Member Avatar for SCHAVIS

Hi I Am So Glad I Found This Board, First Let Me Say I Do Not Know Alot About Computers, But I Learn Quicklyand Follow Directions Well, I Have A Compaq Presario 4716 With Windows 95. The Computer Sat For Along Time Without Ever Being Started Up. My Friend Started It And Tried To Update The Win To 98. After Doing This It When You Turned It Off And Back On It Would Ask If You Wanted To Save Chgs Or Ignore, It Did Not Matter Which You Picked It Would Stay At The Compaq Logo Screen With The Prompt, I Used My Restore Disks To Restore And All Was Well. When I Turned It On Again, Guess What! We Are Back To The Compaq Screen, Only This Time When I Try To Restore I Get To Two Areas One Is With This Msg Setup Cannot Install Win, The 2nd Is Does Not Have A Hard Disk Or Hard Disk Not Functioning Correctly, Or Hard Disk Requires A Special Device Driver, Contact Computer Vendor For Asst. I Contacted Compaq Now I Guess Hp, They Told Me To Change My Bios, But I Cant Get To Bios, Then They Told Me To Dwnload A New Win Disk From A Blue Volcano Website, I Did, This Did Not Work Either,i Can Get To A C Prompt So They Told Me To Type In Window\options\cabs And Then Enter, Then Setup And Enter, None Of This Has Worked, I Have Once Gotten To The Win Start Up And Then When I Put The Win Disk In It Gives Me The Error Msg Above. I Think My Restore Disks Are Corrupt, When I First Purchased The Computer I Had To Get New Ones Because The Ones That Came With It Were Corrupt. Is It Possible To Get New Restore Disks For This Computer Or Do I Have A Major Problem. Any Help You Can Offer Would Be Most Appreciated And Please Remember I Am Computer Illeterate! Thank You And God Bless! Susan

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A compact troubleshooting roadmap that builds on ’s observation and offers next steps that preserve data and narrow the fault to either BIOS/settings, cabling/hardware, or the disk/filesystem.

Start with BIOS/device detection. Interrupt the POST to enter Setup (watch the initial screen for the exact key; common keys include F1, F2, F10 or Del). In Setup, confirm whether the hard drive model is listed under Primary/Secondary IDE devices. If the drive is not listed, the problem is most likely hardware-related (lost CMOS settings, a bad battery, a loose IDE/power cable, wrong jumper position, or a failed drive). With power removed, reseat the 40-pin IDE ribbon and the 4-pin Molex power connector and verify jumpers (set to Master if it’s the only drive). Local repair shops can perform these low-risk checks quickly if opening the case is not comfortable.

If the BIOS does see the drive, the boot files or partition information are the likeliest culprits. Before any restore/reinstall that erases data, boot from a Windows 95/98 startup disk or bootable CD and attempt filesystem/MBR repairs. Typical commands from a 98 boot disk:

A:\> fdisk /mbr
A:\> scandisk c:

Rewriting the MBR and running Scandisk often restores a previously-bootable disk without reinstalling Windows. Note: these operations carry a small risk to data; avoid a full restore until important files are backed up.

If the drive makes unusual noises or remains invisible after reseating, replacement is likely. For data rescue, connect the drive as a secondary to another PC or use a USB–IDE adapter to copy files before any reformat. Replacement recovery media may be obtainable from the manufacturer using model/serial details, but hardware verification and data backup should come first. This note complements ’s suggestion and addresses ’s concern that the restore disks might be masking an underlying hardware failure.

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Member Avatar for Catweazle

Hiya Susan.

I suspect that the little battery in that PC is dead, and it can no longer retain the information about what the bits and pieces in it are!

I'd suggest you drop it into a PC store for their technicians to check it, replace the battery if necessary, and configure it for you. That should cost you no more than a standard service fee, and will determine for you if that very old PC is worth persevering with or not.

Member Avatar for SCHAVIS

Thank You I Thought That Might Be What I Needed To Do. Will Be Back To Let You Know What They Said!
Susan

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Moved to the appropriate forum section. Tech questions should be posted on the Tech related forum sections.

Please don't type with capitals for every word like that. It's FAR too hard to read.

Member Avatar for SCHAVIS

Thank You and I am sorry I wont do it again!

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