I have just purchased a laptop hard drive enclosure for my old laptop’s hard drive. It seems to work well however I can’t find some documents. Is it possible to see files that were on the desktop of my old laptop?

If you can see all other files, most likely your desktop documents are still on the hard drive. You just have to search in the right location.

Here’s how you can navigate to the desktop documents:

Windows XP
X:\Documents and Settings\User_Name\Desktop

Windows Vista
X:\Users\User_Name\Desktop

Windows 7
X:\Users\User_Name\Desktop

Where X:\ is your laptop hard drive in the enclosure  and User_Name is your login name.

I just changed out my hard drive on my Panasonic CF-Y2. I reloaded windows XP and can see all of the files on my hard drive when I use a Linux CD Rom operating disk, so I know the drive works, but I cannot boot XP from my hard drive. I continue to get the dreaded PXE-E61 “media test failure” message at start-up.

Most likely it happens because the hard drive is not set as the first boot device in the BIOS and the laptop is trying to boot from LAN. That’s why you are getting “media test failure” message.

Enter the BIOS setup menu and change the boot order. Make sure the hard drive is the first device in the list of bootable devices. Save setting and reboot the laptop.

Now the laptop should start booting from the hard drive.

By the way, if you installed a brand new hard drive and it doesn’t appear in the BIOS, enter the BIOS setup menu and try loading default settings. There should be a button which allows to set default settings. Save changes and restart the laptop.

I have a major problem. I have a Toshiba Satellite P15-S479 laptop. I just replaced the hard drive and when I tried to turn my computer on I get this error:
Intel UNDI, PXE-2.0 (build 082)
Copyright (c) 1997-2000 Intel Corporation
For Reatek RTL8139(x)/8130/810x PCI Fast Ethernet Controller v2.13 (020326)
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting PXE ROM.
I can see in the BIOS screen that it recognizes the new hard drive but all I keep getting is that message. I would really appreciate any help you can give me. It won’t allow me to do anything, I have the recovery CD but can’t get passed that screen to use it.

I think there is nothing wrong with your laptop and it displays PXE-E61 media test failure message because the hard drive is brand new and has not partition and file system. You can see the hard drive in the BIOS and this is good, it means the hard drive is detected.
In order to boot the laptop from the recovery CD you have to change the boot order in the BIOS and make sure the DVD drive is listed first. Alternatively, you can press F12 key as soon as Toshiba logo appears on the screen. After that it will display the boot menu and you can select the DVD drive. Here’s one more trick. Press “C” key when Toshiba logo is displayed, it will boot the laptop directly from the CD-Rom without displaying the boot menu.
Boot the laptop from the recovery disc and install the operating system. It should fix the problem. I hope it helps.

I have a Toshiba Satellite 1135-S155. SMART system says hard drive is failing and shuts down computer before it boots up. Sounds like it needs a new hard drive, but I can’t find it (or a repair manual) to replace it. Can you tell me were it is located and how to remove it? Thanks!

The hard drive is located under the DVD drive. The DVD drive is secured by one screw on the bottom of the laptop. Remove the screw and slide the DVD drive out of the laptop. Under the DVD drive you’ll see the hard drive; it’s secured by four screws. Remove screws, slide the hard drive away from the motherboard to disconnect it and lift it up. Not you can transfer mounting brackets to a new hard drive and install it back into the laptop.

How do I replace the hard drive on a Toshiba Satellite p15-s479?

The hard drive is located under the CD/DVD drive. Before you start taking apart the laptop, remove the battery and unplug the AC power.
1. You have to remove the CD/DVD drive. Turn the laptop over. Remove one screw right above the dive and slide the drive out of the laptop.
2. When the CD/DVD drive is removed, you’ll see a metal plate. The metal plate is secured by 4 screws. Remove them and lift up the plate from the bay. The hard drive is located right under the plate.
3. After you remove the plate, you’ll see the hard drive. The hard drive also secured by 4 screws. Remove the screws, slide the hard dire to disconnect it from the connector on the moterboard and lift it up.
4. You have to transfer the brackets from the old hard drive to a new hard drive. Also, if there is a foil shielding around the old hard drive, you’ll have to transfer it to a new hard drive too.

Here’s a disassembly guide with pictures: Toshiba Satellite P10/P15 laptops. How to remove the hard drive.

I have a Toshiba TE2100 that I am content with except for two things: a) no internal 802.11g b) the small 20Gig hard drive.
Is there an 802.11b/g card that will fit and function in the TE2100?
Does anyone know what the largest hard drive the bios will support?

Toshiba Tecra TE2100 supports an internal 802.11b wireless card. Here are the original Toshiba part numbers for the internal wireless card: V000010820 or P000339520. The wireless card slot is located under the keyboard. Before you buy a new wireless card, I would recommend removing the laptop keyboard and checking if you actually have wireless antenna cables installed. Make sure that the laptop is running the latest version of BIOS; there have been an update for wireless support in version 1.40.
Toshiba TE2100 laptop supplied with 20GB, 30GB, 40GB and 60GB hard drives installed. I don’t think that you’ll see any problem when you upgrade the hard drive. I would say that you can use any newer laptop hard drive, including 80GB and 100GB. From my experience, if a laptop recognizes 20GB hard drive, it will recognize any bigger hard drive. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find any official information for upgrading hard drives in older notebooks.

Hi, are the hard drive replacement instructions you have posted for the other Toshiba the same for the P15-S470, I need to replace that hard drive.

A hard drive replacement procedure for Toshiba Satellite P15 would be a little bit different. In this model the hard drive is located under the DVD drive. I believe the DVD drive is secured by one screw. You have to remove the screw and slide the DVD drive away from the laptop. Under the drive you’ll find a metal plate that covers the hard drive. Remove four screws and lift up the metal plate. Now you can access the hard drive assembly. Remove four more screws, disconnect and remove the hard drive assembly. The final step would be to remove the hard drive brackets and unwrap the hard drive foil. Now you can replace it.