HDD problem with Acer Aspire 5315

Hello,

I got a problem with my Acer Aspire 5315. The HDD is shown in the bios but won't show in Vista most of the time. The HDD is completely formated, including the Acer partition. So recovery is not an option.

The problem is strange because it is not consistent. Sometimes I am able to acces the drive and install Vista. But then the next day,when i try to boot again, i only see a cursor after the Acer boot screen.

I've tried running in IDE mode. I also tried replacing the HDD with a new one. I installed vista with the correct Intel driver.

I also tried running Linux live cd. It also sees the HDD drive correctly but when i try to acces it, the program freeses.

I'm affraid something is wrong with the I/O controller, or it is a loose cable.
If you think otherwise, please let me know. If not, i'd like to know how I can check the HDD cable.

Ps. sorry if my english is bad...

 

Welcome to NBR.

Yeah you may be right about the controler/cable problem. What BIOS version do you have?

 

The latest one, 1.43.
Btw it boots perfectly from CD. Did a memtest and a 7 hour CPU burn in. No problems there...

Edit:
If I boot in AHCI mode and load the SATA AHCI controller driver in windows vista installation, i'm able to see the HDD. But windows installation says that the hardware doesn't support booting from that drive. Be sure the disc controller is activated in bios.

If I boot in IDE mode i never see the drive, no mather what driver i try to install

 

could you take a look in your error/event logs, just to see if that gives you any clue.
also is the drive showing in device manager.
just need to find out why its hidden and is there a setting that can hide the drive.
just a thought

Phil

PS. it could be something simple as too why the drive is hidden.

 

Maybe a dumb question from me but how do i do that if the laptop won't boot?
When it boots there are no problems. Nothing in the error log. It will also show up in device manager. I run all sorts off HDD intensive programs, diagnostic programs etc etc. No problems at all. But it can be one hour later, and no booting anymore. Last few day's it doesn't boot at all anymore.

 

Do you have another HD to plug into the machine temporarily to see it if works ok?

That would confirm (assuming a different disc had the same symptoms) that the problem is upstream of the HD itself.

As both Windows and Linux are both having a problem it does point towards the hardware.

 

Yes I allready tried a brand new HDD. Symptoms are the same...