Tom's Guide | Tom's Hardware | Tom's Games
 |
 |
 |
I just received a computer with out a HD, I came up with 4 small HD's from a friend, when I put one in it comes up 'disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter'. I put in a win98 boot disk and the same thing comes up. I can't get to DOS to format.Please help me, I am going to be starting a hardware course and need this comp running now, not mid way through when I might be able to figure it out....
If you are sure that the floppy disk is good. Run the Bios setup program and make sure that the Floppy drive is enabled and also in the boot up sequence somewhere, preferably first.
0 
That sort of thing has happened to me before. I would make sure it is properly connected via IDE and make sure the jumpers are set correctly. Then go into BIOS and make sure your set to autodetect that stuff.
0
Thanks for the quick responce...I have checked and the boot sequence is A,C and the boot up floppy seek is enabled...arggg..any other ideas????
0
I have this A+ book at about 1500pages and cannot find anything about jumpers on a hard drive....I see the jumpers and there locations on the HD .they are CS, DS, SP, PO.
??????
0
You can put the another HD in ur friend's computer as a slave HD , and then u can transfer the system files , by : sys (Hd drive) , or check the bios settings make sure that the computer boot from the floppy , and put a system disk , then Sys C: , or Setup any OS it will transfer it's system files .
0
Disconnect the HDD ribbon. Now ensure that the ribbon for the floppy is seated correctly in the MB and the floppy. Now ensure that the edge with the red line of the floppy is going to pin No, 1 on the drive itself and on the motherboard and that the twist on the floppy ribbon is at the floppy drive end.
Now boot up with a floppy. Make absolutely sure that the disk itself is OK. As the HDD is not connected, you may have to wait a litle while for the comp to boot up. You may even get prompt to press F2 to continue or the like. If you still cannot get to the A: prompt, use another disk, maybe other than WIN98. Is the LED light coming on, on the floppy drive showing that it is trying to access the floppy?
0
Terry's advice is excellent. Check the connectors for bent pins. Also be aware that the floppy should be plugged into the last connector past the cable twist. The middle connector is for the B: drive.
0
By the way... Are you sure that the diskette that you are using is bootable? Have you tried it in another system?
0
Man...you guys are great...really trying to help...thank you!!.............but..the cables are correct...the A drive light is coming on...I have used a start up disk made in win98 and a start up disk made in DOS from a comp running win98....and I can't find my ball pean hammer...ARGG....r00t mentioned to put the drive into friends comp...well the one I am trying to get to work is my second comp...how can I transfer the proper files onto this 'slave' HD???
Do I have to use a different start up disk and if so where can I get it??>>>thanks
0
Hi Magnet
It seems to me that you do not have a hard disk set as master. You have to put the hard drive on the Primary IDE, manually set the jumpers on the drive to MASTER, and then go into the BIOS and either auto-detect the HDD or manually type in the HDD specs.
Then reboot with a boot disk
1. Run FDISK from the floppy
2. Format the C:\ drive using the command
Format c: /sIf you want to install another hard drive as slave, you connect it on the same cable as the master hard drive, but manually set the jumpers on this hard disk to SLAVE.
Again, go into BIOS and setup the hard disk again, then reboot with floppy disk and run FDISK and FORMAT on this new drive which will be called D:Sorry if you already knew all this, but I couldn't figure out from your post what you had exactly done with what !
Krystyna
0
I found this site with a sort of explanation about the jumper markings you have
CS DS SP PO
It might be helpful in working out MASTER and SLAVE settings
http://www.thetechpage.com/cgi-bin/db/db.cgi?displayItem=1230
Krystyna
0
Krystyna,
Thank you so much for the help!!!!!
As far as the hard drive is concerned I found that when I took off a jumper, all I removed was the plastic case the little metal jumper stayed on...heheheh
Now all I have is a screen telling me I'm missing the operating system, I have tryed a win98 boot disk and a win95 boot disk and keeps telling me I am missing the o/s.
What now??? 8-)
0
Okay Magnet
Use the bootdisk to startup the computer
At the A:\ prompt
1. type FDISK and follow the numbers to first remove all partitions and then finally to create just one primary DOS partition
( If the hard drive is smaller than 528mb, do NOT bother with enabling large disk support )
2. then reboot with the floppy still in, and then type FORMAT C: /S
3. now you are ready to install Windows by either CDROM or floppies.
If using CD, change to letter of CD drive and type SETUP.
This is theoretically how it should all work - if you have strife - either repost or email me.
Krystyna
0
I can't get the A prompt...it just comes up no operating system, I have used a win98 startup disk.....????????
0
Hi Magnet
Does the floppy drive work ?
When booting up the computer...does the little LED light glow beside the floppy ?
So...when you boot up, what drive letter is on the screen ?
Krystyna
0  |
 |
 |
This post is quite old and has been locked from receiving new replies. Please create a new posting instead.
| Ads by Google |
