How to Verify if Hard Drive is Dead or Alive?

pennypincher3562

Hi

I am trying to fix a relative's laptop for them - a Toshiba Satellite L50D.

Windows won't boot up, and it's giving an error message along the lines of 'no bootable device recognised.'

Oddly however, the Toshiba hard drive is still recognised by the BIOS. Is this a sign that the hard drive is still alive?

How do I verify if the HDD is ok or not, before moving on to the next step?

Thanks in advance.

Mr.Generous

whip it out, stick it in an external drive caddy and attach it to a working computer. If it wont open in disk management its probably kaput. You can try some disk recovery software - manufactures of hard drives will usually have it on their website free, but if disk management wont open a drive its usually time to get a new one.

pennypincher3562

Mr.Generous wrote: »

whip it out, stick it in an external drive caddy and attach it to a working computer. If it wont open in disk management its probably kaput. You can try some disk recovery software - manufactures of hard drives will usually have it on their website free, but if disk management wont open a drive its usually time to get a new one.

Thanks Mr Generous, I don't have a drive caddy, and I'm afraid that I can't justify buying one yet for this job (as I'm doing this as a favour for someone.)

It's got a Toshiba HDD in it. I can't find any diagnostic tools for Toshiba branded drives.

Could I get away with using HDD diagnostics from the like of Seagate?

Thanks.

GunJack

you could try booting the lappy from something like a windows disk or hiren's bootcd and repairing the master boot record of the hdd. Or at least copy any pics docs and music off onto a usb stick, if it's readable, of course...

quite often a hdd will still show in the BIOS even if it's borked...

pennypincher3562

I've managed to install Windows Vista from an old disc I found in the cupboard. That is 100% proof to me that the hard drive is not dead.

I'd imagine the next step is to get the owner of the laptop to order a 'recovery dvd' from Toshiba for about 40 quid - if they had read the manual when they bought the laptop, it would have cost nothing!

NiftyDigits

pennypincher3562 wrote: »

I've managed to install Windows Vista from an old disc I found in the cupboard. That is 100% proof to me that the hard drive is not dead.

I'd imagine the next step is to get the owner of the laptop to order a 'recovery dvd' from Toshiba for about 40 quid - if they had read the manual when they bought the laptop, it would have cost nothing!

No. Just download the appropriate disc from |Microsoft and install cleanly from that. No need to spend £40 unless using it to purchase an SSD.

pennypincher3562

NiftyDigits wrote: »

No. Just download the appropriate disc from |Microsoft and install cleanly from that. No need to spend £40 unless using it to purchase an SSD.

I'd imagine that a Toshiba Satellite had something like Windows 8-10 on it (I don't know)

I'd also presume that I can't download the above from Microsoft for free, or can I?

I also need all the Toshiba drivers.

Thanks.

NiftyDigits

pennypincher3562 wrote: »

I'd imagine that a Toshiba Satellite had something like Windows 8-10 on it (I don't know)

I'd also presume that I can't download the above from Microsoft for free, or can I?

I also need all the Toshiba drivers.

Thanks.

Yes, you can. Windows 8.1 64 bit.
Drivers from the Toshiba website.
Perhaps the full model number would be helpful.

Strider590

Quite possible that Windows 10 caused the screw up in the first place.

pennypincher3562

Strider590 wrote: »

Quite possible that Windows 10 caused the screw up in the first place.

Quite possibly, my computer 'unfamilar' family member suggested that there was an update before it.

However, I reckon still need something like Windows 8-10 for this laptop.

NiftyDigits

pennypincher3562 wrote: »

Quite possibly, my computer 'unfamilar' family member suggested that there was an update before it.

However, I reckon still need something like Windows 8-10 for this laptop.

Read post #8.....