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    WIN7 installer can't see hard drive on Satellite

    Discussion in 'Toshiba' started by TurbodTalon, Dec 18, 2009.

  1. TurbodTalon

    TurbodTalon Notebook Virtuoso

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    I'm trying to install Windows 7 on a friend's Toshiba Satellite A205 S5853 with a Seagate Momentus 7200.2 160GB drive. I'm sitting at the screen that's asking for a driver for the hard drive. The BIOS sees the hard drive, but can this laptop use it? If so, can someone point me to a driver? It's got a very slow 4,200 RPM now. Thanks in advance for the help.
     
  2. JellyGeo

    JellyGeo Notebook Evangelist

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    Turbo - I suppose that since XP disks didn't/don't come with SATA drivers - then maybe Win 7 disks don't come with IDE drivers. I don't know how old the A205 Series is but a 4200 RPM drive sounds like IDE to me. Did you check the Toshiba site to see if A205's are supported for Win 7?

    Edited to add: Sure enough the A205 is on Toshiba's Win 7 Supported List. Are there any options in the BIOS to switch between IDE and SATA?
     
  3. PapaSmurf69

    PapaSmurf69 Notebook Consultant

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    That model uses the Intel GM965 Express chipset and it is a SATA hard drive. Windows 7 should install without any additional drivers on that model.

    You might want to go into the bios to see if it's set to AHCI or Compatability mode. It should be AHCI.