Laptop not booting after replacing HDD :(

Laptop not booting after replacing HDD :(

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crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
I've decided to upgrade the RAM and also HDD to SSD on my Asis U36J by following the guide here : http://planetjon.ca/2012/06/17/how-to-put-an-ssd-h...

Being a bit careless I might have used force by accident to disconnect the cables. On inspection it looks ok.

After installing the SSD and RAM when I turn the laptop on nothing happens frown Certainly no display all I get is the power lights. I can feel the fan and some heat but that's it.

Have I bricked the laptop? frown

nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
did you transfer your operating system and files to the SSD first.

I can't see that step mentioned in the guide.


grumbledoak

31,499 posts

232 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
Probably you haven't a bootable drive, but don't piss about - take them out and put back the old stuff. Check it works.

Then add them RAM and check.

Then swap the SDD and check again.

Post back.

Shadow R1

3,798 posts

175 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
Take the ram out and put the old stuff in.
Leave the ssd for the moment.

Results of that ?

wizzard67

139 posts

123 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
Can you get to the BIOS? Have you tried re-seating the RAM?

crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
No bios at all frown Just power lights and then it shut itself down. I've got 2 screws missing though - will that cause issues?

I will try to put the old HDD in to see if it works... I didn't copy the OS or anything over just plugged in the new SSD.


nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
crazy about cars said:
No bios at all frown Just power lights and then it shut itself down. I've got 2 screws missing though - will that cause issues?

I will try to put the old HDD in to see if it works... I didn't copy the OS or anything over just plugged in the new SSD.
Take out the SSD, reseat the RAM. See if you at least get a bIOS screen.

I doubt that missing screws will cause this

crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
Have put the old RAM in and now it works... well it boots at least!

I've bought the same RAM (DDR3) but this one is higher speed (original is DDR3 1333 but the new one is 1600). I've asked and was told it's compatible?


crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
crazy about cars said:
Have put the old RAM in and now it works... well it boots at least!

I've bought the same RAM (DDR3) but this one is higher speed (original is DDR3 1333 but the new one is 1600). I've asked and was told it's compatible?
Ah, my new RAM is 8GB single stick I suspect max RAM it supports in one slot is 4GB...

nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
are you only putting in one stick of RAM?

wizzard67

139 posts

123 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
crazy about cars said:
Ah, my new RAM is 8GB single stick I suspect max RAM it supports in one slot is 4GB...
Yep, looks like you're right there - http://uk.crucial.com/gbr/en/compatible-memory-for...

8GB max would suggest 4GB per slot.

crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
[-]Right...ran into another problem hopefully someone can help.

I've plugged in an external USB DVD drive as my laptop doesn't have one. I've got a "Media required for installation is missing" prompt when trying to install.

I've rebooted into BIOS and the SSD is detected by BIOS. The HDD was in AHCI mode and I've changed it to IDE mode. I'm still getting the same prompt. What should I do? What drivers do I need?[/-]

Scrap that...turned out I've plugged the external DVD drive to a USB3 drive...works now. Things you learn along the way eh? smile

I wonder why my HDD was set in AHCI mode before though...

I would sincerely like to thank all for being so helpful on a Sat evening though! Virtual beer on me chaps smilebeer

Edited by crazy about cars on Saturday 23 August 19:58




Edited by crazy about cars on Saturday 23 August 20:00

wizzard67

139 posts

123 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
The SSD should really be in AHCI mode rather than IDE anyway.

Glad you've got to the bottom of it, hope you can get a refund or exchange on your new RAM thumbup

crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Saturday 23rd August 2014
quotequote all
wizzard67 said:
The SSD should really be in AHCI mode rather than IDE anyway.

Glad you've got to the bottom of it, hope you can get a refund or exchange on your new RAM thumbup
Nay chance as I've practically ripped the packaging apart lol :P I'll just keep it for future use.

I've left the HDD in IDE mode... should I switch it back to AHCI?

edit: Also want to say what a massive change with the SSD and Windows 8.1 (bargain @ £80 for OEM builders kit) made! Feels like a brand new laptop even with the old RAM!

Edited by crazy about cars on Saturday 23 August 23:04

Randomthoughts

917 posts

132 months

Sunday 24th August 2014
quotequote all
You need to reinstall it as AHCI, as was highlighted way back.

IDE is for legacy OSes, and won't offer the majority of the drive commands to the OS. That will cause your SSD to perform badly and expire early.

nyt

1,803 posts

149 months

Sunday 24th August 2014
quotequote all
Randomthoughts said:
You need to reinstall it as AHCI, as was highlighted way back.

IDE is for legacy OSes, and won't offer the majority of the drive commands to the OS. That will cause your SSD to perform badly and expire early.
You should be able to just switch to AHCI in the BIOS. It's no longer an epic job as I'm pretty sure that W8 has the drivers built in.
If that doesn't work I really would't worry too much. AHCI is faster but an SSD will perform adequately even in IDE mode.

crazy about cars

Original Poster:

4,454 posts

168 months

Sunday 24th August 2014
quotequote all
Did some Googling and it's a matter of switching a registry key then reboot into BIOS to switch to AHCI. The HDD seems to run even faster now.

My desktop W7 PC is in SATA IDE mode though and it runs fine. Might do some research into this...