My son has an old Pentium 120 Dell computer and it has crashed
Each time i start it up i get the following msg
Insert bootable media in the approriate drive
I know that the hard drive is ok as i have taken it out and it works
ok in my computer but i have no idea how to get the system to find
this hard drive ??? |
Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
25 Jul 2003 14:46 PDT
Hi jackieh100,
The floppy is probably set to boot first in the BIOS - make sure the
CD-ROM is set to boot first in the BIOS (unless you are trying to
install W95, in which case you will need to use a start-up floppy).
Does that help?
hummer
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Clarification of Question by
jackieh100-ga
on
26 Jul 2003 10:58 PDT
have set CD ROM to boot first but gives me the same msg , and when i
use a start up floppy it will still can not find the hard drive ??
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Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
26 Jul 2003 11:18 PDT
Hi jackieh100,
What's installed, W95? Or?
Thanks, hummer
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Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
26 Jul 2003 11:35 PDT
In other words, using W95, set your first boot in the BIOS to floppy
and use the start-up floppy.
For W98, set your first boot to CD-ROM and use your CD.
Make sure whatever you are trying to do, that is how the BIOS is set.
hummer
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Clarification of Question by
jackieh100-ga
on
26 Jul 2003 12:43 PDT
I have win 95 installed as the OS
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Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
26 Jul 2003 13:52 PDT
Ok, set the BIOS to boot to the floppy and use the start-up disk.
While it is booting up, check to make sure the floppy drive's green
light blinks. If you still get the message, and the floppy's light
doesn't come on, or it's on but doesn't blink, then it is time to
suspect the floppy drive. If you get the message but the light
blinks, something easy to try is to use a new start-up disk. You can
download a new one (using a new floppy) at http://www.bootdisk.com
(download the W98 version).
hummer
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Request for Question Clarification by
feilong-ga
on
27 Jul 2003 00:14 PDT
"My son has an old Pentium 120 Dell computer and it has crashed...I
know that the hard drive is ok as i have taken it out and it works ok
in my computer..."
It's possible that the problem is caused by loose or faulty cable and
that's the reason why it can't recognize the drive. Given that the
system crashed or something in Windows became corrupted, the system
should've at least recognized the drive in DOS mode.
Try to check if the hard drive is set to Master and make sure that the
cable is securely attached to the drive. Go to BIOS and autodetect the
drive. If it can't detect it, the IDE cable is the problem since you
said that the drive worked in another computer. Try to replace the IDE
cable with a new one (it's cheap anyway) and try again.
If it still doesn't work, take note of Synarchy's comment below. It's
also possible to overinstall Win95 if you have the installer to do
this.
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Clarification of Question by
jackieh100-ga
on
27 Jul 2003 03:26 PDT
set the cd to boot first but it cant find the CD ROM so i cant load
the software from the CD
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Clarification of Question by
jackieh100-ga
on
27 Jul 2003 03:39 PDT
I have checked the floppy drive and its ok and the used a new start up
disk from the bootdisk.com but still didnt find the C drive again
it this gave me the following msgs
Preparing to start your computer
Win 98 has dectected that C drive does not contain a valid FAT or
FAT32 partition . There are several possible casues.
1 the drive may need to be partitioned . To create a partition on the
drive run FDISK frm the MS DOS command propt
2. You may be suing third-party disk -partitioning software . If you
are using this type of software , remove the Emergency Boot Disk and
restart your cmputer . Then follow the on screen instructions to start
your cmputer from a floppy disk.
3. Some viruses also casue your drive C to not register. You can use a
virus scanning program to check your computer for viruses
I then i have to Abort and it then reads
The diagnostic tools were sucesfully loaded to drive c
when i chcek the C drive
the floppy has created a c drive as MS-RAMDRIVE
which is not the hard drive ??
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Clarification of Question by
jackieh100-ga
on
27 Jul 2003 03:44 PDT
The hard drive is set to master and changed the IDE around but still
no joy , i will get another cable and see if that works
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Request for Question Clarification by
hummer-ga
on
27 Jul 2003 05:29 PDT
Hi again jackieh100,
"set the cd to boot first but it cant find the CD ROM so i cant load
the software from the CD"
I'm sorry to sound like a broken record, but W95 is not able to boot
to the CD-ROM. You must set your BIOS to boot to your A drive and then
use a start-up floppy.
Starting from scratch, you would:
Confirm that the BIOS is set to your floppy drive (A).
Insert your W95 boot floppy.
If it asks, say Yes to large disk support (FAT 32).
Say Yes to CD-ROM support.
After loading, put in your CD-ROM.
At the DOS prompt, change the drive letter to your CD-ROM drive ( D:
).
Press enter.
If you want to try the W98 floppy again:
Confirm that the BIOS is set to your floppy drive (A).
Insert the W98 boot floppy.
Select "start with CD-ROM support".
After loading, put in your W95 CD-ROM.
It is normal that a temporary RAM drive will be created when using
W98.
Your CD-ROM drive will change letters (probably from D to E).
This is my last post as I will not be available for some time.
Computer troubles can be tricky, but stick with it, I'm sure you'll be
able to solve it eventually.
Good luck,
hummer
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Clarification of Question by
jackieh100-ga
on
02 Aug 2003 07:20 PDT
have tried the new cable and that didnt work so will try the jumper settings thanks
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