How to Remove Toshiba HDD Protection for a Vista to Windows 7 Upgrade

Upgrading your Toshiba notebook to Windows 7 should be a headache-free experience.

Upgrading from Windows Vista to Windows 7 on your Toshiba notebook may be a fairly trouble-free procedure, but some users have experienced a few glitches. During the compatibility check, an error message may report that the upgrade can't continue until “Toshiba HDD Protection” is removed. For those who aren't familiar with this utility, it is designed to alert the user when the hard drive experiences vibrations or tilting. Removing HDD protection so you can proceed with your Windows 7 upgrade is a basic task that you should be able to accomplish in just a few minutes.

Difficulty:

Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Toshiba notebook with Windows Vista
• Windows 7 upgrade

1. Click the Windows “Start” button and then click “Computer.” Choose “Properties” and go to “System Properties.” Alternately, click on the “Control Panel” and then click “System.”

2. Choose "Device Manager" in the System Properties window. You must be logged on as an administrative user to access this feature.

3. Expand the “System Devices” menu and locate "Toshiba HDD Protection." Click on this item and confirm that you want to uninstall it.

4. Open Windows Explorer, navigate to the "Windows\System32\drivers" folder and delete the file "thpdrv.sys."

5. Restart your PC. Depending on your configuration, Windows may alert you that you have a new device. Ignore this message. Resume your upgrade to Windows 7.

Tips & Warnings

• Back up your data before upgrading your Toshiba computer to Windows 7.

References

• Toshiba: Upgrade Your Toshiba PC to Windows 7
• Toshiba: Windows 7 Upgrade: Notes and Restrictions

Resources

• Toshiba: Upgrading – Windows 7 Support