Member Avatar for Roni2mac

Can't find Primary Hard Drive message appears after installing cd burner to laptop.

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Quick summary and immediate steps to try now (safe, no tools required): power off, unplug the external CD burner and any other USB devices, remove AC and battery if possible, then hold the power button 20–30 seconds to discharge residual power. Reconnect AC only and power on; watch for the firmware/BIOS prompt (common keys: Esc, F2, F10, Del) and enter Setup. Let the laptop cool down before you try again if it was running hot.

What to check in firmware and in what order: in BIOS/UEFI look for a Storage or Boot Devices list. If the internal hard disk is listed, make sure it sits ahead of any USB/CD devices in the boot order. If the drive is missing from firmware, the problem is almost certainly hardware (loose connector, failed drive, or a board issue). If you are comfortable opening the machine, reseat the drive connector and inspect for bent pins or a broken cable; otherwise stop and get professional help.

If the BIOS sees the drive but the OS won’t start: try the OS advanced boot options (older Windows: press F8) or boot from recovery media and run Startup Repair or a disk scan. From a recovery prompt the common command is:

chkdsk C: /r

This checks and attempts to repair file-system and bad-sector problems. If data is critical, remove the drive and access it from another PC or an external adapter to copy files before attempting repairs.

Notes tying this back to the thread: was correct that USB devices are handled differently than internal IDE/SATA devices; an external burner cannot normally become the laptop’s “primary” IDE drive. and were right to focus on connections and BIOS. Because the machine warmed up, also consider heat-related failure of the drive or cooling fan. If any step feels risky, a local repair shop can safely test the drive and recover data.

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Member Avatar for JANINE

we need more information Rhonda. what is the make of your machine etc? what o/s are you running? what happened prior to this? exact error messages will also help!!

Member Avatar for quickpcrepair

Indeed, more information would be useful. However, my first guess is that during the installation of the CD burner (which, at this point, I am assuming to be internal), the connection between the hard drive and the laptop was severed & not restored. Usually, the entire case of a laptop needs to opened/removed for an optical drive to be replaced, and laptop internal components (especially screws) can be hard to keep track of. Check the hard drive cable to make sure it is still firmly attached on both ends. Also, check your laptop's BIOS settings, especially if they were fiddled with in an attempt to get the burner recognized (note, that if your laptop already had an optical drive, no changes should have been necessary to the BIOS).


-Matt
Quick PC Repair (serving the San Diego, CA area)
www.quickpcrepair.com

Member Avatar for JANINE

Indeed, more information would be useful. However, my first guess is that during the installation of the CD burner (which, at this point, I am assuming to be internal), the connection between the hard drive and the laptop was severed & not restored. Usually, the entire case of a laptop needs to opened/removed for an optical drive to be replaced, and laptop internal components (especially screws) can be hard to keep track of. Check the hard drive cable to make sure it is still firmly attached on both ends. Also, check your laptop's BIOS settings, especially if they were fiddled with in an attempt to get the burner recognized (note, that if your laptop already had an optical drive, no changes should have been necessary to the BIOS).


-Matt
Quick PC Repair (serving the San Diego, CA area)
www.quickpcrepair.com

I am in agreement with you there Matt. Being that Rhonda didn't specify all that was needed however I did not wish to make an rash decisions. i've been pondering over this most of the morning however.;)

Member Avatar for Roni2mac

Thank you very much for your input. Sorry that I didn't give you more information about installing the CD Burner. Actually it was an external cd burner that I installed. What I think happened was this: I think I designated the the CD Burner as the primary drive. I know now that this is dumb, but don't know exactly how to undo it. Right after I discovered that I had a problem I managed to get into safemode, but didn't know exactly how to remedy it. The laptop got very hot. Now I can't access the safemode. Thanks for any suggestions.
Rhonda Maxine

Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

If you are connecting the drive through USB, the external drive isn't your problem. The system sees drives connected through USB differently than ones connected to an IDE or SATA channel.

Member Avatar for Roni2mac

Actually, I am interested in undoing the settings for the primary drive. Does anyone know how? Thanks.
Rhonda Maxine

Member Avatar for chrisbliss18

Explain what you mean by "undoing the settings for the primary drive". There isn't really a primary drive, which is why your error message doesn't make any sense. There is a primary IDE channel (totally unrelated to USB) that has the ability to handle two drives (a master and a slave), but there isn't a primary drive.

If your system isn't able to find the harddrive, it's possible that a cable came loose or the drive is damaged. I'd recommend calling your computer manufacturer's tech support line and seeing what they say since repairing a laptop yourself will void your warrenty and cal easily leave you with a totally broken machine.

Member Avatar for Roni2mac

Well, USB and primary ide, slave and etc. might not be related, and the USB completely separate from the Ide cable, but someway, somehow a window popped up and gave me a choice of making the cd burner (I reckon it was referring to the cd burner) the primary __?___ or ____?_____. It has been a while since I did this and my memory is a bit slack. But . . . . 2. And I was referring to the setup settings. I tried to find a way to change the settings back to primary in the setup, but my knowledge was limited. But:
I have just gotten through putting my laptop into the hands of someone who likes to play with electronics. It is not under warranty, but thanks for your concern. Meanwhile I need to LEARN more about configurations, definitions and etc. for future installations. Thanks anyway. I do appreciate your answers.
Rhonda Maxine

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