Hello, I am totally computer illiterate other than how to use common applications. I have an old brandless computer which used to have WIndows 3.1 on it. Today it wouldn't boot up, stating there was a hard disk failure. I am not sure what I can do now to reinstall/recover the system. Appreciate your help. Pls bear with me and give me step by step instructions as I know nothing about this stuff.

First, did the HDD make loud grinding noises before you got this error? Second, did you play with the CMOS settings?

No. The computer hadn't been used for a few months, but when i tried to get it started again, it wouldn't work. I think the hard disk has crashed actually, so it's prob not a Windows problem. The actual error message was Hard Disk(s) Fail (80). Do you know what that means, or how to find out if it's recoverable? BTW what is CMOS settings?

From a brief search: I received either one of the following errors:  Hard Disk Fail (80),  How can I fix this? Hard Disk Fail (80) 1. Please make sure both ends of the ribbon cable between the controller and the hard drive have good connections. 2. Reboot your computer Always good advice. Most machines allow you to access the CMOS (setup screen) by holding the del key after the memory test, but yours may be different. Often you will see the CMOS instructions during startup.