Need help fixing operating system not found problem

I have a 3 year old presario f700 compaq laptop computer with vista home premium. Yesterday i was using my computer when it froze. I had to use force shutdown to shutdown the computer. When i turned it back on, it came up with the normal initial compaq screen which then went to a black screen with "operating system not found" on it. I have tried to turn in on after force shutting down many times only to come up with the same operating system not found screen. It does not seem like the hard drive is found in th bios because when i try to run the test hard drive test, the test does not run, a no IDE message or something like that come up right after i click test. The memory test does work and does pass. Any suggestions for me to try or any comments on what you think may be wrong will be greatly appreciated.

Reply 1 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

Can you supply this message?

"and put it in quotes"

My thoughts are failed HDD or bios setting but without the message I think it's the HDD.

Reply 2 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

When i try to run the primary hard disk self test in bios, the test fails to run and a test status error of " No IDE Device" is listed.

Reply 3 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

...since it's a laptop, pull out the hard drive and re-seat it by putting it back in.. The connections may simply have become loose or corroded.

http://www.insidemylaptop.com/disassemble-compaq-presario-f700-notebook/

If reseating the hard drive doesn't get it done, then start by running a repair install to see if the CD installation fixes the issue. (If the BIOS is recognizing the drive, this probably won't work, but it's worth a try.) If the drive won't accept the reinstall, then you'll need to start looking for a new hard drive.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Reply 4 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

I tried your suggestion but it did not work unfortunately. It appears that i will need a new hard drive. Can you give me a link or point me in the direction of what hard drive would work for a replacement ?

Reply 5 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

It sounds like a hard drive issue to me too. However the adapter that connects the sata ports on the hard drive to the motherboard of the laptop can on occasion be the culprit. Check to see if any of the gold pins are bent. I would remove the hard drive from your machine, then hook it up to another machine and see if it is recognized. If not you prob do have a faulty hard drive.

Reply 6 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

I do not see any gold pins where the hard drive is placed in.

Reply 7 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

Did you system at anytime offer up a SMART attention post? If it did, then the HD was failing. Most here mentioned a bad HD or connection as your response was the system doesn't see the HD anymore. That strongly suggests a bad HD. if none of fixes here work, then don't try to reload the OS, etc. if you deem the data currently on the HD super important. You will need though to replace old HD with new if you want that option to re-use the laptop. Otherwise, remove laptop HD and using an adapter or ext. USB enclosure access old data from a desktop system or yet another laptop. At the same time the laptop being an older model may have given up the ghost as the mtrbd. got hosed. If you have access to another HD to mount in place of old one, try it.

tada -----Willy

Reply 8 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

And please avoid the question option when posting as it hinders your discussion. At just a few posts you see "Note: Due to the depth of this Q&A discussion thread, no
additional replies can be accepted for this post. If you have an answer
to offer or need clarification of the original question, please reply
to the original post at the beginning of this thread."

-> The default settings for this laptop has no IDE port. That's proper as it has SATA ports. Try the defaults of the BIOS.
Bob

Reply 9 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

R. Proffitt : How do I try the defaults of the BIOS ?

Reply 10 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

Restart hit ESC it should open the BIOS and reset to default should be in some menu there.

Reply 11 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

I see on various websites that putting a failed hard drive in a freezer for a few hours will lead to a few minutes of the hard drive working once again. Should i try this? and if the hard drive works after freezing it, does that prove the hard drive has failed and is the reason for the operating system not found error?

Reply 12 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

The frozen hard drive trick generally is used for retrieving only small amounts of data if no backups have been made previously.. In your case, you want the hard drive to continue working forever.. It's not a good troubleshooting method for most.

As to where to purchase a new hard drive, you could order a replacement from HP/Compaq although it will be expensive there, or try searching the net for such.. Sites, like newegg.com, tigerdirect.com, and a few others should have what you want.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Reply 13 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

I have already done that. I still get the "No IDE Device" message

Reply 14 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

Would this hard drive fit in my laptop and work? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Western+Digital+-+Scorpio+Blue+250GB+Internal+Serial+ATA+Hard+Drive+for+Laptops/9024147.p?id=1218012522486&skuId=9024147

Reply 15 : Need help fixing operating system not found problem

It looks to be the correct size and of SATA type. You'll need to save the brackets on the old hard drive and place them on the new one, but the drive looks appropriate for your computer.. It's not the fastest drive but it's inexpensive and Western Digital is a known brand.

Hope this helps.

Grif