My mom is the worst!
Just kidding. Let's do this slowly and a little at a time.
Verify that you have changed the boot order in the BIOS. This should be CD ROM first, of course. You may have to watch for a screen that says, "Press any key to Boot from CD."
Verify that this is an XP install disk.
hughv
Veteran Poster
1,142 posts since Oct 2007
Reputation Points: 116
Solved Threads: 93
"When i start it up it just says operating system not found."
This almost always means your hard drive has died. It's possible there's some other cause, like a loose or damaged cable or something, but hard drive death is no.1.
"I BELIEVE that I have an XP install disk."
It sounds as though you don't have the right disk. If the boot order is correct, the computer would boot from the CD, which isn't happening. It wouldn't help much anyway, until the hard drive problem is solved.
Is the hard drive detected in the BIOS, or at boot?
We need to solve the HD problem, so let me know what you want to do.
hughv
Veteran Poster
1,142 posts since Oct 2007
Reputation Points: 116
Solved Threads: 93
Hughv has it right. If you change the order in the Boot Menu [on my machine I reach that via F11 at startup] to CDROM [or DVDROM] then naturally the puter will try to boot from your cd. If the cd is actually not bootable then BIOS will next try to boot from the hd. Nothing in what you have said implies that the hd is bad.... just that it has no OS on it that can be detected - there are no boot files on it that can be loaded [it still may be bad].
Try to boot from the CD in another machine [and then abort Setup if it does actually run..]. If it does not boot then the cd is missing special cd boot files. Boot files or loaders on a cd are NOT the same as the boot files on a hd.
Easiest way out of this is to get a friend to burn you a copy of their XP SP2 cd...
gerbil
Industrious Poster
4,206 posts since May 2005
Reputation Points: 239
Solved Threads: 300
Thank you for trying to help!!!!
This is a micron.pc and says TransPort Trek2 on it.
When i start it up it just says operating system not found.
I have to hit cntrl alt delete to get it to the micron.pc screen then hit cntrl esc to get to the Boot Menu. Then I have options: Removable Devices, ATAPI DVD-ROM Drive, Hard Drive, and enter setup. I have tried to switch the order of these, and nothing seems to help.
If I hit enter setup, then it sends me to PhoenixBIOS Setup Utility. Then I have headers that say main, advanced, security, power, boot, and exit.
I BELIEVE that I have an XP install disk...but I copied it following directions from the internet from another posting that I read
This computer when we got it was windows xp. My main computer is windows xp, but it is an emachines computer and windows xp was on the start up system disk, so that wont work either (I tried). I also have HP Recovery disks that won't work....
Any ideas? Besides shooting it? LOL
base on the above text in red IS the CD BOOTABLE. just copying files to a CD does not make it bootable. If this was an ISO,IMG or NRG file it would ahve to be preloaded with boot files. HERE is the kicker if you just copy the file to the CD (EVEN it's a bootable file) the cd will not be bootable.you have to burn the image onto the cd with an ISO compatable ( NEro, Roxio, ISO Buster, Ultra ISO, WinISO) program
now back to where the computer was already working what happend to cause it to stop booting up.
1 did you change anything in the bios - then it stop booting
2 did you install anything on the pc, restart and now it will not boot.
3 did it stop booting AFTER running FDISK?
bobbyraw
Nearly a Posting Virtuoso
1,324 posts since Oct 2006
Reputation Points: 34
Solved Threads: 103
humbll
Junior Poster in Training
54 posts since Feb 2007
Reputation Points: 10
Solved Threads: 0
You're trying to find out what time it is, and these guys are telling you how to build a watch.
We need to take small steps and one at a time.
You almost certainly have a bad hard drive, so either take it to a shop, or let me know what you want to do.
hughv
Veteran Poster
1,142 posts since Oct 2007
Reputation Points: 116
Solved Threads: 93
You're trying to find out what time it is, and these guys are telling you how to build a watch.
We need to take small steps and one at a time.
You almost certainly have a bad hard drive, so either take it to a shop, or let me know what you want to do.
There is no evidence that the hard drive is dead. The original post states that the computer was running but slow, then he/she was told to delete the partition and now the operating system, naturally, cannot be found. The file he/she downloaded from the net was obviously not an original windows xp install disk, thus, the solution is to get one, as I said in my previous post in this thread.
humbll
Junior Poster in Training
54 posts since Feb 2007
Reputation Points: 10
Solved Threads: 0
Humbll may be right, You need an XP install disk, in any case, so get one, then you'll know if the HD is dead when you try to install XP.
hughv
Veteran Poster
1,142 posts since Oct 2007
Reputation Points: 116
Solved Threads: 93
THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING but, I give up....I ordered a new install disk from microsoft to install on the laptop, they say that it will fix the problem!! I am crossing my fingers!!
I was wondering if you could help me with another problem on my main computer though? It will not allow me to open or install Adobe reader! There are not even any pictures when I go to that site, and there are missing pictures on a lot of sites that I go to....any suggestions???
Are you the administrator on the PC. you MUST have administrator privilege to install Adobe.
As for the picture on the site you need to get the flash player . link in previous post
bobbyraw
Nearly a Posting Virtuoso
1,324 posts since Oct 2006
Reputation Points: 34
Solved Threads: 103
It could be that the guy who sold it to you wiped the hard drive totally clean, to remove all traces of his files (unlike that high school coach arrested for having kiddie porn, because the pictures were left on the hard drive of the computer he sold on eBay).
In that case, you must purchase a new set of Windows disks.
Another possibility is that the hard disk has seized, and is not turning.
MidiMagic
Nearly a Senior Poster
3,319 posts since Jan 2007
Reputation Points: 730
Solved Threads: 182
I suspect it's "the FDisk thing" she mentioned .
hughv
Veteran Poster
1,142 posts since Oct 2007
Reputation Points: 116
Solved Threads: 93
gerbil
Industrious Poster
4,206 posts since May 2005
Reputation Points: 239
Solved Threads: 300
yeah our fdisked windows away i think
jbennet
Moderator
18,523 posts since Apr 2005
Reputation Points: 1,826
Solved Threads: 600
