HELP - Disk Boot Failure

[Val]

Hi, I hope I can get some help here. My computer locked up on me and I had to reboot. When it came back on it said "DISK BOOT FAILURE" and I could not go any further. It asked to put in boot disk, I looked and the only think I have is a FULL RESCUE DISK but that says I will lose everything on my computer. It will return it to just like it was when I bought it a few years ago (everything else erased) the OTHER disk I have is a Rescue for WIN 95, I inserted that and it said I need to reformat the drive, so, I selected yes. It then said PHYSICAL DRIVE C IS NOT DETECTED, CONTACT TECH SUPPORT.
Help...what happened?

Thank you

[tweakthis]

Hi Val. http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/hi.gif Welcome to hft.

I am moving this message to the hardware forum where I'm sure some of our members will have ideas/solutions for you. I'll check back tonight because all my links are at home - not here at work where I'm actually supposed to be working! http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/wink.gif http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/grin.gif

Did you try restarting more than once?

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[Pure Luck]

Sounds like your hard drive died or a cable came loose. I would make sure the power is totally off and check the ide cable (flat cable) and power cable on back of the hard drive to make sure they are in snug. Also check to make sure the other end of the ide cable is plugged into the motherboard good. Once your sure it's all plugged in good, power it back up. If you still get the error, re-boot and go into the bios when it first re-starts. Might have to hit the del key or ctrl/alt or something, it will tell you if you watch. Once you are in the bios, make sure primary and secondary devices are set to auto detect in the boot menu. If they are, save and exit. If it still doesn't pick it up, your hard drive probably died.

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[Val]

Thanks for the quick reply. I tried what you suggested regarding ensuring it was plugged in ok...it seemed to be fine. I made the decision to go ahead and try and use the rescue disk ( I didn't want to do that at all as I have 3 years worth of things on there that I didn't want to be lost) No, I never backed up anything http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/frown.gif Anyway, I inserted the resuce disk and it warned me that it would erase everything and leave my computer as it was when I first received it. I clicked "yes" and to continue. It made some noises like it was reading the drive and a couple minutes later. It said to push any key to continue. I did and I got the same error message as I did prior to inserting the rescue disk. ?? "Disk Boot Failure, Insert rescue disk...." So, I thought, well maybe it did what it was supposed to do and I rebooted. This time it said HARD DISK FAILURE. I tried to do the rescue disk thing and the exact same thing happens as before...HARD DISK FAILURE....
So, my questions now are:
It's dead for sure now? Is there anything else to do or do I need to trash this computer and start saving for another one???
Thank you.


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[Pure Luck]

Sounds like the hard drive just went. You can just replace it. They're not that expensive. Just pop it in and format and install an operating system. Might even be able to use the restore disks that came with that pc and it'll end up just like when you bought it. Maybe someone else here has some other ideas though. I would suggest using a bootdisk and running Scandisk from dos but if won't even format, that's not going to work either.

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[Jaturp]

What msg would you get with a def ide cable or ide controller?.JT.

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[tweakthis]

Too bad about the data...sounds to me like the drive is gone. You can pick up another drive if you're satisfied with the rest of your system. You might also try getting a boot disk from www.bookdisk.com (http://www.bookdisk.com) and see if you can re-install windows, but tbh, I wouldn't put great faith in it working. Can you post some more specs. OS? Speed? Amount of ram? Brand of computer? whatever else you can think of.

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[Val]

Any idea what a new hard drive would cost? Even a fairly close estimate would be fine. I am satisified with my system and that may be my best bet.
It is a Pentium II 266 QUANTEX, 64 meg of RAM, Win 95 I've had it since 1997.

Due to the age, I wonder if I should just by a new system and upgrade a little. (if the hard drive is fairly expensive)..

thanks

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[Jaturp]

US$100

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[Val]

That is a lot cheaper than buying a new system. Do you think that is what is wrong with mine? I've never done any thing like replacing parts...is it difficult? What kind should I get? If that doesnt fix it, do they normally give refunds? Sorry for the crazy questions, but, I am really, really like a fish out of water with computers. I guess I have been lucky to never ever have a problem with mine since 97.

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[tweakthis]

Well, it would help to know where you are - Canada, US, ...? I agree with JT, though. You should be able to pick one up for abour $100 US. An install charge should be about $30 (a guess since I do my own installs/upgrades). Do you have the Win95CD? I'm asking because when you mentioned repair disk it made me think your system might be HP and I think that company doesn't send you the CD...it installs the OS and sends a repair disk instead. A Win98 CD should also be about $100 (maybe less). Ask your friends where they get their computer repairs/upgrades done. Word of mouth is the best way to find a good shop, imho.

Your system is about the same speed as mine and mine continues to, unfortunately, meet my needs so I have to real reason to upgrade. I don't play the latest, greatest, fastest games or do CPU intensive work so I'm still plugging away on this computer. When it dies, however, I plan to have some fun building a new one. http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/grin.gif

I guess you were posting at the same time I was so our messages overlap. Not sure about the refunds thing if it doesn't fix the computer. I doubt they'd refund but might take it back and apply the price to a new computer. Ask the store you buy the drive from. Although installing a drive isn't that difficult, it isn't necessarily easy. I would recommend the shop do the install unless you want to get your hands inside the computer. Here a link to Virtual DR's Add/Replace a Hard Drive (http://www.virtualdr.com/tutorials/frame.phtml?URL=http://www.attenza.com/internet/series/0,,5+26+82+23520,00.html) tutorial. It will give you an idea of how to replace a drive and also possibly help you to format the questions you want to ask a computer shop.
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<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by tweakthis on March 12, 2001 at 05:46 PM</font>

[Val]

I am in U.S.
Yes, I have the WIN 95 CD. I just did a quick search on harddrive installation and it talks about the possibility of the drive not fitting and having to add rails or brackets.
It also mentions having to have the "system disk"...I guess this is the CD I have that came with it that I was trying to use to rescue.
Also that I need to need to configure it and set up the CMOS. Not sure what that means or how to do that???

Can you tell me what kind I need? I can't find any of that paperwork !!! I don't even remember what size hard drive it is...

Lastly, do you all feel pretty confident that this will correct the problem?

I find it kind of strange that the rescue disk can't even make it start up ... I thought that bypassed the harddrive..
Thanks again


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[Pure Luck]

Chances are, all you would have to do is take out the 4 screws holding in your existing drive and slide the new one in and plug in the two cables. Your bios is probably set to auto detect so it should pick the new one up just fine. You may or may not have to set the little jumper to make it a master. Then you would just need a boot disk (floppy with system files) and your Win95 cd. Boot with cd rom support and change directory to the cd drive and type in setup.exe In most cases, it's that simple. You mentioned that your Full Rescue Disk wanted to format and put things back to how it was new,, then probably all you'd need to do is run it once the new drive is installed and detected.

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[Val]

Thank you all for your help and time!! I will keep you posted on what I do and how it turns out.

Again, Thanks.



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[Val]

Hi all,
I just bought a Maxtor Hard Drive 20 gig and got it installed just fine.

My problem now is I cannot restore my win95 CD ROM disk because it can't find my cd rom drive ??? I don't know why. I called Maxtor Tech help and they said to reinstall my drivers. Well, I can't find my drivers disk http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/frown.gif
I called the store that I bought the hard drive from and they said that is NOT necessary...they said I need to just tell my computer where my cd rom drive is now located...they said sometimes the installation of the harddrive can erase this info. That is all they are "allowed" to tell me due to liability issues he said...but, they can charge me $80 to try and fix it... I don't know how to do any of this. I inserted my win95 CD in and I've typed from the C prompt every letter in the alphabet to try and switch to the drive but nothing happens....any suggestions? Thanks again everyone http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif I'm not giving up yet...

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EDIT - I just found this info regarding drivers
Toshiba's CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives do not require any unique device drivers for Windows '95/'98/2000/NT.
After installing your drive and re-booting, your system should recognize your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM.
Win '95/'98/2000/NT Operating Systems support all Toshiba ATAPI CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives natively.

I noticed that when the computer boots up it does see the Toshiba CD ROM.


<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Val on March 13, 2001 at 04:14 PM</font>

[Dogg of Demise]

What are you useing to get to the dos prompt the win 95 disk "should" recognise a toshiba CD drive but a lot of the newer drives it won't then you hafta install dos and a cd driver (most generic drivers will work no mater what brand drive it is if its IDE) if its scsi good luck!

If I might suggest mabe its time to go to win 98 mebe even borrow some ones copy and install disk then you wont have to format that big new drive into 2 gig partitions.
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<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Dogg of Demise on March 13, 2001 at 05:08 PM</font>

[Val]

I'm not sure I know what you mean. When I start up the computer, as it is running through the start up, I do see where it says Toshiba CD ROM. I do see it say Windows 95 and then it immediately goes to the C prompt. At this point, I placed the WIN 95 original CD into the drive to install Windows. I don't know how to do a set up because I can't find the CD Drive.

How do I tell my computer that the CD ROM Drive is located "here".

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[Dondo]

if you're at the C:\ prompt,
type D:\
and if it doesn't give an error message, type dir /p

if you get an error message, then DOS isn't finding your drive by itself. the note you found regarding Toshiba drives applies to Win95/98, etc, but not DOS


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I'm not a tech, but I try! ;)
Dondo@hft.every1.net

[Dondo]

When you boot your comp, there is a short time that says "press Delete for setup"
if you press Del then, you'll be able to go into the BIOS.
this area might have an option to boot from your CD-rom, so you can avoid all of this boot disk and DOS stuff. let us know if you want more info about this

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I'm not a tech, but I try! ;)
Dondo@hft.every1.net

[Val]

I typed in D:\ and it said INVALID DRIVE SPECIFICATION

I typed in dir /p and it said MS DOS 5/3/96 COMMAND 5/3/96 AUTOEXEC 3/13/01 INSTOS 3/13/01

Yes, I can go into the BIOS set up screen...what should I look for?

I guess the only thing I need to know is how to get my CD ROM DRIVE working.

I will wait for your reply..

Thanks


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[Dondo]

Your boot disk doesn't have what it needs to access the CD-rom in DOS.
You can try finding another (I can try to email you one).

But first, let's try to see if your comp's BIOS has CD_rom boot features.

On MY first BIOS screen, there is CMOS, BIOS features nad several others. Select BIOS features.
Look for something that sounds like "Boot Sequence". Select it .
Each BIOS may be differnt, in order to make changes to an item on mine, I use the + and - keys. Look for a sequence with "A, CDROM, C"
If you have this, you're laughing.
Exit and Save Changes.
Reboot.

If this all went well, and your recovery disc is bootable, you'll receive the Windows setup screen instead of DOS.
(of course, your 3.5" boot disc isn't in the drive anymore, because your comp will look first there, then the CD-rom, then C.

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I'm not a tech, but I try! ;)
Dondo@hft.every1.net

[Val]

I don't have it in that sequence, but I have these:
C only
A,C,SCSI
C,A,SCSI
C,CDROM,A
CDROM,C,A
D,A,SCSI
E,A,SCSI
F,A,SCSI
SCSI,A,C
SCSI,C,A

I called tech support for the harddrive again and got a totally different answer. He told me to go to bootdisk.com and download the boot disk for Win98 because it has generic driver codes or something...well, I did that and copied the file and tried to run set up from my drive...it said it cannot set up from DOS.
I don't know if he was right or not if that has any bearing on anything..but, thought I would let you know...
Thanks, Valerie

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[Dondo]

pick the one with CDROM first.
that way, if your recovery-CD is bootable, then your computer will boot right into your recovery CD.


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I'm not a tech, but I try! ;)
Dondo@hft.every1.net

[tweakthis]

All right, Val. A 20g drive! Wow. Dondo's got you on the right track. Hope the install goes well. Before you install the operating system, have you thought about how to partition your drive? The larger the drive, the larger the minimum size of a file. I would suggest at least 4 partitions.
c = win95, programmes
d = swap
e = main
f = docs/wp files
and possibly even
g = changes/temp files

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<FONT COLOR="#800080" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by tweakthis on March 13, 2001 at 08:25 PM</font>

[Dondo]

I'm a big fan of partitions, but I don't like to recommend it unless the person installing has an understanding of the different types of partitions.

Well, since we haven't heard from Val for close to an hour, I guess we can assume that things are going ok booting from the CD-rom.

Good Luck Val!
let us know if everything went ok!

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I'm not a tech, but I try! ;)
Dondo@hft.every1.net

[Dogg of Demise]

Ummmm you can boot from the cd in win95 ? I thought only NT did that.

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[Dogg of Demise]

Quote----------------------------------------
I called tech support for the harddrive again and got a totally different answer. He told me to go to bootdisk.com and download the boot disk for Win98 because it has generic driver codes or something...well, I did that and copied the file and tried to run set up from my drive...it said it cannot set up from DOS.
I don't know if he was right or not if that has any bearing on anything..but, thought I would let you know...
Thanks, Valerie

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When I tryed that it told me wrong version



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[Val]

Update
Everything is WORKING!!!!!! Hurray !!!!
Except my modem http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/frown.gif

My desktop looks SO SO bare and empty...3 years worth of stuff on there and now just Win95 and thats it.

I'm still on my friends computer until I can get my modem to be recognized... I may need your help on that one if I can't figure it out.

I'll keep you all posted...THANK YOU ALL very, very much!!! I will recommend this board to all my friends and to anyone I come across that needs help!! Thanks so much!

I'll let you know how its going...

Val

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[Dondo]

so, what did you do? http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif

I'm glad you got it working, I was getting nervous after DoD's post !
Originally posted by Dogg of Demise:
Ummmm you can boot from the cd in win95 ? I thought only NT did that.

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I'm not a tech, but I try! ;)
Dondo@hft.every1.net

[tweakthis]

Congratulations, Val. Bet your system runs much faster now with a fresh install and only the OS on it. Did you install the drive yourself? Feel free to post any modem questions.

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[Jaturp]

You deserve a lot of credit. Although you had the right help, you are the one that actually did it. I think we have a tech in the making.JT.

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[Dondo]

Originally posted by Jaturp:
Although you had the right help, you are the one that actually did it. I think we have a tech in the making.JT.



JT is right on the money! I had no formal training, everything I tried to help with was something I went through myself at some point in the past.
Learning by doing is the most effective way for a lot of people. You'll be in here helping others before long, Val! http://www.helpfromtechs.com/ubb/smilies/smile.gif



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Dondo@hft.every1.net

[newgrl]

I'm still on my friends computer until I can get my modem to be recognized... I may need your help on that one if I can't figure it out.

What kind of modem?

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[Dogg of Demise]

And I still want to know if ya got the 95 cd to boot ????????

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