So I have a computer from the Stone Age (a gateway computer from 2001 that runs Windows ME). I was working today on trying to speed it up by doing a number of different things. I was about to run my computer in safe mode, but when I restarted my computer to try to get it into safe mode, I didn't remember how. I pressed the wrong thing and ended up in the "BIOS Setup Utility." I am smart enough to know not to mess with anything in the BIOS, but when I existed from it all I got was a blank black screen with a blinking cursor. I restarted the computer and I got the following message: "The Hard drive was not found. Consult the Trouble Shooting section of your user' manual, etc." Now I don't know if I accidentally did something when in the Bios Setup Utility or if my computer coincidently decided to die on me. The computer freezes all the time and gives me all sorts of problems. Should I go the Bios Setup Utility and hit "Load Setup Defaults" and see what happens??? Would doing that at least allow me to figure out if the problem really lies in the BIOS? Would doing that erase my hard drive or will everything be okay? Please help me... I have some files I want to get off of my computer.

The BIOS should always be custom configured for the hardware you're running. BIOS Defaults are only meant as a starting point or a fallback point if you screw up when customizing....they are NOT optimal settings. That being said, I suppose it's *possible* that you clicked on something while you were in the BIOS, but you would have had to click "save changes & exit" for the changes to actually "stick". Is that what you did? BTW, safe mode is accessed by pressing F8, then selecting it from the menu. Also, if you want to speed up your system, add more RAM.

For a computer of that vintage, the default settings are probably pretty reasonable for the most part "I am smart enough to know not to mess with anything in the BIOS" Well, some settings should be left alone if not understood, but much is pretty basic. At any rate, you WILL have to enter the setup and ensure that the hard drive is correctly entered - there should be an 'auto detect' option If the drive can't be 'seen' in the BIOS, there will be no other options until it is - possibly it has unexpectedly passed on. If that is the case, file recovery may (or may not) still be possible by slaving the drive into another machine (if it still spins) You might also want to ensure that the drive's power & data cables are snugly connected Despite claims to the contrary, posts are not routinely removed from Computing.Net

What did you do to "Speed things up" before you rebooted? Life's more painless for the brainless.