New Hard Drive problem

[jackhookie]

hello,

i have a Sony Vaio VGN-FW51JF and my HDD broke, so i bought a new one and put it in,

now i am trying to put windows back on it but it doesn't work from dvd or USB, i changed the priorities in the BIOS multiple times, tried different dvd's and i have no idea how i should do this.

when i try to boot it i get the error: PXE-E61: Media Test Failure, Check cable
can someone please help me?

thanks in advance,

i'm new to this forum so sorry if i posted this wrong.

jack hookie

[Azureal]

Google is your friend, I did a search on the exact error string you posted and got over 100,000 hits.

This problem is not specific to Sony machines, it is related to the system not recognizing that there is a hard drive installed and part of the boot order in the BIOS setup is set to boot from the network. The machine is trying to boot from the network and loading network drivers then it's complaining that it cannot find an Ethernet connection.

One sample post from a Compaq user.

You need to confirm that your new drive is compatible and properly connected and then validate that it is recognized by the system BIOS. Most machines on boot will display a brief message on the screen like "Press F2 to enter setup". This is where you'll go to validate the recognition of the new drive.

You may have better luck getting further assistance on some boards which specialize in VAIO laptop users support or user groups.

A couple of my favorite laptop forums are:

http://www.notebookforums.com/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/

Good luck!