Laptop Bios somewhat recognizes hard drive but can't boot into it?

[Kyowan]

So recently my laptop's hard drive which is a Model "ST500LM012" 5400 rpm 500 GB failed. So I went online and bought another hard drive which is a model "MQ0tACF032" toshiba 320 GB 7200 rpm hard drive. I installed it and I got the message that no hard drive was detected.

I went into BIOS and on the first page "Main", I see that the bios recognizes the "Toshiba MQ01ACF032" hard drive in the "Fixed HDD" row. When I move into the "boot" tab in BIOS, there is no option to boot into that hard drive. The only 2 options to boot into is "UEFI: IP6 Realtek PCIe FE Family controller" and "UEFI: IP4 Realtek PCIe FE Family controller."

The laptop I currently have is the Dell Inspiron 3520.
Any advice would be highly appreciated !
I'm also open to buying new hard drives as well.

 

[delellod123]

Need to boot from windows install disk or USB. Set disk or USB as primary boot drive in bios. During windows install, you will create a boot partition

 

[Kyowan]

I tried that as well but when I try to reinstall windows 8 it says that "no hard drive is detected" or something along those lines.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

I've seen a similar problem before on a Dell laptop. Disable secure boot in the BIOS and see if the hard drive behaves normally after that.

 

[Kyowan]

I've seen a similar problem before on a Dell laptop. Disable secure boot in the BIOS and see if the hard drive behaves normally after that.

Thanks I'll try that, but may I ask another question? Is a windows 8 recovery disc and a windows 8 installation disc 2 different things? I was trying to install windows 8 OS on the new harddrive through the recovery disc but it didn't
work. I got the recovery disc by creating it through the computer.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

You will need a proper installation disc for Windows 8. Those are generally not supplied with new computers, nor are they the same as a recovery disc.

This method may help you if you have access to a computer running the same version of Windows 8.1, or you could alternatively use the method on this page which will work for Windows 8.1 or Windows 8, depending on which license key you have.

By same version, I mean, x64 or x86. The machine you run the process on will dictate what version you end up with, and it must match what your laptop was running, for best results.

Laptops running Windows 8 and newer do not necessarily have the license key on the bottom, on a sticker, as used to be the case. If that is the situation you find yourself in, the license key is most likely stored in the laptop's BIOS. This can be accessed if you can boot into Windows and run a program such as RW-Everything, which has the ability to read the section in BIOS that has the key stored in it.

 

[Kyowan]

How can I get a windows 8 installation disc? My previous hard drive failed but occasionally I can access it if I restart the computer a few times.

Update: Nvm I see the link you provided. I'll get into that and see if it works.

I'm currently on another windows 8 computer and I'm wondering where I can find the product key. I'm also wondering if I could use this computers product key to access the installation or would I need to use my other computer's product key.

 

[bigpinkdragon286]

You need the product key for the target computer for activation purposes. A temporary Windows installation on your target laptop may be necessary to run the RW-Everything program and extract your license key from your BIOS.

This page should provide enough details on how to use RW-Everything to locate your product key.

 

[Kyowan]

Alright, I'll try accessing my target computer and get the product key. I'll try the method you provided and get back to you when it's finished.
I really appreciate your help. Thanks !

 

[popatim]

Please be sure to install windows using the UEFI method. Basically during post you press the f-key that corresponds to 'Select boot drive' and then select the UEFI option that corresponds to your install media. In your case it would be the UEFI DVD Drive. Thank you.

 

[Kyowan]

What do you mean by installing using the UEFI method? Is it when Im downloading the ISO or when I'm installing windows onto my new hard drive. Sorry that I'm being a little bit annoying, I just don't want to mess this up.

 

[Kyowan]

You will need a proper installation disc for Windows 8. Those are generally not supplied with new computers, nor are they the same as a recovery disc.

This method may help you if you have access to a computer running the same version of Windows 8.1, or you could alternatively use the method on this page which will work for Windows 8.1 or Windows 8, depending on which license key you have.

By same version, I mean, x64 or x86. The machine you run the process on will dictate what version you end up with, and it must match what your laptop was running, for best results.

Laptops running Windows 8 and newer do not necessarily have the license key on the bottom, on a sticker, as used to be the case. If that is the situation you find yourself in, the license key is most likely stored in the laptop's BIOS. This can be accessed if you can boot into Windows and run a program such as RW-Everything, which has the ability to read the section in BIOS that has the key stored in it.

I tried to download the installation discs on the two sites you offered but they both declined my product key. I think it's because I have a OEM install of windows 8. Is there a way for OEM computers to get installation discs?

 

[popatim]

What do you mean by installing using the UEFI method? Is it when Im downloading the ISO or when I'm installing windows onto my new hard drive.

Installing windows in UEFI mode would indeed be done when you are installing windows.
Sorry I wasn't more clear.