Latitude C840: new HDD not recognised by BIOS

I bought a Samsung HM160HC 160GB hard drive to replace a failing original 40GB drive in my old Latitude C840. After installing the new drive, the BIOS fails to recognise the new drive and even stops recognising the existing CD drive. To test that something else hadn't gone wrong, I installed a working 40GB drive from another laptop and it worked fine. Can anyone suggest what I might be doing wrong?

 

That's an IDE HDD, so I would wonder if the problem is a master / slave issue.

Is there any jumper on the new HDD or the old one? The jumper may be between 2 of the 4 pins to the right of the connector.

John

 

That's what I thought maybe, but there are no jumpers either on the old one or the new one.

 

1. Will the computer recognise the HDD if you remove the optical drive?

2. Are there any options for IDE settings in the BIOS?

John

 

No to both questions. I've tried doing Alt-F in the BIOS to reset it, but still no joy.

 

Did you try the new HDD in any other computer or in a USB enclosure? I'm starting to wonder if it is DOA.

John

 

I think you might be right. I've tried it in an Inspiron 8200 and it has the same problem in that the CD drive becomes unrecognised as well.

 

As it appears to be DOA, I'm exchanging it for a replacement. However, one of the screws that holds the drive into the enclosure has got stuck and I've worn out the screw head by trying to remove it. Does anyone have any ideas how to get it out?

 

First, you may find that a good quality screwdriver with a big handle may get sufficient traction on what remains of the screw head because you can apply more pressure. Something like this, perhaps.

Second, invest in a screw extractor set while buying the good screwdrivers (one of the remarks on that link indicates that someone has successfully used it for laptop screws).

Third, you can try a little superglue on the screwdriver tip to give it even more traction (but you have to hold the screw steady while the glue sets and make sure that none gets to the edge of the screw head.

John

 

I can't believe this. I actually went into a branch of Maplin today (with the hard drive) and asked whether they sold anything suitable to get the screw out. The guy even searched the catalogue but couldn't help - and then you post a link to a Maplin product specifically designed for this! Another case of a customer knowing more than the staff.