My laptop just gave up a few months ago. It cut out when I was using it, and I've not been able to boot it up since. It either gets half way through the boot up and stops loading, or it turns itself off. I initially tried reinstalling windows etc. I took it to a friend who tried a different hard disk/ different CPU (in case of overheating) but he couldn't figure it out.

It's almost worth giving up, but the other day I got it to boot a CD-boot version of linux (ie one that runs off CD and RAM only) and it looked promising. So I thought I should have a go at properly installing linux. So I downloaded and burnt a mandrake installation DVD.

The problem now is that it no longer boots from CD at all. The drive is spinning up and the BIOS can detect it in the Primary/Slave disk section, but CD is not an available option in the list of boot-up priority.

Has anyone got any idea what might be going on?! I presume that I have messed something up in the BIOS so that it won't boot from CD anymore.

I would like one of two options: 1. to be able to boot and try to install linux, or 2. to be able to format the hard disk so that I can get rid of the thing. Any help with either would be appreciated, thanks.

http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/advidx.htm

Seems odd that the CD boot *OPTION* would disappear from BIOS.

Try setting BIOS defaults.

If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2

I tried resetting the BIOS to default settings, but it didn't help.

Have u tried removing CMOS battery?

no- what is the CMOS battery and how do i remove it?

The Cmos battery in most cases is a flat round shiney battery and in most cases looks like a watch battery but, much larger use this website as an example of what battery looks like..>http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/pb/mb/pegasus.htm

" I tried resetting the BIOS to default settings, but it didn't help."

Does that mean they couldn't be set?

That they were set but didn't stay stuck?

Or they stayed but there was still no CD boot option?

In which case, how did it ever boot from CD before?

street1,

This is a *LAPTOP*

If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

M2

http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/laptop/7065.htm>{Mechanix2Go}Thank You,for correcting my blunder.I have been told to put my glasses on before.{HenryO},Sorry if I mislead you.

I selected the option to reset bios settings to default, but that didn't seem to have any effect. At least, it didn't change the options in the booting menu. It did ask me if I wanted to set them to 'high performance settings' or something like that. I assumed the answer was yes.

I'll have a look tonight for the CMOS battery then, and see if that helps.

When i tell it to show the boot up sequence (windows), it stops at ....\drivers\agpCPQ.sys
I dont't know if that's related?

Thanks for your continuing help.