Windows 10 Pro won't detect hard drive, need drivers??

hey all,


I have an HP G42-154CA that I'm trying to get Windows 10 Pro installed on.





I ran into an issue with the installation disc not detecting the hard drive (ie, no hard drive is listed when the screen appears to select the hard drive to install Windows on).


I've tried various drivers (latest from HP and Intel website, OEM OS installation discs etc) with no luck.. at the very least, the Windows 7 driver from HP's website for that laptop should work for installing Windows 7- same results, does not detect hard drive.


At this point I'm wondering if maybe it's a BIOS setting that's causing this? I don't recall changing anything in the BIOS when I last installed Windows (which was v8), but it was awhile ago, so can't be certain.


Anyone know what's causing this?


Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Is the disk connected on a RAID controller? Then you probably need drivers for Windows to install the RAID controller and then detect the disk. Look at the manufacturer's site for anything along the words RAID, SATA etc. Download it and extract it to a folder of a USB Flash drive. During installation, when no disks are detected you should be given the option to plug the USB drive and browse for drivers there. Do that, browse to the folder where you extracted the drivers and then Windows should be able to detect the disk.

Is the disk connected on a RAID controller? Then you probably need drivers for Windows to install the RAID controller and then detect the disk. Look at the manufacturer's site for anything along the words RAID, SATA etc. Download it and extract it to a folder of a USB Flash drive. During installation, when no disks are detected you should be given the option to plug the USB drive and browse for drivers there. Do that, browse to the folder where you extracted the drivers and then Windows should be able to detect the disk.

did that, tried both the latest drivers from HP and Intel websites, including every version available when you use the load driver/browse option from the installation disc.

i don't think the storage controller is RAID capable, but if you look at the HP link i originally posted for the laptop specs, they don't really give details at that level. either way, i've tried what's available..

i know there's some kind of hard disk mode/setting in some BIOS setups that determines how the hard drive is detected, something like that? wondering if maybe that's it.. don't recall changing anything like that when i installed Windows 8, but again that was awhile ago.

Go into BIOS and see what your Sata Controller is set to (IDE, AHCI or Raid) if it is set to Raid, there is a raid driver you have to install during setup to allow the installer to 'see' the drives. While there, see if BIOS sees the drive.

How did you try the installation? Do you have Windows 7 installed now?

Go into BIOS and see what your Sata Controller is set to (IDE, AHCI or Raid) if it is set to Raid, there is a raid driver you have to install during setup to allow the installer to 'see' the drives. While there, see if BIOS sees the drive.

How did you try the installation? Do you have Windows 7 installed now?

assuming the controller is set to RAID in the BIOS, i've already tried the latest RAID driver from Intel's website; HP only provides a Windows 7 driver, which i've also tried, but i'll certainly check to see what it's set to.

hard drive is currently blank/wiped, trying to install clean from Windows 10 Pro installation disc.. i had Windows 8 installed on the same hardware up until a few days ago, then i wiped the hard drive to prepare for a clean install of Windows 10. also tried installing Windows 7 as a test- same results, OS disc won't detect the hard drive.

Have you checked the BIOS to see what mode the disk controller is set to?

If you only have 1 hard drive, I know of no reason it should be set to Raid, unless you have a small SSD for a cache. But your system specs from the link you gave does not list one.

Set the disk to AHCI. If it is still not detected, set it to legacy IDE mode. Disconnect the cables from the disk, leave it off for a few minutes and connect it again. Any static electricity should discharge and the disk should be detected again.

Figured it out.. discovered that the disk wipe method used in parted magic makes a difference.

You can do secure (just writes 0's to the drive) or enhanced wipe (writes predetermined patters to the drive set by manufacturer), I first tried enhanced, then tried again with secure- voila! Didn't realize that Windows has an issue with different wipe methods.

Thanks to everyone for the help!

Glad you have it working right.