I just got a laptop from eBay - with no operating system installed. No software included. I have an XP CD and have tried resetting the BIOS to read from the CDROM first, with no luck. I pulled the hard drive out and all of the pins were intact and straight. I pulled the CDROM drive out and they were all intact and straight.

It is an HP Omnibook 6100. Here is my error message:

Intel(R) Boot Agent Version 4.0.10
Copyright (C) 1997-2001, Intel Corporation

Intel Base-Code, PXE-2.1 (build 083)
Copyright (C) 1997-2001, Intel Corporation
PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel PXE ROM.
Operating System not found

Is there anything I can do to get the Windows XP to load? I am not sure if this means the HD is bad, or the CDROM is bad? If anyone can help, I am up for suggestions!

Thanks!

is this a bootable cd? if the cd is not bootable u will get that message. it mean that the bios check all location floppy, hdd, cd and then went to a network boot. when it cant find any bootable media it say operting systme not found
does the laptop had a floppy????

3.5 floppy drive? No, it only has the CDROM drive. How do I figure out if the CD is a bootable CD? I have XP on my desktop computer, will it change anything on my desktop computer if I put the CD in my desktop and boot? I didn't find anything on the BIOS on the laptop to boot from the network, it says F2 to go to BIOS setup, F12 to boot from Network, but it's not hooked up to any network. It was refurbished, with 2 COA stickers on the bottom, but no disks came with it. The Boot list on the BIOS is:
CD-ROM/DVD Drive
+Removable Device
Floppy Drive
+Hard Disk
IC25N020ATCS04-0-(PM)
Bootable Add-in Cards
IBA 4.0.18 Slot 0208

I did see somewhere that you can connect it to your PC and boot it from there? Is that something I should think about trying?

u can give it a try in the desk top, if it is bootable it will give u a message "press any key to boot from CD" if it does not boot from the cd u would have to get a bootable cd. if u have a iso reader on the desk top you can rip the image and make it bootable then burn back to another cd and bam you have a bootable cd

OK, it IS a bootable CD - what can I do now? Does that mean the CDROM drive or the hard drive is bad?

does it show up in the bios if yes clean the lens with a lint free cloth, or if u have a can duster. when the pc show the bios u will have n option to choose boot order maybe F12 or F2 hit that key and choose cd rom.