Hi Just got A H P Mini-note from Ebuyer Very good price £200.
Its Mod No Kx8722a
120 Gb HDD Imeg of RAM and Blue Tooth.
Suze Linux 10.
My Problem is I would like to instal Xp Pro, and I have an external DVD/Cd Drive all goes well untill the computer says starting Windows
Then I get the message Setup did not find any HDD installed on this computer.
The computer runs fine on Suze Linux.
Any help would be Great.

Hobknob

You must use either XP-SP2 or XP-SP3,
neither XP or XP-SP1 will recognize your hard drive.

Hi Thanks Mikez for the prompt reply.
The version of Xp I am trying to install has Sp1, Sp2 and Sp3. so I dont think the problem is not having the drivers for the SATA HDD.
I have read the Wiki on this Excellent Forum on How to install XP.
I get as far as installing Windows and then I get the Message That setup could not find any HDD on this computer.
I cant understand it becase the computer woeks fine when I boot from the HDD in Suze Linux.
Any one have any more on this.
I would like to have XP on it because I cant get on with Linux.
Thanks in Advance Hobknob

How can it have all three service packs on it?
SP1 => replaces corresponding parts of XP
SP2 => replaces corresponding parts of XP and XP-SP1
SP3 => replaces corresponding parts of XP, XP-SP1 and XP-SP2
Each service pack contains all changes of earlier service packs and does a "replacement" not an "addon".
Translation: Your copy of XP can only be at one service level at a time.

Is this a virgin (from MS) install disk or did you (or someone else) nLite it?
The SP2 service pack must be _installed_ to the XP copy, not just available on the disk as the service pack file.
Does the install disk you are using work on another machine? Have you checked?

Hi Mikez
I am so sorry.
I did not make myself clear.
It has Sp 3 and its a new disc.
Any way thanks for your reply.
I am still getting no further.
I tried installing a brand new 320 Gb sata hdd, same thing windows stopped at the same point cant find any hdd on this computer.
Dont really want to use Linux.
Thanks for your help.

We are trying to help you, if you cooperate with that effort.

"New" does not answer the question - Is it a MS produced install disk or a modified/cloned/other install disk.
"Linux" No one has suggested that you install Linux. The diagnostic disks suggested just happen to run
Linux themselves - without any install on your machine.

You are leaving out details that would help in troubleshooting your problem -
What, if anything, have you changed in the BIOS settings?

Try putting the original disk back in - see if the machine still runs.
Why? Because that ribbon cable is very brittle, you may have cracked a printed conductor.

Whatever is the problem, you can be almost certain that it is: your-machine-local.

Thanks very much for your prompt reply.
While I do think that you are trying to help me it costs nothing whatsoever to be courteous, I dont think this attitude you have will endere you to me or any other members.
I am no expert at this kind of thing and thats why I asked the question.
I have tried to answer you questions in the best possible way.
1. I have a copy of xp from MICROSOFT I used it to install on this computer I am useing at the present time so YES I do know it works.
2. I never at any point asked you should I install linux. It came pre-installed on the HP Mini-Note I purchased new a few days ago. (Suse. Linux 10)
3. I have never at any point said anything whatsoever about Diagnostic discs so I dont know where that came from.
4. I have given you/anyone all the details I have in a friendly couteous manner.
5. I have not changed anything in the Bios.
6. I have put the original HDD back in and as I said in previous post the computer works fine, but running Suse. Linux.
7. I have not broken, or cracked the ribbon cable or anything else the ribbon cabe is very flexible as it should be afterall this is a brand new computer.
8. Yes I do agree its some thing that is wrong with my machine.
9. If you cannot answer my post without some form of deprication. Please dont bother.
10. I am very new on this forum and appriciate greatly the work and knowledge given freely by its members for the benifit of others less informed.

I would still like to put XP on my Mini-note so if anyone has any idea whatsoever I would like to give it a go.

Hobknob

That is new information, might have been determinate, thanks.

At the first suggestion to run a memory test from a diagnostic disk, the reaction is normally: "I don't want to run Linux".
But the common diagnostic disks do run Linux (memory resident, not installed) - -
So if I haven't already suggested that you run memtest86+ , then I suggest it now.
Let it run for hours - you are looking for a hard to find failure.

see above.

You changed the disk drive without mentioning it,
so I had to ask to determine if that was true also of the disk drive mode in the BIOS.

That is new information.
In your earliest post, it was before changing the hard drive (now changed twice to get back to the original).

That was the reason for step 6, to confirm your suspicion that no connection damage was done during
the hard drive exchange. And yes, it is possible to be cracked in a way not visible to the naked eye.
Therefore the request that you go back to the original. I would suggest that you not change anything else
until we determine what is wrong with your machine.

It is not possible to troubleshoot your machine by exchanges of posts without asking about things
which you have personally done. So don't take anything as a personal criticism, they are only questions
about your personal actions.
There are only two things in common with your local problem, you and the machine.
Troubleshooting requires that one or the other be ruled out.

Do I understand correctly what you have just written?
That you want member guesses rather than troubleshooting help?

As you point out, the machine is very new, and XP is an HP supported operating system for it.
Why don't you just let your local HP Service Center put XP on it for you?
If they find anything wrong during the process, they will fix it under warranty.

Thank you very much for the utmost correct answer, I cannot ask for more.

I think I will take your very kind advice and let HP sort it for me.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Hobknob

Hi I have taken a look into the bois and it does not list a hard drive.
The computer is working fine running Suse Linux.
The bios version installed is F.02.
I took a look on HP website and the latest version is F.05f.
Do you think installing this update might help.

I also tried the new 320 Gb HDD again and it does not get listed in the Bios.
Do you think I have found the problem.

Regards Hobknob

Getting close for certain.
The new HDD should be listed in the BIOS - even before it is formatted.
The device discovery run by the BIOS has to query the HDD for its parameters.

So it is either the BIOS, the Hard Drive, or the combination of the two.
Reflashing the BIOS is a major step - postpone that for now.

Do you have another machine you could try the Hard Drive on?
You may have a DOA Hard Drive - unless you have seen it work on another machine.

Once you have done what you can to assure yourself that the HDD _should_ work -
Then try updating the BIOS -
It could be a problem with the BIOS device discovery and an upgrade might fix that.

Another hint that it might be the BIOS is that you did not find the SATA compatibility
mode setting in the BIOS screen - your BIOS version _should_ have it. (Mine does).

The machine is intended to detect the SATA-I and SATA-II link speeds automatically,
and set that to the speed supported by the drive. I.E: it should not matter if your
new drive is SATA-I or SATA-II (nor should you have to change the Mode setting - if you had one).
But again, this is a function of the BIOS. Might be another hint of a BIOS problem.

If none of the above helps - turn it over to the HP Service Center - let them deal with it.

Ah so, a used machine.
No telling its past history - -
Another hint that the original BIOS has bit rotted and it is time to re-flash it. The owner sold it for a reason.
Translation: It may have never worked - the factory does not use it to put on the original disk image.

Note: Be careful of expecting warranty service from HP - I don't think the warranty transfers to the second owner.

Hi Again
No Its a brand new machine as I said in my first post I have had it about a week.
I purchased it Brand New From Ebuyer.

Right I am now looking at the Sytem Information
File in the bios.
starting at the top line it says.

Manufacturer:Hewlett-Packard
Product Name: HP 2133

Total Memory:1024MB

Bios Version:f.02
KBC Version:07.11

Serial number:cn***********************
UUID Nuber:****************************
Notebook asset Tag cnu************
SKU Number:KX******************

And thats it nothing about HDD installed

In Sytem Configurations Tab
I have a Field which says SATA DEVICE MODE this is set to NATIVE and the options are NATIVE or COMPATiBLE

This is the only thing in the Bios that mentions anything to do with HDD.

Does any of this help.
Please tell me where in your Bios does it tell you about HDD installed in your Computer.

Thanks again in advance

Regards Hobknob

My eye was tricked into reading Ebuyer as EBay -


That is the factory setting that mine shipped with - should be correct, but. . .
This isn't the factory drive - keep in mind it may be worth trying the other setting.


System Configurations/Boot Options/Boot Orders
If "Notebook Hard Drive" isn't on the list, the BIOS device discovery isn't finding it.
- - Note: This is what I understood you to mean in an earlier post. That it wasn't on this list. - -

This is a dynamic list built on power-up - -
To see it work, plug in something bootable (stick, card, usb device), then power up the machine and
look at the list - you will see the additional device listed.

Other AMI BIOS builds (on different machines) let you highlight the device and then by key selection
see the device parameters - but mine does not - doing that only lets you tweak the boot order.

Hi Mikez
At last some thing is going right I have Xp installed on my Mini-Note

The only thing I did that was any different was to Disable PXE INTERNAL NIC BOOT, in the bios.
And wow its works well, done all the updates for windows and Microsoft office 2007. the only thing left to do is get the Bluetooth drivers and install them.
I dont know if it was anything to do with what I did perhaps you understand.
Oh another thing I installed the Brand New 320 Gb Sata HDD, so have plenty of storage.
I wish to thank you very much for all of your very kind help, and hope that if some one else has the same problem this might be of use to them

regards and Thank You Again Hobknob

Something squirrelly going on in the BIOS device discovery then.

When it found the drive had different specs, it should have corrected the boot information,
not removed it from the bootable device list.
Disabling the netboot entry must have forced it into the correct device discovery path.

Now that the hard drive is back in the boot order and working, you should be able to
re-enable the netboot entry (and be sure it is _after_ the internal hard drive entry) -
or not, if you do not expect to ever use the feature.

Was that the '02 BIOS or one of the newer ones? I.E: did you ever update it?

Hi Again
I am just so very Happy that every thing is working fine.
I downloaded the Blue tooth stuf and its working fine aswell so no probs Whatsoever
Hey and yes its the old BIOS
I took your kind advice and left well alone.

Regards Hobknob

Well, we all learned something here -
If machine does not recognize a new hard drive - disable PXE netboot in the BIOS - try again.

One of those little gems of information somebody will find useful.
Sorry that you had to be the one to learn it for us all; the hard way.

Well Mikez without your help I never would have got there.
I just got the Bluetooth working and now My bluetooth mouse is working great.
Next upgrade is the ram.
Got to order it yet.

Thanks a lot.

Regards Hobknob

Hi .
I followed the thread with great interest as i have the same problem with my brand new Hp 2133 (fu344ea#ABB), with pre -installed Vista on it.

I have the same problem, but for me the Disable function in the bios Internal NIC does not work.

What i tried :

* Bios upgrade to 5.
* Bios settings Native to compatible

No luck yet.
he keeps asking for the correct SATA driver..

Who can help me further..
Regards,

Petert