replace the default name between the quotes with one you prefer).
Also note that option #2 is static. That means it won't adapt to any changes you make to your operating systems, e.g. when you delete some of them or install new ones. In order to synchronize grub with major OS changes you need to re-enable the scripts you disabled in step 5, temporarily disable 40_custom by running "sudo chmod -x 40_custom" and update the grub by "sudo update-grub". Then go through all the steps of #2 again.
You can still change the default OS as in #1 even if you opt for option #2.

 

Wow thanks for the in-depth explanation you really know your linux lol. I used option 1 through some googling and it's working atm.

 

Okay so the software problem is "fixed" now... but I still need to see if I can remove the damn thing... Is it possible to take off the entire bottom plate of the laptop?

 

Now that's a gross overstatement but thanks . I must admit I do enjoy trying to figure these sorts of things out

I'm glad it worked.
As for the hardware issue I have no experience with your notebook model but I'm sure the bottom plate can be removed. However I suspect it would require basically dismantling the whole laptop down to removing the keyboard, the LCD etc (at least to do it properly). You can try googling for a service manual for your model or some older ones from MSI that share the same chassis.
Another thing that might be worth a shot is to loosen some of the screws on the bottom panel around the optical drive bay. It might be enough to release some of the pressure holding it in place enabling you to remove it.

 

Okay I just spent about an hour trying to figure out where it's stuck on.

I used a strip of paper and poked it down into the optical bay slot. On the bottom and top sides it doesn't feel like the paper gets stuck on anything. Some places takes a bit of effort to get through but it reaches the end everywhere I try it.

So now I'm puzzled because it's not getting stuck on the top or bottom (as I originally suspected). So it's possible to be stuck on one of the sides?

BTW my method is probably not thorough so don't rule out the possibility just yet.

 

I have received mine today and I'm un the same exact situation you are in. the only way I find to remove my gard drive caddy was to put the laptop upright (lid up) and slide the caddy out. It would simply jam if the laptop was in any other position.

 

I tried it with the lid up and it still seemed to be stuck on something.

Where does yours get stuck on anyway?

Mine got stuck after the first set of mounting screws came out (looking at the bottom). It doesn't come out very far.

 

I have a 640, but it slide back about 1-1.5 inches and got stuck. It's seemed like it got caught on some sort of hook. It behaved the same on my gx620.

 

Okay I'll try it again when I get home today... but I doubt I'll be able to get it open without propping up the whole lid because it doesn't do it even with lid facing up.

 

I've finally gotten it out! It was so simple! Thanks for Ghola for telling me there's a guard pushing it in place...

So stupid because I've stuck a piece of paper in there before and it didn't work. I tried with a cardboard cutout and it worked so easily and smooth I didn't believe it at first lol.

Took me 5 seconds to realize the thing was actually out.

 

to funny, i had the same issues as well,

moral of the story, examine the interface real good before you start, and this wouldn't have been an issue

 

haha, this happened to me a while back with my gx640. I just keeping wiggling and pulling for an hour and just when i thought all hope was lost... it magically popped out.

 

Another workaround for the system not booting with an external drive connected is to make sure you do not do a clean Windows installation with the external drive connected, or at the very least not powered on. I had this exact same problem and ended up having to copy all the data from my eSATA external drive to spare USB drive I had, perform a low-level format of the eSATA drive, reinstall Windows without any external drives connected, then once it was up and running, plugging in, formatting, and re-copying the data back to the eSATA drive.

This is a showstopping problem. Perhaps if we all e-mail MSI and post on their support forums, they will sort out a fix of some kind.

 

a really easy work around is to install acronis OS selector, then uninstall it. Upon, uninstall it'll ask you which OS to default to, and tada it defaults and you dont need to choose anymore.

 

I have Snow Leopard on partition 1 in the drive bay HD, chameleon is my selector.

 

I've just got one of these, mine is stuck.

I tried to slide paper and cardboard under it, didn't help.

I can't get it out

 

There's 4 pins pushing it down and holding it in place.

Get a large piece of cardboard (matching width and length) that goes all the way into the bay and make sure you reach the end. You might have a push it a little bit some places that has the pin pushing it down but make sure you get to the end and get separation between the bay and the pins.

BTW the kind of cardboard I used with mine is the thin kind but is just like hardened paper (used in many food packagings)

Do this on the top (keyboard side) as that's where the pins are.

Just keep trying, doing a few nudges and it'll come loose.

 

Well I gave up, just took the notebook apart and bent those metal things that hold it in.
Now the drive can be taken out without cardboard or anything.

 

So if a second HDD is installed a ODD/HDD caddy the laptop will try to boot of the 2nd bay?
Have any tried changing the boot sequence in the bios to set the main drive to but first?

I installed a 2nd drive on the Clevo B5100m and was able to change the hdd boot sequence in the bios so the system wouldn't hang.

 

I am able to change the hdd boot sequence in my bios. But I have a GT627 not a GX740.

 

The GX640/GX740 do not have that option unfortunately.

 

Yep, it recognizes the ODD has master and the actual HDD slot as a slave, which is why it boots off the ODD.

In the BIOS the HDD in the optical bay simply replaces the normal HDD (you can't see the normal HDD in bios anymore)