hello i am new to this whole forum thing so you'll have to bear with me if i'm a little slow. I started to get the message 'disk boot failure, enter system disk and press enter' after i had to restart the computer when to screen froze whilst i was playing a DVD. Since then i have attempted so many things to reverse it. i have changed the BIOS settings to HDD-1 etc and have tried to set it up in safe mode but with no success. As a last resort i entered the system disk in. Just as i thourght i was in luck the machine told me that the system disk (which came with the computer 3 years ago) was no longer compatible. Please help me before i throw the infernal machine out of the window. ninja mouse ps. please explain everything simply as i do not know technical terms for computers.

Looks like your harddrive has failed. Before you dash out to buy a new one download a diagnostic tool from the manufacturer. Usually the downloaded program is used to make a bootable floppy that contains the diagnostic tool. Boot your problem machine with that and run the test. It will tell you if the drive has problems. I used to have a signature but it disappeared and I just couldn't be bothered writing another so please feel free to ingore this.

Since the BIOS is not seeing a viable Operating system any more to boot from in the paths (in whatever order FDD>CD-ROM>HDD or HDD>CD-ROM>FDD or CD-ROM>FDD>HDD in any permutation and combinations)it is supposed to seek, it is lamenting or chastising the PC user with those words -'disk boot failure, enter system disk and press enter'. You can deduce from those Words one of several things as possibilities: 1. The OS (Operating System) is so corrupt as if it is totally missing from the HDD the PC was was looking into. 2. You might have placed a "Non- System" Disc /Diskette like a Program CD/DVD or Diskette in the Path the BIOS was seeking for an OS if the Boot order in the BIOS is HDD last. 3. The HDD has the OS but is physically unable to communicate with the MoBo (Motherboard) because of disconnected/ wrongly connected/damaged IDE cable or Power Cable. 4. The HDD is dead! "Since then i have attempted so many things to reverse it. i have changed the BIOS settings to HDD-1 etc" You have already ruled out several possibilities by making the HDD as #1 Boot Device- namely it was not due to interposing a Non-system Diskette or Disc in the Boot Device. "Since then i have attempted so many things to reverse it. i have changed the BIOS settings to HDD-1 etc" The above statement in your post tells us that the Problem is in the HDD itself. Now on, any further "Software troubleshoots" must follow changing the boot order to HDD being the last in the path because you have to use a Bootable diskette or Disc for the troubleshoot and the BIOS has to seek them first before reaching the "mute" or "dead" HDD! Troubleshooters differ in their approaches from here on. Hardware enthusiasts" first decide to check the viability of the HDD by looking at the HDD LED display-> opening the chassis and checking the cables, Jumpers etc and swapping with the " known good HDD" etc while the software enthusiasts go for a Bootable OS disc and try to reach the Start-up menu and choose either "Last Known Good Configuration" or Repair Options and go on to Reinstall". I hope this helps a bit in deciding the next step. M

i would then guess, 1) there's a floppy in the floppy drive 2) mbr is missing. Utada rocks!