I shut my computer down while I was on vacation, and I returned today. When I attempted to start my computer, I received this message "Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter." Well, I figured the next best thing to do is to insert my handy Windows XP recovery disk provided by Compaq...you know, the set of 5 or 6 you get when you buy the thing. I inserted the system disk and pressed enter, only to receive this message: "No operating system installed or partition corrupted. Press 'R' to perform a full system recovery." At this point, a full system recovery sounded like a day at the spa so I wasted no time in finding the 'R' button. A few seconds pass until I receive this message: "Hard rive write error! Press any key to continue." This must be serious, as computers hardly ever yell at you (indicated by the wonderful exclamation mark.) I press a key, and get this: "PRESS A KEY TO REBOOT." I press more keys, and I return to the original message of not having an operating system. I cannot boot windows at all, nothing happens. I searched other messages which suggested making sure cables were plugged in, and to the best of my knowledge the cables are plugged in and secure. I would format my hard drive, but I can't get to the prompt to do so - am I going to have to replace my hard drive? Thanks in advance for any replies.

I'm going to take a stab in the dark and guess that your hard disk has indeed gone south (possibly the bearings dried up and the platters are not spinning). Things that spin, such as fans, drives, etc. that have a lot of time on them, tend to seize up when left at rest for a period of time. I'm guessing the drive is pretty old or has a lot of hours on it? Anyway, it certainely sounds like a defective hard disk to me. I hope you had your data backed up! Good luck. Rob Pectol http://rob.pectol.com/

I am also going to take a stab at this. Another possibility could be that your c-mos battery located on your motherboard died during your vacation and when you returned with the loss of your bios information, your computer had no clue as to your hard drive size or location. To verify this / enter your setup (bios) and determine if your hard drive is recognized by your bios. Sometimes when this happens, as the computer is left in the "insert boot disk" mode, the computer sometimes will eventually find the hard drive on its' own. If your hard drive is already selected inside your setup (bios), I was wrong.

I'm going to have to agree with response #2 from RTolbertson. That would probably be a little more likely than the hard disk seizing up and definitely worth looking into. Good luck! Rob Pectol http://rob.pectol.com/

Thankyou very much for the quick responses. Excuse my silly question, but how exactly would I determine if my hard drive is recognized by my bios? Thanks again for the replies.