Toshiba Satellite L850 boot problems

[paterson]

Hi there. Ive rad a few threads about similar isses, but have come up short.

Trying to fix a friend's computer after they've formatted it accidentally.

It came with the error message "An operating system wasn't found. Try disconnecting any drives that don't contain an operating system."

So, I changed the BIOS boot order to make the primary boot from ODD, same message.

Then after reading another thread here, I checked that fast boot was not enabled and changed the advanced>system>SATA contoller mode from AHCI to compatibility (IDE) mode.
This at least made a difference, in that instead of an error message I only get a single underscore.

There is no secure boot option that I can see.

There are no other drives attached (other than the formatted HDD Im trying to install to)

They have a win7 key stuck on the back but no disc etc, so Im using my disc intending to use their key.

I have not yet tried to create my own boot CD.

 

[Saga Lout]

There are no other drives attached (other than the formatted HDD Im trying to install to)

They have a win7 key stuck on the back but no disc etc, so Im using my disc intending to use their key.

I have not yet tried to create my own boot CD.

These three lines confuse me a bit but the last line would suggest where the problem lies. It can't find an operating system because the hard disk is formatted and the CD is either not in the drive or is not bootable.

By the way, an installation disk will need to be a DVD. A CD only has 700MB and is not man enough for the job.

 

[paterson]

Let me clarify:
The internal ODD is attached and has a legitimate Windows 7 disc loaded. The only other drive attached is the HDD I want to install the OS on.

I only mention not making my own boot disc as its one of the soloutions mentioned in other, similar threads. This is because Im using a genuine microsoft disc.

The CD/DVD semantics are trivial, but now Im curious if its a locality thing. Im Australian and everyone I know uses "DVD" only to refer to video discs (even if they're cd rips or blueray), and CD to refer to all other discs. Im aware thats not techically correct, but its become conversational use of the language here.

 

[Saga Lout]

I can't check this from where I am now but I do believe a Compact Disk can only hold 700MB and that isn't sufficient to hold a Windows Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 or 10 system. Maybe it is a matter of semantics but we have Aussie Mods I can consult when they wake up.

The only suggestion I can make as to the problem is have you set BIOS to make sure it's looking in the Optical Drive before anywhere else. The only other possibility is taht the disk itself is not bootable or has been damaged.

There is oe other hurdle some folks trip up and that's not being quick enough to see and carry out the instruction "Press any key to boot from CD/DVD".

 

[paterson]

ODD is set as the first boot drive, and the disc works in other machines.

no "any key" message is displayed. The display goes from the toshiba logo (where you can F2 to BIOS) to a black screen with an underscore, where i can hear the disc drive spinning, but goes no further. Previously this was followed by an error message, shown above.

Im beginning to suspect the ODD itself maybe doesnt work? is there a way to check that, otherthan hooking it into another machine?

Failing all soloutions to use the disc, I'll try making a boot usb... can you recommend a good guide to do this?

 

[ffg7]

do you have access to an external optical drive?