Hi,

I have an HP Simplesave 1TB. I took out the SATA drive which I want to use as an ordinary hard drive, without need for the HP PCB. However, I can't format it using Computer Management. It shows unallocated but when I right-click the partition, I cannot select any except for Properties and Help. I also tried formatting using command prompt ("diskpart"). The disk appears as Disk 1 but I cannot select it. Says it's not valid. I have no intention of using the HP PCB again. I hope you can help.

Thanks in advance.

If you don't have data in that drive , erase it and try again.

Use MHDD to test the disk (check if its locked or HPA enabled )and erase it.
Scan the drive if you want to check for faults.
Then try to format it in windows.
Remember :You will lose all the data from the drive .

http://hddguru.com/software/2005.10.02-MHDD/