Windows 7 installation problem: hard drive not found

Update the storage controller driver during Windows 7 setup

You might need to update the driver for your PC’s storage controller. This driver controls how the hard drive interacts with the rest of the PC. To do this:

1. Find the type of storage controller your PC uses by checking the documentation that came with your PC or going to the manufacturer’s website.
2. On a second PC, go to the manufacturer’s website and download the latest driver on a USB flash drive or other removable media.
3. Start Windows 7 installation again, and on the Where do you want to install Windows? page, click Load Driver.
4. Insert the removable media containing the driver into your PC, and click OK.
5. Select the driver from the list of results and then click Next. Follow the instructions on your screen to continue installing Windows 7

Method 2

1. 1.Check whether the hard disk is recognized by BIOS.

   If there is no error message shown, we suggest trying this method at first. Of course, even if error messages are given, you can also try this solution prior to doing any operation. Please start computer, press a specified key for several times to enter BIOS, and then look for your hard drive. If it is missing or invisible from BIOS (shown as None or Not detected), here are 4 possible reasons as well as countermeasures:
   • The channel for this hard drive is forbidden in BIOS, which happens especially after you add a second hard drive to system. To fix this issue, we need to turn it on or enable it.
   • Data cable or power cable of the drive is damaged or isn’t plugged firmly. Try connecting both cables again or change other cables.
   • BIOS is out of date and can’t recognize your hard disk. Try updating BIOS or driver of BIOS to the latest version.
   • The hard drive may be physically damaged. Download a disk testing tool to test the drive. If it is not detected by the tool or errors are found, you may need to contact your hard disk provider.
   
   After you are doing these attempts, the hard disk might be detected by BIOS, and then you can go on installing Windows. But if the disk is still invisible, you may need to contact your hard disk manufacturer for help. 
   
   Actually, when checking in BIOS, you may find the hard disk is detected in BIOS but missing from the “Where do you want to install Windows” screen. At this time you need to try the following solutions. 
2. To load a storage controller driver when operating system is unbootable or there is no system, please follow operations below:
3. • Find the type of storage controller (could be IDE, SCSI, SATA, and so on) your computer uses by checking the documentation coming with the computer or directly going to the manufacturer’s website.
   • Download the latest driver for your computer’s storage controller to a USB flash drive, CD, or other removable devices. Tip: you may need to unzip the downloaded file before copying it to removable device.
   • Start installing or reinstalling Windows again, and on the “Where do you want to install Windows?” screen, please click Load Driver.
   • Insert the removable media that contains the driver into the computer, and click OK. After that, Windows will search for the driver on all available devices, and then list all available drivers.
   • Select the driver that matches your hard drive and click Next to continue.