Question HDD swap - Toshiba vs. ASUS

[Laptops_to_fix]

I've had a spare 1TB HDD from my ASUS X555LAB and I put it into my TOSHIBA Satellite L655 which did not want to boot up.
The following was the "welcome" message: Check cable connection! PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM. No bootable device ..." What's going on? Any idea?

 

[USAFRet]

I've had a spare 1TB HDD from my ASUS X555LAB and I put it into my TOSHIBA Satellite L655 which did not want to boot up.
The following was the "welcome" message: Check cable connection! PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM. No bootable device ..." What's going on? Any idea?

Moving a drive + OS between systems, especially laptops, is unlikely to just boot up.

What are you actually wanting to do?

 

[USAFRet]

Is this related to your previous thread?

Question - Toshiba Laptop C855D & L655

I have 2 Toshiba Laptops which I am trying to fix. They both power up. The first only goes until the "TOSHIBA Leading Innovation" screen shows up, then it does not go anywhere, the only thing shows is the "hourglass" dots revolving around over and over. The other one goes a step further than...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[BFG-9000]

Congratulations, you have the same problem as before, with the same solution. You still need to clean install Windows using the Windows installation media on either USB or DVD (since both your laptops appear to have a DVD drive that's an option) boot. That's how you truly "reset" a Windows PC.

Only now since it doesn't even see the disk as bootable (hence why it's trying to PXE network boot), you have to try deleting all partitions then pointing the installer at the unpartitioned free space, because we don't know why it's not bootable (for example one disk could be MBR and the other machine needs GPT, or the endless dots revolving suggests a Bitlocker problem) at least to the expected BSOD.

 

[Laptops_to_fix]

Moving a drive + OS between systems, especially laptops, is unlikely to just boot up.

What are you actually wanting to do?

I just tried to use my spare HDD which was sitting in my drawer for years. I am still a novice and learning the ropes. I grew up with Commodore 16 using cassettes to load games, so this is whole new game for me, but I am learning every day.
I actually got a bunch of "untested" laptops I am trying to revive and sell it with minimum profit, because I am doing this as a hobby and not for the money.

 

[Laptops_to_fix]

Congratulations, you have the same problem as before, with the same solution. You still need to clean install Windows using the Windows installation media on either USB or DVD (since both your laptops appear to have a DVD drive that's an option) boot. That's how you truly "reset" a Windows PC.

Only now since it doesn't even see the disk as bootable (hence why it's trying to PXE network boot), you have to try deleting all partitions then pointing the installer at the unpartitioned free space, because we don't know why it's not bootable (for example one disk could be MBR and the other machine needs GPT, or the endless dots revolving suggests a Bitlocker problem) at least to the expected BSOD.

Thanks. Your reply is way above my level of knowledge. Now I have to spend some time to clear up all these terms you mentioned and understand what you were talking about. When I am done I will hopefully will be able to reply sensibly.

 

[Laptops_to_fix]

Is this related to your previous thread?

Question - Toshiba Laptop C855D & L655

I have 2 Toshiba Laptops which I am trying to fix. They both power up. The first only goes until the "TOSHIBA Leading Innovation" screen shows up, then it does not go anywhere, the only thing shows is the "hourglass" dots revolving around over and over. The other one goes a step further than...

forums.tomshardware.com

Yes. It's the same laptop. The Toshiba Satellite L655.

 

[USAFRet]

I grew up with Commodore 16 using cassettes to load games, so

I still have a working C64 and cassette, so.....

 

[Laptops_to_fix]

I still have a working C64 and cassette, so.....

Wow. That's quite something. Thanks.

 

[BFG-9000]

To download the Windows 10 install media creation tool get it from here. You will need a 16GB or 32GB USB stick which will be erased. This is more flexible if you have a pile of laptops to fix, some of which may not have optical drives like those two.

If you'd rather make a DVD install disc, either visit the same site using a non-Windows computer/phone, or temporarily set your browser to report a different OS. It will then allow you to download the .iso file, which any DVD burning software can turn into a working Windows install DVD, when you supply a blank DL DVD. Laptops of similar vintage should be able to boot from an external USB optical drive too.

Now you have a universal tool to fix Windows laptops. You will need to set the BIOS to boot from USB or DVD before the HDD to boot from it. For Toshiba laptops it's usually holding down either F2 or Esc right before it boots to enter the BIOS. Personally I would first put the HDDs back to the way they were before.

I have a working Commodore 128 setup which can boot into C64 mode. Like a modern phone the OS is stored in ROM--but unlike the phone there's no internal storage to save changed settings, so every boot is essentially a "reset." You can actually setup a Windows machine to work a similar way--it's called Kiosk mode for a public computer anyone can use, which forgets any changes the last user applied. But the normal way is to simply install Windows and when it breaks to reinstall it.

 

[Laptops_to_fix]

To download the Windows 10 install media creation tool get it from here. You will need a 16GB or 32GB USB stick which will be erased. This is more flexible if you have a pile of laptops to fix, some of which may not have optical drives like those two.

If you'd rather make a DVD install disc, either visit the same site using a non-Windows computer/phone, or temporarily set your browser to report a different OS. It will then allow you to download the .iso file, which any DVD burning software can turn into a working Windows install DVD, when you supply a blank DL DVD. Laptops of similar vintage should be able to boot from an external USB optical drive too.

Now you have a universal tool to fix Windows laptops. You will need to set the BIOS to boot from USB or DVD before the HDD to boot from it. For Toshiba laptops it's usually holding down either F2 or Esc right before it boots to enter the BIOS. Personally I would first put the HDDs back to the way they were before.

I have a working Commodore 128 setup which can boot into C64 mode. Like a modern phone the OS is stored in ROM--but unlike the phone there's no internal storage to save changed settings, so every boot is essentially a "reset." You can actually setup a Windows machine to work a similar way--it's called Kiosk mode for a public computer anyone can use, which forgets any changes the last user applied. But the normal way is to simply install Windows and when it breaks to reinstall it.

 

[Laptops_to_fix]

Thanks a lot. I downloaded the installer as you suggested. Of course it works. Now I have the first Toshiba Laptop up and running. Although not the biggest screen resolution, it's only 1024 x 768. Per the documentation online it should be 1366 x 768. Anyway, I guess I will figure this out too.

The next step will be probably to clone the HDD onto a SSD and replace it. Then I will start working on the next one.

I really appreciate your help so far. I am still learning but now I feel I am getting somewhere.

 

[BFG-9000]

Intel IGP drivers are one of the things that often don't automatically get installed by WindowsUpdate so you have to manually find, download and install them to get the correct screen resolution. This is especially true for Ivy Bridge as the only Windows 10 drivers available are unsigned/not WHQL certified since they don't support WDDM 2.0, and even works for Sandy Bridge where the latest drivers are actually for Windows 8.1 (this even works for even older, chipset-mounted IGP where the latest drivers available may be for Vista or Windows 7 but it may require some tinkering to get those drivers working).

If you don't install the graphics driver, you are stuck with the Microsoft Basic Display adapter which runs in software like those USB GPUs, so has very low performance + is limited to 4:3 resolutions, and worst of all may not be able to play any online WebGL embedded videos in a browser.