Re: HDD Recovery isn't working

Dear Toshiba,
my laptop bricked and now i recovered it,
during recovery it bricked again, and now there isn't a choice of repair your computer in the F8 Startup anymore
How can i start hdd recovery now?

The whole HDD recovery principle doesnt work on this way.
Who should give you this command line? Toshiba software department maybe!
Lets see if anyone here will be able to help.
By the way: somewhere on this forum I saw one thread about similar problem. Try to find it in Toshiba recovery section.

Similar Messages

Satellite L745D-S4214 Does not boot; HDD recovery partition not working

I tried to apply the recent windows 7 updates and my laptop no longer boots. I tried to press F12 and select the HDD Recovery partition, but it does not boot regardless. There is a message that it does not communicate to a specific device. I believe the address called out was 0xc0000e9, but I am going by memory. I never created a recovery CD because I thought I was covered by the HDD partitions. This was purchased on 10/26/2012, so it should still be under warranty.
PLEASE HELP!

Hi I'm going to assume that your recovery works like mine and that the recovery partition is still good and not corrupted.
Shut down your PC. Press F12 and select HDD recovery. Click enter. This should start the recovery from the hidden recovery partition.
PS I would advise you to make the recovery discs or USB recovery Try this first.
Perform a power cycle
Even when your laptop is off and unplugged, residual power can still be held in some components. While this is normal, clearing it can help with boot problems. Perform these steps to complete what’s called a power cycle.
Ensure the laptop is turned off.
Unplug the laptop's AC power cable.
Remove the battery (if the model has a removable battery).
Unplug all wires or peripherals. This includes CDs, DVDs, USB sticks, mice, printers, and any other accessories.
Hold down the power button for thirty seconds.
Reattach the battery.
Connect the AC adaptor to the power socket that was confirmed to be working in the first step.
Connect the other end of the AC adaptor to your computer.
Try starting the computer.
If your laptop starts normally now, you're done!
I Love my Satellite L775D-S7222 Laptop. Some days you're the windshield, Some days you're the bug. The Computer world is crazy. If you have answers to computer problems, pass them forward.

HDD Recovery Mode not working

I have a Toshiba Netbook (NB205-N330BL) that will not start. It shows the Toshiba splash screen then goes directly to a command prompt screen, but will not allow you to type anything at the prompt.
I tried entering HDD recovery mode by holding down zero(0) during startup. The netbook will not go beyond the splash screen unless I release the '0' key briefly and press again, then it goes to a command prompt screen with "***** HDD RECOVERY MODE *****" displayed at the bottom of the screen, but will still not allow you to type anything at the prompt and will not respond to any other keys.
Am I doing something wrong? How do I get from there to the warning screen described in the user manual?

Hi there lsnowden!
I have a couple of articles here that I believe will help you resolve this issue with your Mac. The first article addresses a few different startup issues that can be solved by using Disk Utility, and can be found here:
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1417
If you only get a grey screen on startup and can't get past that, then you may want to check out this article as well:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
-Braden

Win 7 HDD Recovery doesnt work on Satellite L750

Hello
I`ve got Toshiba Satellite L750 with preinstaled win 7.
I instaled upgrade to win 8 (from dvd).
After this I upgrade the system from MS site to Win 8.1.
The system doesnt work properly (DVD doesnt recognized) so I have to install previuos system.
First I upgrade my BIOS to the new one - 3.60.
After this I try to do win 7 reinstal from my HDD recovery (which is on the partition d).But it doesnt work - it was impossible to start recovery from bios menu (key F8 doesnt work, there was only possible to press F2 or F12).
So I have to install Win 8.0 from my dvd, and now I have it and it works. But this is only clear system without any addons like nero, ms office etc.
My question is how to reinstal win 7 from my hdd recovery which i still have on partition d ?
in bios the key F8 doesnt work.

>After this I try to do win 7 reinstal from my HDD recovery (which is on the partition d).But it doesnt work
>My question is how to reinstal win 7 from my hdd recovery which i still have on partition d ?
in bios the key F8 doesnt work.
The HDD recovery will not work AFTER you changed the system.
In such case to go back to the factory preinstalled system (Windows 7) you need to use the Toshiba recovery disk which could be created with the preinstalled software called Toshiba Recovery Media Creator.
In case you did not create such disk in the past you can order such disk here:
http://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/landing.aspx

Restore hdd recovery partition

hello people, my toshiba satellite c660-1g2 comes with a hdd recovery drive, when i wanted to creat a different partition to save my data, i dont know what happend but my hdd recovery could not work any more and i have reformated my pc with a win 7 cd, but i still have the hdd recovery files on a different partition, please can some one help on how to reinstate the hddrecovery partition with the files i have saved, my pc is really messing up without the original files and it sucks, please some one help me.

Satellite C660-1G2 (PSC0QE-02L00CEN)
When you restore the hard disk to its original out-of-the-box contents using Toshiba recovery media, all the partitions (including the disk image) are restored. That's the only way I know to get it back.
If you failed to burn those discs, you can obtain them from Toshiba.
Toshiba Europe Backup Media Online Shop
Restoring will wipe the drive clean, of course. So you will need to back up all important files and reinstall added applications later.
-Jerry
Attachments:
C660UsersManual.pdf ‏3092 KB

Recovery CDS dont work on new HDD

i bought a new hard drive because my original from my laptop went to shits.
the new hdd is in the laptop and i inserted the recovery cd from hp (they are original) and it says
"windows loading files" and then i get an error that says
"The instruction at 0x77a124a9 referenced memory at 0x00000000"
and it restarts and im back to square one. Does my HDD need to be OEM in order for the recovery cds to work ? or am i missing a step that im not doing properly.
Laptop info
Product : Pavilion dv5
S/N: {Private Information Removed}
P/N KQ574AV
Model # dv5t-1000
also the main reason i want to reinstall windows vista as how it originally came with was because i cant get my webcam to work. after a clean install of win7 ultimate, i cant seem to find a driver from the hp web site that actually works right. I go under device manager and i cant even see where the webcam driver should be at. i want to get the webcam driver to work with the OS i have installed on it right now, which is Win7 Ultimate 32-bit. i tried to install cyberlink webcam and hp mediasmart webcam and both dont work for nothing.

Hello,
I'm not sure which HDD you used, but I suspect that may be the issue. If you look at your Maintenance and Service Guide, it lists compatible part numbers and descriptions for your notebook. The HDD section is on page 55.
You can order these parts from HP Partsurfer
Please let me know if this helps.
Good luck!
↙-----------How do I give Kudos?| How do I mark a post as Solved? ----------------↓

Satellite L650-12Q - Toshiba HDD Recovery not working

Toshiba Satellite L650-12Q
Windows 7 64bit
I am attempting to re-install Windows using the Toshiba HDD Recovery software on my hard disc in order to restore the computer to factory settings.
I followed the procedure to do this in System Recovery Options, but received the following message:
"The recovery of the operating system is impossible!
Could not find HDD Recovery folder on second drive of the first hard disk. There is no valid HDD Recovery environment on this computer."
Further details:
Prior to doing the above, I backed up the system and files and folders using AOMEI Backupper. I then made the mistake of merging partitions C: D: and E:, E: contained the HDDR files.
After trying the above recovery and receiving the message above, I re-installed the system file I had backed up to an external hard disc, which resulted in a copy of C: drive and E: drive containing the HDDR files.
Unfortunately, when I tried to recover the OS, the same message appeared.
I then tried to use a System Restore disc I had created a few weeks ago, but found that for some reason that CD is blank.
The good news is that the computer still works - slowly - and the HDDR files appear to be still there but, for some reason, inaccessible.
What are my options? I want to go back to initial factory settings so that I can start afresh and re-install the programmes and files that I want. (I have backed up all my files and have installation discs for programmes.)
If the worst comes to the worst and I have to buy a Windows 7 disc (if that is still possible - I don't want Windows 8), would it be possible to install that on to this computer and would it give me a clean install without any of the rubbish that is presently cluttering up my computer?
Thank you for reading, and I should be grateful for any advice you can offer.

Thanks for your help.
I have since found some recovery discs (3x DVD-R) that I created on 18 July 2010, when I first bought the laptop. For some reason, however, these do not work.
I followed the published procedure:
1. Load first recovery disc.
2. Turn off computer's power.
3. Whilst holding down F12, turn on computer.
4. When "Toshiba leading innovations" appears, release F12.
5. Use 'up' and 'down' cursor keys to select CD-ROM icon from menu.
6. Follow menu.
After item 4, "Boot menu" appears, giving options HDD, eSATA, CD, etc. I selected "CD", but nothing further happens.
It looks to me like things are worse than I thought, but on the positive side the computer still works.
Is there anything more that I can do?

Toshiba HDD recovery not working

I want to do HDD recovery from Windows 10, I have put all my files on other partitions, I hoped to see & do "Recover without changing the hard drive partitions" but when I turned my PC on while holding 0, It didn't open any TOSHIBA hdd recovery software...This is how it looks and option - system image recovery requests that I use windows installation DVD .... BTW I have recovery partition in this computer: I just got into Boot Menu while pressing F12 during start-up, clicked on HDD recovery, it asked YES/NO, I pressed Yes, but it just went to this screen again - http://www.mytoshiba.com.au/file/res...File_23358.jpg My PC is kind of ruined right now after restarting... my primary system boot partition is now as RAW file system, I don't know how this happened. But at least I still got my backup partition still on this HDD(I'm seeing this on advanced options>cmd>diskpart). Boot menu > HDD recovery just goes to that windows advanced Options page. If HDD recovery worked, everything would be ok, because it could recover only C partition. But now i can't even boot it into windows where i could make recovery dvd's, but I don't know if I could use them because toshiba recovery mode is not working.. Can anyone help? this is really important.

It didn't open any TOSHIBA hdd recovery software...
The Choose-an-option screen is the recovery environment for Windows 8/10. Get used to it.
I have put all my files on other partitions
Best to put them on external media, of course.
We can't go any further until you disclose which computer you have. There is a label on the bottom.
If the machine did not come with Windows 10 installed, we need to know much more about what sort of upgrade you did.

Satellite T135 How to enter Safe Mode and HDD Recovery if "F8" doesn't work

Hello everybody
I have a Toshiba Satellite T135 Laptop and it has recently crashed. Since then, every time I switch it on, Startup Repair automatically gets enabled. But it fails repairing the error.
I tried to resolve the problem with System Restore, but that didn't work either. So I think I have to go through the HDD recovery procedure.
The problem is, that I have a lot of data on my laptop that I need to safe first. I wanted to do this via Safe Mode which I supposedly should be able to enter by pressing "F8" while initializing, when the Windows logo appears. But my laptop doesn't react when I press F8, but rather begins to make a alerting sound, if I press the button for a longer time.
Apart from how to enter safe mode when pressing F8 while initializing doesn't work, I do have a second question: Is Toshiba Recovery Wizard the equivalent for HDD Recovery Procedure? That's the only similar option I've been able to find...
Thank you very much for your advice.

Hi buddy,
Yes, the Toshiba HDD recovery option will wipe the *first* partition of HDD. Thats the partition where Windows is installed so all files on this partition will be deleted to restore the original out of box settings. If you have stored the data on this partition they will be deleted but all data on second partition will not be deleted.
You can perform a backup if you buy an external HDD case as MisterX suggested. Put the notebook HDD into this case and connect it to another computer. Then you can back up all files that you need. :)

HDD Recovery not working

   I purchased a NB205-N312/BL with XP back in January 2010. Ever since then I've had MAJOR issues with it, to the point where I'm going to just throw the whole thing in the trash!!! It started with programs not responding constantly and crashing, then when I turn it on, it immediately goes to the start windows in safe mode (and the other options) screen. Now, when turned on, it goes into a screen that states use "earlier version of windows" or "windows setup". Thats it all I get. If I chose either one, it tells me a file is missing or corrupt.
   I looked at the owners manual (from a computer that actually works) about HDD recovery. It states to press and hold "0" when powering on; I should get a HDD recovery screen, which I never do. When I release the "0" or press any key, the bottom of the screen flashes "HDD Recovery mode" and goes right back into the "earlier version of windows" or Windows setup" option.
   Am I doing something wrong? I bought this thing just to tune my vehicle (it has to use XP and I didnt even get the chance to hook it up) and surf the net. The only downloaded program was iTunes for my iPhone.

Hi
The HDD recover partition is not hidden
In my case the image files where placed on the second partition in Toshiba HDD folder.
However, fact is that the HDD recover could be started pressing F8 button, then choosing option called Repair my Computer and in new window the option HDD Recovery should be chosen.
If this is not possible, then you will need to recover the notebook using the Recover disk.
I assume such disk has not been created in the past. Right? You could create the disk using recover disk creator which is preinstalled on all Toshiba notebooks.
If this is not possible then you have to order the disk here:
http://backupmedia.toshiba.eu/landing.aspx

I upgraded to 7.0.4 on my iphone 4s and now it isn't working and itunes states that it is recovery mode - help

I upgraded to 7.0.4 on my iphone 4s and now it isn't working and itunes states that it is in recovery mode - help - I don't want to do a factory restore!!!!

If you're phone is in recovery mode, then all your data is already wiped off. you'll need to proceed if you want to use your phone.
However after it is done recovering, you can restore back from your backp.
You do backup on a regular basis right?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808

When HP Recovery isn't available... system image using Windows 8 as backup?

Would like to start out with a big shout out to Paul T for his VERY useful thread here ! http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Operating-Systems-and-Software/Windows-8-Product-Key-for-Pavilion-G6/m-p/3882966/highlight/false#M205987 A friend's family asked me to work on their laptop since I know more about computers than they do ... they're very good people, was happy to help them out but true to form like a lot of PC users they didn't bother keeping ANY of the documentation that came with the laptop (HP Pavilion g6-2298nr ), nor did they bother to burn recovery DVD's using HP's built in recovery software program that comes standard on the laptops... if I'm interpreting what HP's website had to say about the laptop , model HP Pavilion g6-2298nr, correctly, according to it's serial number it no longer qualifies for free tech support and I'd have to pay HP a fee just to talk to someone and order the recovery DVD's (friend's family bought it back in Dec 2014 so to me it seems REALLY strange that I wouldn't be able to just order the recovery DVD's without having to pay tech support a fee just to ask to order the recover DVD's ! .. but anyways...)... This is where having the product key "built into" the BIOS really comes in handy ! I crossed my fingers, used the method mentioned in the thread linked above, and it worked ! ... have to admit it was a bit strange at first not using the product key sticker like the old days but I can see how this works better in the long run - helps to prevent piracy, you don't have to worry if someone who doesn't realize the importance of the product key sticker peels it off and throws it away ... Unfortunately it looks like when you reinstall Windows this way you lose the HP Backup and Recovery Program ... in this case my friend's family had the misfortune of paying someone to repair this laptop who didn't bother to tell them " Hey, I replaced the hard drive that's going bad but if you don't get a laptop cooler for this sucker the laptop's just going to overheat again ! " ... sure enough, the money they paid this so called "tech repair" person went down the drain when the laptop fried a second hard drive, or maybe the tech saddled them with a bad hard drive who knows? (the tech bought an OEM hard drive off ebay) ... ... sorry to sound harsh about this tech guy, I will admit I only worked in the PC repair field for a few months over a decade ago before leaving it to be a stay-at-home-dad (wife is a pharmacist so I'm lucky enough to be able to stay home) so my experience is VERY limited compared to other people .. but back then I always treated my customers the way I'd treat a friend, and if it's a friend you offer advice on how to prevent problems like this in the future... this laptop gets HOT like you wouldn't believe , I have it sitting on a very reliable laptop cooler (thick slab of aluminum that does a great job as a heatsink with fans, this one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834953038 and I've let my friend's family know in no uncertain terms they need to order this laptop cooler if they're going to use this laptop) ... The hard drive replacement I installed seems to be working fine but of course it's not an "official WD hard drive" .... when I tried to install the photolink cyberdirector software for example at the link below got a " this isn't a WD hard drive so can't install this software" error message... http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-pavilion-g6-2200-notebook-pc-series/5296082/model/5333338#Z7_3054ICK0K8UDA0AQC11TA930O2 which is fine I really don't think my friend's family will care about that program... but it makes me wonder, even if I trusted the download at this link below http://www.techspot.com/downloads/5190-hp-backup-and-recovery-manager.html if the HP Backup and Recovery manager program would even work to begin with since it's not an official WD hard drive (I also ordered an OEM hard drive off ebay .. but not charging my friend's family for the hard drive since they've been good to my munchkins and didn't want them to pay through the nose for a more expensive hard drive so of course I wanted to minimize my own expenses...)... also I think that sort of program relies on a " C " and " D " drive being set up like it was when the laptop shipped with the original hard drive and saves a backup copy on the " D " drive.. I suppose I could use disk management to create a different partition, label it " D " and see if HP Backup and Recovery worked but it seems a bit.. iffy... not to mention that I feel uncomfortable downloading something that isn't directly on HP's website as an "official" download... I know that Windows 8 has a "system image" utility built into it that lets you make just that.. a system image.. like I said my friend's family are good people but I'm guessing sooner or later they're going to screw this laptop up again like a lot of computer users do .. it would be nice if I could burn a system image of what's on the laptop right now onto DVD and hang onto it so when they come back to me in the future hollering "Help , laptop isn't working again ! " I can just restore from the system image on DVD rather than having to go through the hassle of reinstalling Windows, graphics/audio/et cetera drivers, zillion and one Windows updates et cetera all over again. What I'm wondering is... would this even work? I've never tried to use system image in a situation like this with the product key being "built into" the BIOS , that sort of thing is brand new to me... is it worth burning the DVD's and hanging onto them just in case? Sorry for the long essay and thanks in advance to anyone who actually takes the time to read all of this !

Thanks man it's really helpful to know that someone else has used this exact same method successfully to back up their HP computers ! Will do just that... yep, yep I know it'll be at least 10 DVD's or something crazy like that after all those windows updates download ... problem with using an external hard drive is I can't convince my friend's family to buy one no matter how many times I warn them it's not "if" your PC gets messed up it's " when " ..... and my external hard drives are all in use with system image backups of my own PC's ... so will burn the DVD's for 'em then just hang on to them and wait for the inevitable And thanks for the kind words about my work for them too ! .. it's a lot of effort but they've been super nice to me so it's the least I can do ... they're actually parents of one of my daughter's best friends and they've taken my munchkin out to various places and flat out refused to let me pay them back for it so it feels good to be able to help them out this way... though I wish they'd come to me first instead of letting themselves get ripped off by the so called PC tech I mentioned earlier (would it have killed the guy to burn them a set of recovery DVD's? Heck if he wanted to be selfish and greedy he could have just offered it to them for an "additional fee" but it would have saved them and me a lot of trouble ! Though I'm not sure if the recovery DVD's would cooperate given that it's not an "official HP hard drive" I put in there? ) It occured to me that if I call tech support they probably can't charge me if I don't give them a credit card number .. so I did (1-888-698-3762).. they said the warranty on this laptop expired Dec 2013 ! Friend's family said they bought it in Dec 2014 from QVC, hope QVC didn't sell them a used laptop ! ... HP wanted over a hundred dollars for an "official" HP hard drive said no thanks to that... HP says despite me putting in a non-HP hard drive that recovery DVD's should work ... HP wanted $ for recovery DVD's (tried to help me order recovery DVD's off HP website, they couldn't find the link on there to them either for some reason... maybe 'cause laptop is an older model??? ) ... HP asked for thirty dollars (cheapest option!) for recovery DVD's ... but mentioned that if the laptop really was purchased Dec 2014 and if I e-mail them proof of purchase they'll ship out recovery DVD's for free instead since it would be within it's one year warranty period.. I'm waiting on the friend's family to give me the proof of purchase for me to scan and e-mail to HP ... though I think I'm going to go ahead and use system image to burn the DVD's first THEN run the HP recovery DVD's (if they do in fact turn out ot be free) in case the HP rep made a mistake and the HP recovery DVD's don't like the "unofficial" HP hard drive on this laptop...

I changed the password to my ipod but it isn't working and I don't want to restore it. Is there a way of getting rid of the pass word or un-disabling my device?????

I changed the password to my ipod but it isn't working and I don't want to restore it. Is there a way of getting rid of the pass word or un-disabling my device?????

Connect the iOS device to your computer and try to make a backup.
iOS: How to back up
Then restore via iTunes. Place the iOS device in Recovery Mode if necessary to allow the restore.
If recovery mode does not work try DFU mode.
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
For how to restore:
iTunes: Restoring iOS software
To restore from backup see:
iOS: How to back up
If you restore from iCloud backup the apps will be automatically downloaded. If you restore from iTunes backup the apps and music have to be in the iTunes library since synced media like apps and music are not included in the backup of the iOS device that iTunes makes.
You can redownload iTunes purchases by:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store

Satellite L500-1DT: HDD Recovery of Win 7 is stuck in endless reboot loop

This is a detailed bug report so please bear with me.
If you can help, or can confirm you've had the same happen to you, I'll be grateful.
I've owned several Toshiba laptops before and I even used to work for Toshiba so rest assured I like the machine. But I've got a problem with its recovery software. I just bought a laptop, Satellite L500-1DT with Windows 7 64 bit, on behalf of a non-techie who lives elsewhere. Since I know from experience that I will occasionally have to field panic calls along the lines of "it's become too slow", "how do I get rid of the accumulated junk", "maybe it's got a virus" and so on, the first thing I checked was the automatic recovery, i.e. how to bring the HD back to "as new" state.
So I booted into the machine, answered the questions until I got into the OS proper, and then ran the "make a recovery DVD" program. Double layer DVD verified ok. With the freshly made DVD, I swapped the supplied HD for a spare I had (much smaller: only 40 GB instead of 320) and booted the rescue DVD hoping that it would remake me a clean system on the blank drive.
It did repartition the drive according to its scheme, with more or less half the space for Windows and the other half for Data including the recovery files. It did install the system in the Windows partition. It then rebooted into the installed Windows 7 to finalize the installation. There, trouble began: an endless loop of reboots for hours until I stopped it.
Loop:
* reboot
* black screen with bright 4-colour windows logo "starting windows"
* black screen with light blade and "setup is preparing your computer for first use"
* blue "welcome" white screen with "please wait" and horizontal bar with green blob, saying "Finishing the installation may take several minutes. Please dont interrupt or shutdown the computer!"
* blue screen saying it's shutting down
Repeat the above forever.
I have seen it reboot way over 10 times over the course of several hours. And every time it pretends it's the first time it does that. Surely that's not normal!
I tried stopping it with ctrl-alt-del and task manager but the white screen would go on top of even the task manager, making it hard to kill any processes or even inspect what they were. I stopped it by holding down the power button until it switched off. Then when it rebooted it said if I wanted safe mode. I tried that. It went into the routine above and at some point it said it couldn't proceed with the installation if it was in safe mode. So it rebooted into regular mode and then... finished! It finally broke out of the endless loop!
Then it asked me all the usual questions about language, registration etc, as it had done the first time I had turned it on. This seemed good. I finally got back into a newly installed OS and all seemed fine, except I later discovered that some programs that were there before were not installed.
With bravery bordering stupidity (*) I even re-did the procedure on the supplied hard disk instead of my spare one: first I nuked the windows partition, then I did rescue from the HD (with F8), not with the DVD I had made. Result: similar rigmarole, with endless reboots.
After I stopped it, it sort-of-worked, as above, but now some other programs were missing, notably the Toshiba DVD player.
(*) motivated by: better try this now, with the computer here and all my tools and other computers ready at hand, than when the computer is away at its owner's home and that's the only thing left to try with me at the other end of a phone line. Been there before.
Now, that specific one (DVD player) I could download from the support page and it installed fine; but what else might be missing or not working that I didn't notice? Clearly the restore process isn't working as it should.
Am I the first or only one to whom this happens? Am I doing anything wrong? Is there anything else I should try?
I need to make sure this restore procedure works flawlessly while I still have the computer in my hands. If it doesn't, there's no chance I'm going to be able to do a remote reinstall for my non-techie once I am asked to clean up the laptop over the phone a few months from now.
Thanks in advance
[Update: while looking for the right place where I could post this I found that other people are reporting the same problem. It's definitely a bug in the distributed recovery software for W7-64, not an isolated problem of my machine. See for example
http://forums.computers.toshiba-europe.com/forums/thread.jspa?threadID=49421&tstart=0 where user kwarc is describing the same symptoms with a Satellite L505.

I am glad to report some unexpected SUCCESS!
I left the computer at what it was doing when I wrote the previous
post. I came back to it an hour later or so (I had stopped counting
the reboots, though occasionally I'd hear that typical chime from the
other room, saying it was doing one more cycle) and I noticed
something slightly different: the white screen with "finishing the
installation may take several minutes" had a blue blob, not a green
blob, in the progress bar, and the blob was rectangular rather than
rounded. Very odd! Something different had happened, like a change of
theme. And a little while after that, the process really finished and
I got to the white screen that asks about what language etc etc, like
when I first turned on the new computer.
Great!
All I can conclude from this experience:
Even a reinstall that works will DEFINITELY involve many reboots that
seem to be getting nowhere. Apparently, progress is being made, even
though it looks like the process is stuck in a loop of reboots.
It would just be nice if it said something like "Before I finish
restoring, I'm going to have to reboot 26 times, please hang on; now
doing cycle 8 of 26". (Numbers are made up.) It doesn't, but just
knowing about it is helpful.
Perhaps worth redoing the install once more and making a note of how
long it really takes from beginning to end when it does work.
I still don't know if the process I described in the first post was
really stuck because of some other error or whether it would have
ended eventually. If I wanted to be really sure I could re-restore
everything on that hard disk once more.
I have no idea whether wiping all partitions from the disk before
reinstalling did any good or not: it shouldn't have made a difference
since, as I said, I noticed that the first thing the restore program
did was redo all the partitions itself. On the other hand we have
experimental proof that the restore can work on a HD without any
partitions.
Thanks again PauPau---the most useful thing you said, for me, was the
data point that for you it had worked. That's what made me try again
and leave the computer on indefinitely through the innumerable
reboots, just in case.
I'll repost a definitive answer on how long a successful restore
process should take once I get round to redoing it on the supplied 320
GB HD.

HDD recovery from a partition on Portege M300

Hello
I reinstalled my win xp from another xp cd on a portege notebook m300 and did not burn an hdd recovery of the with the windows that thoshiba provided the computer with, its commen today that you burn your own backup instead of they sending you an original win xp cd. I want a backup cd/recovery cd now and I see that they partioned(or what its called) a seperate 2,5GB hd with the name "HDDRECOVERY".
This resulted that my windows got installed on E: cause it was a 2,5GB partioned HDspace that windows called C: and I could only pick E: to install win xp to and I didnt want to erase the 2,5gb partioned space. I toughed that I somehow could access this 2,5gb HD file but it dosent show in "my conputer" only in the disk managment tools windows have. You cant do anything in this manegmant tool to get it to show in "my computer". I would like to access this space and burn this HDDRecoveryfile so I can get my propriate windows that followed when I bought the computer since the win xp serial that is supplied under this cumputer did not work with my new win xp cd.
ps. How do you install windows on C: if the windows install program thinks C: is the 2,5gb partioned file? I dont want to delete it.

Hello Andre
The situation with Portege M300 is a little bit complicated but I will try to explain you. Portege M300 (I think just in Germany) is delivered without Recovery DVD and also without Tools & Utilities CD. Both of them can be created by user but only if unit is factory preinstalled. The factory preinstalled unit with factory image contains one tool called Recovery Disc Creator. Using this tool you can create both medias. Without this tool there is no way to make it.
Unfortunately this tool you can not find on Toshiba download page. Because of that you can keep this partition on the HDD but it has no sense at all. You have your own preinstalled OS without Recovery Disc Creator.
There are two solutions:
1. You can format whole HDD, create own partitions and install own OS using all stuff you can find on Toshiba download page.
2. Contact please authorized service partner in your country. They can try to order original recovery DVD for you. If this recovery DVD is not available the service partner can make factory settings again but with costs.
Thats all I know about Portege M300 and preinstalled software. If you have more questions please write again.
Good luck!

Re: HDD Recovery isn't working

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