Computer won't recognize hard drives

[BIGBL]

HP Pavilion won't recognize hard drive, what should I do. The computer boots up but can't see any drives in my computer.

 

[cyberspace]

Well if the PC actually boots then it must recognize a drive!

Can you give a little more information?

How many drives do you have?

When you turn on your PC, take a look in the BIOS (press whatever button is labelled as "Press <button> for Setup" -usually either F1, Del or Esc.

See what is listed under the drives

'When all else fails.......read the manual'

 

[Sival]

Seems to me that you two have differing ideas of what "boots up" means. I think BIGBL is saying the computer turns on but stops because it cannot find a hard drive to boot from. It could be the drive is bad, or perhaps a cable is loose or bad. Then again, could also be a motherboard problem (though not likely). I'd check the cables to the drive, both to make sure they're good and that they're firmly attached. If nothing still, attach the drive to another computer to see if it is detected. If not, the drive is toast. If so, could be a problem with the board.

 

[cyberspace]

Ah - yes that is logical Sival! My mistake, I did indeed assume that by saying the machine boots, that the OS had loaded.

For my own information - am I incorrect in this assumption?

'When all else fails.......read the manual'

 

[Sival]

cyberspace, I think you are correct in your assumption, although I suppose some would argue over interpretation. The actual boot process is the computer running the sequence of commands used to load the OS. So in my mind if the computer boots, the OS does get loaded successfully. However, I have heard many use it in the context that BIGBL did.

 

[BIGBL]

Sorry I haven't gotten back to you, the problem is resolved. The cables became unseated (a simple problem that I should have never bothered you with) I panicked, sorry for the trouble.