ISSUE: The computer may not recognize a hard drive inserted in the removable hard drive bay. Gateway® LX6810 and FX6800 series computers support tool-less removable hard drives in the two front expansion bays. The following scenarios may cause a removable hard drive to not be recognized.

• The removable hard drive was not properly installed in the tray.
• The removable hard drive tray is not fully inserted into the bay.
• The removable hard drive is not allocated.
• The removable hard drive tray was inserted into the bay while the computer was turned on.

RESOLUTION: Use the following steps to determine the cause of the problem and correct it.

1. The hard drive was not installed properly in the tray. The metal prongs protruding from each side of the tray must be inserted into the screw holes closest to the connector end of the hard drive.

Note: Do not insert the metal prongs into the notches near the screw holes. Doing so does not allow the hard drive to connect properly to the power and data connector at the rear of the hard drive bay.

Refer to the hardware reference guide "Adding a removable hard drive" section for more information.
FX6800 - FX Hardware Reference Guide
LX6810 - Gateway Hardware Reference Guide
2. The removable hard drive tray is not fully inserted in the bay. The hard drive tray is not fully inserted if the computer's front sliding door cannot close. Reseat the hard drive tray and make sure it is slid fully into the hard drive bay.
Note: Turn the computer off before inserting the hard drive tray into the bay.
3. The removable hard drive is not allocated. If the hard drive is not allocated and partitioned, it is not recognized in My Computer. However it is visible in Disk Management. The hard drive becomes accessible in My Computer after it has been configured in Disk Management. To configure a blank hard drive in Windows Vista® Disk Management, follow these steps:
1. From the Windows Vista default Start menu, click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, click System and Maintenance.
3. In Control Panel System and Maintenance window, click Administrative Tools.
4. In the Administrative Tools window, double-click Computer Management.
5. In the User Account Control dialog box, click Continue.
6. In the Computer Management window, select Disk Management.
7. Right-click the unallocated space you wish to create a new volume in, and then select New Simple Volume.
8. In the Welcome to the New Simple Volume Wizard dialog box, click Next.
9. In the Specify Volume Size dialog box, enter the appropriate information and then click Next.
10. In the Assign Drive Letter or Path dialog box, enter the appropriate information and then click Next.
11. In the Format Partition dialog box, enter the appropriate information and then click Next.
12. In the Completing the New Simple Volume Wizard dialog box, click Finish.
13. The volume is formatted. Larger drives take longer to format.
14. After the format process is complete, the drive is visible in My Computer.

4. The removable hard drive bay is not hot-swappable. Turn off the computer before installing or removing a hard drive tray. If a hard drive tray containing a hard drive is removed or installed while the computer is powered on, the hard drive may no longer function properly.