Toshiba Satellite A200 :/

[izakdunphy]

Hey Guys/Girls, im in need of some help....

So last night I swapped my brand new laptop for 2 other laptops, one of which is a TOSHIBA SATELLITE A200,

Sooo when I turn it on it first shows a loading screen saying "WINDOWS IS LOADING FILES"
I then get the normal VISTA loading screen, once it finishes loading that is it, it goes to a black screen with the cursor on it and it just stays at that.

I then tried to install VISTA again but I still get the same start up rather then going into the installation setup thing.

I TRIED installing WINDOWS XP and then a message pops up saying that "SETUP DID NOT FIND ANY HARD DISK DRIVES INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER"
"but it does show the hard drive in the BIOS"
I also Plugged in a Blank Hard drive and tried to install XP yet the same message again

Please help as I am absolutely stumped on this one

 

[gbhall]

The 'windows is loading files' comes from a setup of the operating System, and will normally be followed by a reboot and the continuing installation of windows. As part of that process, you would normally get the installation of the video drivers and other motherboard drivers. This is currently not happening for you. So wherever these files that are 'loading' came from, they don't seem to have included correct driver files for the Toshiba.

The 'setup did not find any hard drives' message comes from an install of XP, but the hard drive is not found because XP does not understand SATA drives. The way round that problem is to enter the bios and set the hard drive to an IDE compatible mode, or to supply XP with a SATA driver, which is done early in the installation process, but is not easy on a portable.

In summary, your Toshiba does not have any Operating System at the moment, and you need to start from a Windows retail install CD or DVD. You also need the correct set of driver files for the Toshiba model.

Usually, portables are supplied with an OS already installed, and there is no supplied OS install disk - just a process where you can initialise an install from a hidden setup partition on the hard drive. Have a read of the manual on Toshiba's website. It's just possible that the hidden setup is still there and can be activated.