Windows 7: Cannot Identify Hard Drive

Hello All
I really need you expert advice to install Windows 7 on my HP Slate 500 tablet. I did the following steps.
- See my hard drive in a BIOS and tested it
- Connect external CD ROM and insert the Windows 7 CD that comes up with the tablet.
- Change Boot Order from Hard disk to CDROM
- Load Windows 7 from CD ROM and performed some installation steps and after that system ask for Custom and Update option , I selected custom but after that I cannot find my hard disk to install Windows, and system ask me to provide driver for hard disk, I installed chipset driver and also used drivers CD that comes up with my tablet but no luck. Please advice.

This error can often be an installer issue. Is the disk clean and up to date? If not use the latest official installer with SP1 for your licensed version written to flash stick or burned to DVD from Steps 1 and 2 here. I would try the flash stick install if the DVD still errors.

Check in BIOS setup the SATA controller is set to AHCI mode to try install.

Try wiping the HD with Diskpart Clean Command from installer's Command Line accessed by Shift + F10 at first screen.

Unplug all other HD's and peripherals.

Thanks for the reply. I download the Diskpart utility but unfortunately I cannot run it. When my tablet start then I press shif + F10 then another sceen came up, the new screen came up and the screen has several information like "
Edit Windows boot options for : Windows 7
Path: \Windows\system32\winload.exe
partition: 2
Hard Drsk: ced3b166
[ /NOEXECUTE=OPTIN

Please suggest.

That would be Shift + F10 at the first screen when the installer is booted. Or access Command Line via installer's System Recovery Options.

Thanks for the reply, unfortunately I cannot access system recovery option and when I start the tablet then I press Shift+F10 and I can only see the above screen.

Maybe pictures will help:

You must boot the DVD first in order to press Shift + F10 when you see this first screen:


If that fails, you must proceed to the second screen to access System Recover Options by choosing Repair My Computer:




This is How to Boot your Computer from a Bootable CD or DVD.

Thanks for the reply, I did the same steps but when I select repair my computer option then I received error message. Actually, my recovery partition is also corrupt.

Try writing the latest official Windows 7 installer ISO with SP1 to flash stick from Steps 1 and 2 in Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7. Boot the flash stick to try install, or to wipe the HD if it fails.

It is so rare for the installer not to have all of the modern SATA or IDE drivers that this is almost always an installer issue.

However you can isolate the drivers which are for storage, AHCI, IDE or SATA and try to Load them at the prompt. This may take some experimenting. If you provide your SATA controller make/model we can possibly help you try these.

I downloaded the windows 7 installer on DVD as per your provided link but no luck, My SATA make is "SanDisk SSD P4 64GB". Thanks

Have you considered running Windows 8 Preview on that slate? It is designed for slates with a touch button Start screen. You can get support for it and the download at http://www.eightforums.com/

That sounds like your SSD not the SATA controller.

The SATA controller will be in the chipset from the HP Downloads webpage for your model: HP Slate 500 Tablet PC*-* Download drivers and software - HP Business Support Center.

If you unzip the chipset to the location of your choice by running the .exe, it says in the Read Me that the storage (or HD) drivers included are for:

- IDE/ATA33/ATA66/ATA100 Storage Support
- SATA Storage Support

You want to run the .exe to unzip the drivers to a stick or CD, changing the root directory when it shows where it will unzip them. It will take some detective work to determine which .inf files are for those drivers, but the Load Drivers explorer should only take storage controllers so eventually you should get them installed if you browse far enough, likely into the Vista folder..

If you need more specific help ask in our Drivers forum where there is more expert help in tracing and loading these drivers.