hi ther i reccently had a problem with hp laptop so i than toke out the hard drive put it in a usb connecting case and format it and and now when i tried putting it back in the laptop nd start it up it says no bootable device, i than put it back in the usb connecting case nd tried connecting with another computer it makes connection sound but doesnt show in my computer,, PLEASE HELP ANYONE,
stanlee.herman 0 Newbie Poster
Begginnerdev 256 Junior Poster
First thing is that when you formatted the hard drive you effectively 'removed' everything that was on the drive. This is why you are receiving the "no bootable device" error. There is not an operating system on the drive that can bootstrap it's self.
As for why it is not showing mounted when you connect it to another computer, you may have a driver missing on the second computer that allows that external enclosure to mount.
You will have to aquire a legitimate copy of an operating system. If you are currently seeking a free alternative; I would suggest linux.
There are many different flavors (distros) of linux to chose from. If you are not completely certain which to try then I would recommend Ubuntu. From my experience it has been stable and pretty user friendly compared to some of the others. But that is a bias opinion! :)
rubberman 1,355 Nearly a Posting Virtuoso Featured Poster
Good answer Beginnerdev. Reformatting the drive means that if you want to use it as a system drive, you will need to re-install the operating system. No Windows installation disc? Need Windows? Contact Microsoft and pay a couple hundred $$ for one, or see if your system vendor can help (don't hold your breath). Don't need Windows? Then get Linux. You can get DVD's from many Linux distributions for basically the cost of shipping and media (a few $$). Don't have a CD/DVD drive (too often the case these days), then pay a little more for a bootable USB drive.
Rule 1: NEVER purchase a system without appropriate recovery media (this does NOT include a recovery partition).
Rule 2: See Rule 1...
KillerQuag 0 Newbie Poster
Addressing part 2 of your question and adding on to Begginnerdev:
It won't show up in another computer if there are no partitions on the drive. Look under Disk Management in Windows if you want to make partitions. If you plan on installing an operating system, i.e. Windows or Linux (I like Linux Mint), there is no need to do this.
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