Hi all. I will try to keep this brief and calm? I killed my laptop.
armed with a 'walkthrough' from a reputable computer mag, and (confusing) advice from a friend i decided to format and reinstall win ME on my Acer travelmate 200. I formatted another machine before with no problems other than the usual losing something it turned out i needed so thought ok i can do this again plus the reinstall.

my first poser came because i dont have the ME installation disc (it came pre installed but i do have the product key. this is where my friend stepped in and told me that it wouldnt matter because i could use the path to windows/options/cabs/startup.exe and reinstall from there.

i asked him about the format, saying that surely if i formatted the HD i would lose everything on it including the cabs folder....he assured me this wouldnt happen, i cant remember his exact words but i think he said something about it being in a different partition and so would not be removed with the format. this sounded reasonable esp to a novice trying to learn, so i formatted using the 'format C' command at the A:\ prompt. (i created the bootdisc before hand) this is where the first 'discrepancy' occured. The mag said to type 'FORMAT C: /S' at the A:| prompt. i did this and was told that windows no longer recognises the C:/S command, so i retyped without the 'S' and the HD formatted.

now the fun starts. i can reboot the machine with the floppy in and get the options for 'help' (or not much help as the case may be)- start with cd-rom support-start without cd-rom support or minimal boot. problem is i cant start it at all.

for example if i choose cd rom support it goes thru the motions, tells me diagnostic tools were loaded to drive D, my cd rom is drive E then gives me the A:|> prompt. I cant do anything with this as i dont have any discs.

if i choose no cd rom support it again goes thru the motions and i get the same result as above.

minimal boot gives pretty much the same thing again.

i've tried typing in the path to C:\WIN\OPTIONS\CABS\Setup.exe (typing D: and E:\ also) but all i get is bad command or filename.

i've pretty much exhausted all i know, am i just messing up with the command line, or, as i am beginning to suspect will it not work because all the relevant files are gone in the format???

buying the CD-Rom for Win ME is not really an option i can afford, and i dont know where i could 'borrow' one. as i say, i am now at a loss. if any one does have any suggestions, or can help in any way i would be very grateful. i really need my machine for college and if it dies......so does my friend!!

please, anyone.

many thanks in advance of your help

If you don't have a WinME disc, system restore disc, or anything of that sort (like someone who has a WinME disc); then I'm not sure there's much you can do.

If you HD was partitioned, and the windows files were somewhere else; they'd show up like it was on another drive (like D:).

Another thing, Acer, or maybe even MicroSoft, might be able to send you out a WinME disc. You do have the product key afterall. You might ave to wait a few months though.

Tell your friend your forum post has nominated him for the Darwin award, as he will soon be extinct. You at least admitted what you did, we enjoyed it. Enjoy letting your "friend" understand just how
much he helped you.

Now as for recovery. The files are gone, get over it, while taking care of our "friend". First, keep that ProductKey in a safe place. You will have to find or buy a copy of ME on CD now. If you get a copy of "ME Update" you will also need an older copy of Window 9x to use to qualify the Update version.

However, before doing any thing drastic, boot from the diskette you have. If you load with the CD-ROM option, the drive you formatted should at least show up as C:, the tools disk as D:. Then check if anything shows at E:\ and F:\. If you get "Invalid drive specification for both, then there is no partition with the code necessary to rebuild your system. If one of these drives do not give the error message, then it is possible a hidden partition is out there somewhere. Then load FDISK and use it to
check that there is not a second partition on the drive. Select option 4, "display partition information".

Next go back and look for any diskettes and/or the CD that came with the system. According to the Acer web site your one year warranty has expired. And that you are also responsible for the diskettes and CD that came with your system. (Sounds like they will charge you for help if you lost your CD's and that in fact one should have came with the system.)

Prior to trying to install ME, you will need to go to the http://www.Acer.com web site and download the special drivers that are required to run ME on a Travelmate 200. They list four drives for sound, touchpad and display, plus some utilities. Good luck. (Your friend will not need it.)

There is NO way you will be able to "REINSTALL" the OS without the OS disk!

You need to get a copy of the disk and install it!

thanx guys for all the posts. yes to the hidden partition, that is what my friend talked of, how and where it is hidden i am not sure but after the format and from the command prompt i didnt appear to be able to access it, not surprising since i wiped the disc. still, i got what i wanted from the restore disc which mercifully i found, and all is fairly well again.(subconciously JackG i must've known he was talking out of his stack dump cos i backed up all my important stuff.) still, lessons learned as always, but the drinks are on my friend ken i think. :0)
Thanks again guys.