Solved! New hdd can load Linux but not any windows system

raychurchward

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Aug 31, 2017
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Hi I have a Toshiba satellite A40C i5 can't load a windows operating system.
I had to fit a new HDD due to the previous one packing up
I have no windows 7 pro disc but have tried installing win xp,win vista,win7 home and windows8 but the laptop always says no operating system found.The only disk that will load is Linux based.
Also tried USB win7.all of these disc have been tried on my other laptopb with no problem.Any help please
 
Solution
I can't find the manual from your laptop...

How did you boot into Linux? From a DVD? from a HDD from another PC?

So right now you have an empty HDD, and the problem is that you cannot install Windows on it. You have to go into the BIOS, and find that "Boot order" option i told you about, and set it to DVD, (if you plan on installing Windows from a DVD), or to USB (if that's where you have the install files for Windows). These options may not be called exactly "DVD" and "USB", but by the model name of the device, but it should be recognizable).

If you do not know how to do this, let me know what BIOS your laptop uses (enter into the BIOS, and either at the top or bottom of the screen there should be the name and version of the BIOS).

Blas

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Please help me better understand what the problem is:

So you have tried installing several different versions of Windows on your new HDD: when doing so, does it perform the whole installing process (copying the files, setting things up, etc.), and in the end it doesn't boot into the Windows desktop? Or does the installation process not even start?

Normally, when you get a message that says "No operating system found", that happens when booting up and when the BIOS has not been configured to look for the operating system (OS) in the correct HDD. Go into the BIOS (pressing either DEL or F2 when booting the machine), and find the "Boot sequence" or "Boot order" menu item. There you should be able to select the newest HDD so that the computer starts from it. If you let me know the exact model number (because there are tons of "Toshiba Satellite A40C" models) i may be able to let you know where exactly in the BIOS you can find this option.

Hope this helps! :)
 

raychurchward

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raychurchward

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Hi the model is Toshiba satellite pro A40C-109-14 I5-6200 4G RAM 500GB HDD. When i try to load the disc or usb stick i just get the toshiba logo for about a minute then it comes up with cant find operating system please reboot.when i go into the bios it shows the correct hdd.I loaded Linux with no problem every thing looks good with that hopeing i could load windows through that platform?
 

Blas

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I can't find the manual from your laptop...

How did you boot into Linux? From a DVD? from a HDD from another PC?

So right now you have an empty HDD, and the problem is that you cannot install Windows on it. You have to go into the BIOS, and find that "Boot order" option i told you about, and set it to DVD, (if you plan on installing Windows from a DVD), or to USB (if that's where you have the install files for Windows). These options may not be called exactly "DVD" and "USB", but by the model name of the device, but it should be recognizable).

If you do not know how to do this, let me know what BIOS your laptop uses (enter into the BIOS, and either at the top or bottom of the screen there should be the name and version of the BIOS).
 
Solution

raychurchward

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raychurchward

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Hi yes I load Linux from the DVD drive.The HDD has Linux on it now and working well.I thought if I got Linux to work I could load windows through that but no such luck. The bios is ec version 1.20 and system version 2.40.the only thing that others have mentioned is the boot mode to change but that has only two options uefi boot and uefi legacy I have tried both.also was told to update the bios but if it worked before would the bios be OK?
 

Blas

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Thanks for the BIOS version: when booting the computer, press F12, that should take you to the Boot menu. Once there, and with the Windows installation DVD in the drive, select DVD, and the installation should start: does that work?
 

raychurchward

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No sorry I tried putting DVD in first position in boot no luck also have tried USB win7 as well after putting USB as first boot.