PC startup problem

[reteplav]

I`m not an expert so please treat me gently!!

I switch on it starts and the screen says

"Checking NVRAM" and underneath it updates to

"131072 KB OK".

It then says "WAIT".

After several second , I hear the hard disk "whirr" for a second , then many seconds later , the screen says
"Insert BOOT diskette in A"

I`m assuming that the problem is in the BIOS so I`ve changed the backup battery.

This appeared to cure the problem for a couple of days , but the problem has now returned (I`ve changed the battery again but it`s still failing)

I`ve checked for loose leads to the HD etc. but all appears OK

Has anyone any suggestions what I can do next?

It eventually started up and so here I am trying to discover what to do.

A couple of ideas ??

Can the BIOS settings be checked once it`s up and running?

Is there any software that can diagnose the problem?

I`m running WIN 98 with AMD 500 processor

Help ! ...please

TIA

reteplav

[meabed]

Maybe your boot was detoryed or you bois configuration contain errors try to fix it ... enter bois screen after the computer started by click del button okay then you will enter bois screen then check the configuration of the HDD if u dont discover any errors reload the deault bois ... then save and exit .

[DMR]

enter bois screen after the computer started by click del button

That varies between BIOS makes and versions; a couple of other keys commonly used to access your BIOS's setup are F1 and F2.

Regardless of what the actual key is, you have to press it well before the OS starts to load; you can't enter the BIOS setup once the OS is loaded. BIOSes often display a "Hit <some key> to enter setup" message during the boot process; see if yours does.