I'm trying to restore an image on a new WDC Caviar 60GB hard drive in a Presarion 7470. Problem is that the CD-ROM is not an option in the Boot Order in the BIOS and I have flashed the latest BIOS updates on the machine. Is there any way to start the restore process from the Quick Restore disk since I can see the files on the Compaq Quick restore disk from a DOS boot disk? Thanks. Please send response to pklatt@comcast.net as well if you can.

you should see an .exe file on the disk to execute the process. boot with the win98 floppy, choose cd-rom support, change to cd-rom drive letter, for instance d:\ then type d:\dir/p look for any exe files or directories

I think that Compaq place a small non-DOS partition on the hard drive which contains data needed to run the Restore CD. If you have replaced the original hard drive, then obviously you are missing this partition and the Restore CD won`t work. I don`t know whether any of the drive cloning programs can detect this non-DOS partition. If not, the other option would be to see whether a Compaq dealer can install the partition on the new hard drive, and if not, you will need to buy a Windows CD.

There are 36 .exe files on the CD and Tech support(?) at Cpq can't tell me which one launches it. I've tried some of the most obvious ones, but they won't run in DOS mode. I've tried loading a fresh copy of Win98 but it stalls after the first restart, I think because the PC CAN'T boot to CD-ROM (not an option in the Boot Order). Loaded all the BIOS updates and still no CD in the boot order. Also found that there is a link to an Emergency Recovery floppy utility, but it won't work on my Windows XP home system. Any other ideas?

If you have a full Win-98 install cd and a standard 98Boot up floppy then you should copy the Win-98 folder (off cd) to the new hdd in DOS. Then access Win-98 and install from the hdd folder. Check out the specifics at Mesich's site here http://www.mesich.com/

is your old hdd still working? if it is connect both hdd's (booting from your old drive), of course, use norton ghost to make an image of your old drive then copy it to your new drive (after partitioning and formating), of course......never seen a computer without cd-rom in the boot order before, sept maybe a tandy.

I have a presario 7360 that I ignorantly deleted the nondos partition during an fdisk. My system runs now but I cannot boot any bootable cd: antivirus, windows setup, restore disk, etc. I have been trying for sometime to figure a way to replace the nondos partition but have found none. I think you have the same problem. I installed windows from dos then robbed some of the progams I wanted from the restore disk by doing a text search to find which files contained those programs.