Hi everyone.  I have a friend who has an HP Pavilion desktop.  Recently the hard drive failed on it.  This was the original hard drive that CAME with the computer.  We did however have another laying around so I DECIDED to replace it with that.  However when I go to boot the computer I just hang on the HP logo screen.  I do not even get the normal peripheral and ram test numbers you see when you get the option to go into the bios.  My question is does HP require their own hard drives and not any old hard drive?  Do you think there is a setting programmed into the motherboard that will only accept an drive from the manufacturer of the desktop?  Im glad I caught myself before I just ordered something off of new egg! 

Any help is much appreciated.  Thank you.No - you can use any HD. Boot to an OS CD and install the Operating System.But why wouldn't the other hard drive I hooked up load windows up?  I have swapped out hard drives in computers many times and have not had that EVER happen before.You cannot TAKE a hard drive from one system and put it in another and expect it to boot. It will not work.When you install Windows onto a hard drive, an installation is built that is tailored for that computer's hardware. If you then take the drive out and put it into another, it most likely won't work, unless both computers are either identical or very similar, and even then Windows validation will detect a different hardware signature.
Thanks for your information Allan & Salmon.  When I did a drive swap before it was at work between two Dell Dimension's.  I will just g o ahead and order a blank drive off of new egg and take it from there.  Thanks!Why don't you just blank the drive you "had laying around" and install Windows onto that?
guess hdd is not your only problem.
try this.
remove your hdd and try to boot it. desktop would normally allow it tell you that primary hdd is missing.
that will be a good start. QUOTE from: jaydeee on August 27, 2010, 05:59:40 PM

guess hdd is not your only problem.
try this.
remove your hdd and try to boot it. desktop would normally allow it tell you that primary hdd is missing.
that will be a good start.