Hard drive not registering. PLEASE HELP

I recently wiped my friends HD. It was an old HP and I downloaded all the correct drivers off hp.com for that specific model. I installed Windows XP and all the drivers for him and its ran fine, that is until I restarted. For some reason, BIOS is now not recognizing the HD anymore. I have no clue why. I went to the BIOS options menu and the HD is not even a selectable option to boot from. PLEASE HELP me fix this problem.

BTW, hp.com had a driver for a BIOS update. I noticed after I installed that update and rebooted, it sopped recognizing it. Is there a simple solution to this? I know just a little bit about computers to get me by, but I'm willing to take any REAL advice. I'm not about to dunk my friend's PC in water and see if it still works.

Thanks all.

The fact that you updated the BIOS and the drive now no longer appears is a bit of giveaway - frankly, in the world of BIOS updating the old rule of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" holds true. Anyway, my first suggestion would be that you clear the CMOS - you should look for the CMOS clearing jumper on the motherboard somewhere, usually near the battery or BIOS chip. If the BIOS changes, it may be looking in different places within the CMOS memory for certain values, so it's got messed up. The next step to try is reflashing the BIOS, if possible with the older version (it may be on the factory drivers disc, if you still have that, but if not then redownload it from HP's site), and make absolutely sure you have the right BIOS image for the make, model and revision of the computer.

Thanks for the info. But let me get this right.

1. Clear the CMOS. Should I be looking for a switch of some sort next to the battery or chip?

2. Reflash the BIOS. How do I do that?

And I only have the updated BIOS driver that's on the hp.com site.

Thanks again for the help.

>>3
1. Exactly. Look it up in your motherboards' manual, or, if it didn't come with one, try to see which brand and model is it (look for it printed in the mobo near a border, the center, or the larger chips). Or try to find a couple of pins labeled something like "CMOS RESET". Turn on the computer with a jumper in them, then turn off, and remove jumper.

2. How do I reflashed BIOS? ;) You *need* to find your mobo's brand and model for this, then go to their website, and get the latest BIOS for that *exact* motherboard. Then proceed to follow their instructions, not mine. In case of doubt, don't flash.

>>4

Thank you. I'll try that after I get home from work. I pray that it works and hope that you have sweet, sweet sex in the near future to repay you for your kindness. Not with me of course, but with somebody with body parts that are HUGE! (Boobs if you're either straight or a lesbian, or a penis if you're a girl or gay. But we all know that THERE ARE NO GIRLS ON THE INTARWEB, and all of them that are are all tarps... I mean traps.

Hey guys,

Just in case I fixed my problem. It was actually MUCH MUCH easier than what I #3 suggested. All I had to do was just restore the default settings on BIOS. I don't know why I didn't think of that before. But yea, it works now.

YAY TECHNOWLOGIE!!!

>>6
Clearing the CMOS has the same effect as restoring the default settings (with the exception that it usually clears the clock as well). That's always the first thing to try when encountering mysterious motherboard-related symptoms.