Member Avatar for james.rodd

Bought an HP Elitebook 6930p at auction. It was dirt cheap beacuse it had some kind of HDD encryption on it and no one new what it was or how to crack it. When you booted it up all you saw was a bunch of numers in increments of 4. I figured a new HDD Drive would do the trick. I bought a used HDD and I am trying to use it but when i start the computer i get "Non-System Disk or disk error replace and strike any key when ready.

Here are the specifics:

The laptop is a HP Elitebook 6930p p/n KK080AV
the old (original HDD) is a TOSHIBA MK1655GSX 160GB (HP PN 493442-001)
the new one is a TOSHIBA MK8034GSX 80GB

The Elitebook Bios can differentiate between IDE and AHCI and I have it properly set for AHCI

SO here is my two questions

1) is there something I can do to format the original drive to get rid of the encryption problem (like would a USB to SATA wire allow me to connect to another computer and format the drive)
2) What do I need to do to get the new HDD working if I can't do the first question

Anysuggestions or comments will be appreciated.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by gemsvidhi

Dani AI

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Short diagnosis and a practical plan (summary of what already landed on): the Toshiba MK8034GSX is a plain 2.5" SATA drive — it does not need a vendor “HDD driver.” The Windows XP SP1 installer can fail because it does not include the motherboard/chipset SATA (AHCI/RAID) text‑mode drivers the setup needs to see the disk. (donordrives.com)

Three practical ways forward (pick one):

  1. Fast test: change the BIOS SATA setting from AHCI to IDE/Compatibility/Legacy mode and try the XP install again. That usually lets old XP installers see the drive immediately (then later you can install proper AHCI drivers if you want AHCI features). (manuals.plus)

  2. Best long-term: make a Windows XP SP3 install image with the correct Intel text‑mode driver integrated (so no floppy is needed). Download the Intel “F6”/RST (or HP Intel Matrix) package for the EliteBook and integrate the text‑mode (txtsetup.oem) driver into the XP ISO with nLite (choose the Text‑mode driver option). Burn the new ISO and install. This avoids floppy workarounds and is the recommended way for Intel chipsets. (dell.com)

  3. If the question is just “can I wipe the original drive externally?” — yes. Attach the drive with a USB↔SATA adapter to another PC and remove partitions / reformat (Disk Management, GParted, or diskpart). Example diskpart sequence (on the host PC) to wipe and reinitialize:

diskpart
list disk
select disk X         (replace X with the drive number!)
clean
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
assign
exit

(Use extreme care: clean erases everything.) (reelmind.ai)

Next checks: confirm the optical drive is first in the BIOS boot order (as suggested) and verify the BIOS/HP diagnostics see the drive. If you want to confirm visibility before reinstalling, boot a Linux live USB and check that the SATA controller and disk appear (useful troubleshooting step, as mentioned).

Recommended Answers

All 10 Replies

Member Avatar for Rik_

What happens if you boot from your windows installation cd? Do you get the same error or a different one?

Member Avatar for Wil 0' Wisp

Answer to 1)Unlikely you will be able to format the drive you will have to use some form of disk utility to remove the partition(s)including the EISA one if it exists
read this http://www.mydigitallife.info/delete-and-remove-to-unlock-eisa-hidden-recovery-or-diagnostic-partition-in-vista/

What is the initial startup with the replacement disk in 1) can you get into the BIOS/Setup and if you can 2)Does the system recognise the new disk. If all is good to go from there Can you answer Rik question. Or try a Linux boot disk and see if the system will come up on that. 3) if you can boot using a Linux disk can you browse/navigate to the new hard disk.

Member Avatar for james.rodd

RIK, I get the same error regardless of what I try

Member Avatar for james.rodd 
        Wil, I can get into the BIOS I will check later to see what it registers for the HDD>  I do know that I did a full HDD check, an option in HP Bios, and it pased the check so that would lead me to beleive it sees it.  You first part of the answer above, is that If I were to connect the SATA drive to an existing computer via a USB to Sata wire and attempt to format it?   The link tells you how to do it via C: prompt but I cant get on the C: prompt on the laptop as it stands now.
Member Avatar for james.rodd

Rik I get the same error whether I use the Windows disk or not. I get the error immeidately after Bios start up

Member Avatar for Rik_

Have you set the dvd drive to be the first boot device in the bios?

Member Avatar for Wil 0' Wisp

If you can mount and see the disk on a SATA cable you should be able to do as you please, but you will need to use a Disk Utility to do it or follow the instructions, but do be careful! wrong disk, wrong partition, and you kill the system which is working and is supportting the disk you want to wipe. Its along shot.....

Member Avatar for james.rodd

ok I have determined through numerous tests and trials that my problem is the version of XP SP1 I am installing does not have the SATA drivers I need on it. So I know how to install SATA without a floppy drive but what I dont know is where to find a generic windows SATA driver that can be used during the F6 portion of the download or the actual drivers for a TOSHIBA MK8034GSX 2.5" 80GB HDD. Any ideas?

Member Avatar for Don_5

my system brings crash dump and i off it by pressing the switch button and on it back but what it bring was non system disk or disk errow

Member Avatar for gemsvidhi

I got too that problem
thanks for your information

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