Hard drive does not show up in laptop BIOS

Problem description:

The hard drive does not show up in the laptop BIOS.

Possible cause:

1. Failed hard drive.
2. Defective hard drive cable.
3. Failed hard drive controller on motherboard.

Possible troubleshooting steps and repair solution:

1. Most likely this is hard drive related problem. Apparently the hard drive is bad and has to be replaced.
You can test the hard drive by connecting it to another working computer via an external USB enclosure ($15-20 in local computer store).
If the hard drive will not pop up in My Computer when connected, it’s a bad drive.
On the other hand, if the hard drive works fine with another computer, the drive could be OK and the problem is related to the hard drive cable (if you have it in your laptop) or motherboard.

2. In some laptops the hard drive is connected to the motherboard via a cable. If the cable is bad, the hard drive will not appear in the BIOS. Try replacing the cable.

3. In most laptops the hard drive is connected directly to the motherboard. If you tested the hard drive and it’s good but will not appear in the laptop BIOS, most likely you have a problem with the hard drive controller on the motherboard. In this case the whole motherboard has to be replaced.

Just in case, you can try reflashing the laptop BIOS and load default BIOS settings before replacing hardware parts.