Is there a easy to use free software to test for sure if a hard drive is no longer working or it's some other fault causing it ? I am not too well versed in computing, so will need a step by step instruction or a easy software that I can download with another laptop and run at startup on the non working laptop.

I have a Sony laptop, model VGN-SZ583 (Asia Model number) and when I tried to do a fresh install of Windows XP with SP3, it comes up with the message that the hard drive is not installed or something similar after it went through a few CHECKS at boot up. I've tried this several times with the same message.

When I go into BIOS, under ADVANCED, it says there is no hard drive.

The laptop originally came with Vista Business installed and I downgraded it to XP. When I tried to reinstall Vista, again, after some analysis and copying files from the installation CD at bootup, it came up with the message that the hard drive is smaller than what I am trying to install or similar message.

The reason I ASKED if there is a simple way to find out for sure if it is a dead hard drive or something else causing this is:
1) at boot up with the installation disk in the CD drive, it was doing some analysis and copying. If the hard drive is dead, how come it can still do these initial function.
2) it was functioning before I tried to do a fresh install. Everyhing was running properly except that the Java software was not functioning and cannot be installed. I need this for online internet banking. After trying various ways to install Java without success, I decided to do a fresh install. That is when I ran into this problem.
3) initially when I did a fresh install, it worked, but was not functioning properly after having installed all the relevant drivers and some of the regular third party sofware I normally use. I then did another fresh install with the same result after installing the drivers and eventually, a blue screen error will show up. After that, doing another fresh install, I got the situationas described in (1) above.

Any help on this will be greatly appreciated, especially if there is a simple software to check/test if the hard drive is still good and something else is causing this problem or the hard disk is fried.

Many thanks. The microphone is on.
The practical answer is no. It is ALREADY obvious that there is something wrong with the hard drive, the BIOS does not recognize the drive.
There has been some discussion about this issue on the form. It would appear that your hard drive is bad, however there is a reason for stating that this is not absolutely true.
How old is the computer? Was any physical DAMAGE ever inflicted on the laptop or the hard drive ? From the information you have given, it was the transition from the Vista to XP that changed some information on your hard drive.
This issue has caused confusion because many believe that there is no way that software could make a permanent change to the hard drive. Let me tell you that it's not so. It is possible or software to change some essential information on the hard drive and make it difficult or other programs to recognize that you have a hard drive, including even the BIOS on some systems. That does not always happen, in fact, it's very rare. But it does happen.
Here's the best recommendation in your case. Get another hard drive. It does not have to be a brand-new drive. Even a good quality used to drive of the same type and size will work fine. Just make sure that you are buying from someone who is honest and will give you your money back if the drive turns out to be dead. Once you have a replacement drive installed you should be able to put Vista back on the computer without any problem.
Later on, you may wish to put your old suspect drive into an external USB enclosure. It is just possible that it might work in the external USB enclosure.
This is the best I can offer. And by the way, I've been working with computers and hard drives for over 20 years. And lbefore that I worked in Silicon Valley in the hard drive research department of a once important company. Of course, that does not mean I'm right about anything. But there is some background in what I am telling you.

And if the hammer is funny, I have to do ti mostly with voice recognition software, winch is only 97% reliable.

Quote

after it went through a few checks at boot up. I've tried this several times with the same message.

The microphone is on.
The practical answer is no. It is already obvious that there is something wrong with the hard drive, the BIOS does not recognize the drive.
There has been some discussion about this issue on the form. It would appear that your hard drive is bad, however there is a reason for stating that this is not absolutely true.
How old is the computer? Was any physical damage ever inflicted on the laptop or the hard drive ? From the information you have given, it was the transition from the Vista to XP that changed some information on your hard drive.
This issue has caused confusion because many believe that there is no way that software could make a permanent change to the hard drive. Let me tell you that it's not so. It is possible or software to change some essential information on the hard drive and make it difficult or other programs to recognize that you have a hard drive, including even the BIOS on some systems. That does not always happen, in fact, it's very rare. But it does happen.
Here's the best recommendation in your case. Get another hard drive. It does not have to be a brand-new drive. Even a good quality used to drive of the same type and size will work fine. Just make sure that you are buying from someone who is honest and will give you your money back if the drive turns out to be dead. Once you have a replacement drive installed you should be able to put Vista back on the computer without any problem.
Later on, you may wish to put your old suspect drive into an external USB enclosure. It is just possible that it might work in the external USB enclosure.
This is the best I can offer. And by the way, I've been working with computers and hard drives for over 20 years. And lbefore that I worked in Silicon Valley in the hard drive research department of a once important company. Of course, that does not mean I'm right about anything. But there is some background in what I am telling you.

And if the hammer is funny, I have to do ti mostly with voice recognition software, winch is only 97% reliable.

Make sure that you change your BIOS settings to boot first your Vista CD that came with the laptop and do a clean install. It might still be seeking for the HD.

model VGN-SZ583 (Asia Model number

When a retail version of the Windows® XP operating system has been installed on a computer that originally shipped with the Windows Vista® operating system and the hidden partition was also deleted in the process, it will not be possible to reinstall the original factory-installed Windows Vista operating system unless a Recovery Media Kit was created before the downgrade was performed.
If a Recovery Media Kit was created before the downgrade was performed, you can recover the computer using the Recovery Discs. If a Recovery Media Kit was not created before the downgrade was performed, you will need to purchase recovery discs.

Sony laptop, model VGN-SZ583

Geek, Its a Laptop.