[LeahGee]

Hi, I'm back on a different computer now - I have a Toshiba Satellite 2505CDS that won't boot up - when I push the power button the Toshiba screen comes up, the hard drive/fan makes LOTS of noise and nothing else happens. So I shut down from the power button and start it again and tap F8 all the time and then I get to HDC ERROR and then Insert System disk in drive Press any key when ready . . . .once I got to System Setup and changed the boot method to try a floppy/CD combo from a Toshiba Libretto hoping I could at least try to reformat the hard drive, but that didn't work, so now I don't know what else to do - - - any ideas?? Thanks.

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Now I got it to go to System Setup by pressing F1 at the HDC error message this is what is set up
Memory Total 32768 KB
Password not registered
Battery Save Mode = Full power
Peripheral:
Pointing Devices = auto selected
Ext Keyboard "Fn" = Disabled
USB Legacy Emulation = Disabled
Parallel Port Mode = ECP
Hard Disk Mode = Not used
Boot Priority = HDD-FDD-CD-Rom
Display power on = auto-selected
LCD Display Stretch = Disabled
Others: Power up mode = Boot
CPU Cashe = Enabled
Level 2 Cache = Enabled
Auto Power On = Disabled
Alarm Volume - High
System Beep - Enabled

[LeahGee]

Now I got it to go to System Setup by pressing F1 at the HDC error message this is what is set up
Memory Total 32768 KB
Password not registered
Battery Save Mode = Full power
Peripheral:
Pointing Devices = auto selected
Ext Keyboard "Fn" = Disabled
USB Legacy Emulation = Disabled
Parallel Port Mode = ECP
Hard Disk Mode = Not used
Boot Priority = HDD-FDD-CD-Rom
Display power on = auto-selected
LCD Display Stretch = Disabled
Others: Power up mode = Boot
CPU Cashe = Enabled
Level 2 Cache = Enabled
Auto Power On = Disabled
Alarm Volume - High
System Beep - Enabled

[pip22]

Two of the most probable causes for this error are:

1. Failed hard disk

OR

2. Failed hard disk controller on the motherboard.

The hard disk can be replaced with a new one very easily (any 2.5-inch disk should work), but if the controller has failed you'll be wasting your money fitting a new disk as that won't work either. Replacing the disk-controller on a laptop is specialist and expensive work even assuming a new controller was available for it. So a failed hard disk is much less of a problem so keep your fingers crossed -- see if you can borrow someone's laptop disk to try in your laptop to see if the "HDD error" appears. If it doesn't, I would take that as good news and get yourself a new disk. If you can't borrow one you are left to make your own decision about buying a new disk and just hoping that's all it is.

Edited by pip22, 05 December 2007 - 06:02 AM.