Hi all, A friend of mine has an old Compaq computer machine with P166 and 128 RAM. It's got 1 GB SCSI hardrive and 630 MB IDE hardrive. We are trying to upgrade the hardrive for more space since it's got Win XP that takes almost all the space. And everytime he is in the Internet the system shuts down reminding him that the system is running out of space. So, we found a 10 GB IDE hardrive and partitioned it to 4 GB to be recognized by the older machine. We wanted to take the SCSI completely and just play with IDE. The problem is that we can not get to the BIOS. I searched the HP/Compaq website and under the troubleshooting procedure it tells that by pressing F10 will get to the BIOS. We have been trying since last night to get to the BIOS and we were unsuccessful. Also, an error Disk 0 Error message appears during POST. This is after we took the SCSI board and hardrive and repalced with the new hardrive (we also took out the 630 MB hardrive). We set the jumper for the new 4GB-partitioned 10 GB hardrive as a master. Any idea how can we get to the BIOS and any suggestions as how to upgrade the hardrive for a bigger one. My previous Instructor said to put my hand to the keyboard to get a keyboard error and it will get me to the BIOS. It gave me a keyboard error but it did not get me to the BIOS. Hellllpppppp. Thank you.

The BIOS instructions for many Compaq's are written on the HDD. If you've got enough space on the 1GB HDD to install Norton Ghost 2003, it could be used to write the image of 1GB HDD to the 4GB partition of the 10GB IDE HDD.

First of all using Xp on a 166 is like trying to put a V8 into a mini, how on earth are u running win Xp on a 1gb drive i can only imagine youve done a very very bare install that 166 is desinged for win95! although i would recommend running win98 on it, if its just a muck about machine for messing around on then id get another keybaord it sounds like the keyboard button is damaged, try this aswell start the pc with the keyboard unplugged and plug it back in just after it turns on i had a keyboard that would let me in2 the bios but i had to disconnect and reconnect it whilst in the bios for it 2 work. warning unplugging a ps2 device whilst the pc is on can damaged the mother board but ive never had a problem plus i doubt that thing even uses ps2.

I'm sure that you have already done this, but as soon as you start the machine, continuously tap the appropriate key. Are you sure it is F10. Does the machine fast boot, or can you see screens as the machine goes thru the POST sequence? If you have POST screens, you should see the correct keystrokes displayed. Could be Del, F10, F1, F2, or others. If all else fails, clear the CMOS and that should take you to the BIOS on that machine. Remember, HP now owns Compaq, but didn't when that box was built. If It ain't workin maybe they are wrong about the keystrokes. The keyboard did work prior to changing things around? Make sure its connected properly also. BTW, when you finally succeed entering the BIOS, Disable the Fast boot option. The reason they enabled it to start was they don't want thier costomers in the BIOS, so they make it hard.

Got this presario 5000 "lemon" for free after a friend attempted to install a new HD and OS. Problem, fans/lights on, drives turning but no video, no beeps and finally Gave up and built a new PC, offered the dead presario 5000 to me...Trying to defeat all compaq's proprietary stuff is futile.. I would like to get it going for my kids. Are there any generic motherboards that would fit in a Presario 5000 series tower? Model 5bw284. I have little experience with compaq,HP,Dell store bought pc's. I've always built my own. I am sure this is a compaq proprietary thing as all the parts work fine swapped into another homebuilt pc. 2nd option, buy a new tower, generic MOBO and salvage anything useful in the presario; CD,CDR,256mSDramPc133,40g WD caviar HD, USB2.0 card,soundcard, PIII-850mhz, ect. any help appreciated..Thanks much!!! ..Steve

Steve6969 Please start your own thread.

Badboy, RockyBalboa & OtheHill, Thank you guys for your response. They are worth knowing. However, we found a 4 GB Hardrive and the system was able to recognize it. We can't still access the BIOS. We ended up using the 1 GB SCSI and put the OS on 4 GB hardrive. It went quite well. Thank you again.