Member Avatar for Mike-n-Maya

Purchased a HP ZE4610US laptop over a year ago, and started receiving SMART drive failures. Laptop would intermittently freeze, fail to boot up, etc. Periodicity of the problems got worse to where it was near impossible to boot the computer. Naturally, the Warranty period dried up. Ordered a new Hitachi Travelstar 80GN hard Drive to replace the failing hard-drive. I replaced the hard-drive ensuring I took all of the electrostatic precautions (wrist-strap), jumper settings on the hard-drive are correct. When I try to boot the computer up using the OS CD provided with my laptop. I get an error message that says no hard drive recognized. I checked the BIOS settings, and the hard-drive settings are set to auto-detect. I started to do some reading on Hitachi's site, and they claim that all of the drivers for their hard drives are in the OS, and do not offer downloadable drivers. So, I got to thinking (dangerous), that alot of the big-name companies do not distribute full versions of the OS, that they are customized/scaled down versions of the OS. I believe my OS disk is a black disk that says not for distribution with other PC's, maybe it only contains drivers for the original system configuration??
Let me know if I am on the right track, and what I need to do to get the computer up and running

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by janebush09

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Short summary and next steps based on the thread: solved this by installing the small removable connector bar that mates the 2.5" drive to the ze4x00 tray — if that bar isn’t fitted the BIOS will report “none” even when the drive itself is good. The HP maintenance guide for the ze4x00/ze4600 series explicitly shows removing/ reinstalling the hard disk drive and the connector bar. (manualowl.com)

Practical checklist to apply before assuming a drive or OS problem:

  • Power down, remove battery/AC and open the HDD bay per the service steps. Inspect the tray: the connector bar should sit over the drive’s pin/header and lock the drive to the laptop socket. If the bar is missing or loose, the drive won’t make electrical contact.
  • Look for bent pins, cracked plastic on the bar, or missing rubber grommets. Do not force parts; align and seat gently until the bar clicks or the drive is flush in the tray. Follow the manual’s removal/replacement order to avoid snagging cables. (manualowl.com)

If the connector is missing or damaged:

  • Search for “HP Pavilion ze4x00 hard drive connector / hard drive tray” or the laptop model plus “HDD connector bar” on laptop-parts marketplaces, eBay, or local repair shops. Donor machines and surplus parts sellers often have the exact molded bar or full drive trays.
  • As a temporary recovery step, use a 2.5" IDE/PATA-to-USB adapter (or a desktop IDE adapter) to test or image the drive externally — this verifies the drive independent of the laptop’s connector.

A couple of points from earlier replies still apply: BIOS/CMOS checks are useful early (as suggested), and if seating the connector doesn’t fix it, test the drive externally before replacing the laptop logic or software. Take ESD precautions and avoid forcing connectors; if unsure, a local repair shop can swap the tray/connector safely.

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Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

It looks more like the wrong track

When you power up does the bios/cmos see the drive at all.
^^^^^^

Is there an option to manually set up the drive in CMOS.

The CD boots ok? What OS?

Some of those OEM CD's require the hard drive be preformatted (Sometimes even with 98 os) before it will install XP... My Dell CD is a perfect example.

I would try a boot floppy, try to format the hard drive manually, then try the OS CD
If you can get the drive to format from a floppy and you happen to have 98 try it..

You might also try one of the drive installation tools from Maxtor or one of the other hard drive manufacturers...

Member Avatar for Mike-n-Maya

Looked more closely at the BIOS Setup, and I do not have an option to manually configure. Internal Hard Disk says "none". Item specific help reads "By default the hard disk types and capacity are auto detected and set by the system" --- YEAH RIGHT. The OS is an OEM Windows XP Home disk. I do have a Windows 98 OEM disk (once again customized for another machine). I tried booting from the Windows 98 CD, and could not install 98 with the format or do not format option. I tried botting to a DOS prompt from the Windows 98 OS CD, and get an A: prompt. Unable to CD to C or format C. I'm at a loss.

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

Where your cmos setup shows hard drives you do have that set to auto, correct?

What are the specs on the old drive and the new drive

Member Avatar for Mike-n-Maya

Where your cmos setup shows hard drives you do have that set to auto, correct?

What are the specs on the old drive and the new drive

I don't believe the CMOS setup allows me to change the drive recognition to auto or manual.

40GB / 4200RPM / 2.5-in for both the old and new drive. Old drive was a TOSHIBA, new drive is a HITACHI. Dont know any other specs beyond that. I am searching for Hard Drive utilities in download.com

Member Avatar for Mike-n-Maya

Found the problem. The hard drive was never making a connection. HP pavillion ze4x00 series laptops have a connector bar that plugs in over the pins on the hard drive.
Installed the connector bar, and Whala!!

Member Avatar for Thong_Ispector

Sometimes we miss the obvious...
There is a pin adapter on most hard drives for laptops...
Some like Sony use a little ribbin cable Dell uses a molded plastic adapter with more of a bayonette look..

Glad you got it working..

Member Avatar for tdrtrd

Found the problem. The hard drive was never making a connection. HP pavillion ze4x00 series laptops have a connector bar that plugs in over the pins on the hard drive.
Installed the connector bar, and Whala!!

I have a HP Pavilion ze 4500 laptop, also have the same problem, can't connect. Where did you get a connector pin?

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