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Reformating help...

C

CBlakeNS

Gawd
Joined
Dec 29, 2002
Messages
808
I reformated my friends computer, but for some reason the floppy disk drive isnt working which isnt cool cause I cant use the boot disk, and when I restart it, it wont even give me a command prompt, just says "invalid system disk", what should I do?

THanks guys, I gotta get win 98 back on there for him.
 
I could get into the setup if he knew the fing password....what should I do if I get the password and get under there?
 
clear the cmos... that should wipe the bios.

if it doesn't... hope your comp's mobo (a) isn't proprietary and (b) is still supported by the manufacturer... but if it's like 7 years old... there ain't much chance.
 
Password? Just try the f-buttons. f10 f8 f4 f6 fwhatever the hell. May not work if you try every one.
 
starhawk said:
mispost
Click to expand...

I dont really know the specs on it, but it shouldnt have anything to do with it.....the problem is I reformated it, and everything was fine, but then the floppy disk drive isnt working so I cant get the boot disk in to start up. Also if I just restart the computer the normal stuff loads and then it says Invalid System Disk, Replace the disk and then press any key, but there are no disk in there, and ive tried downloading different boot disk etc.
 
starhawk said:
clear the cmos... that should wipe the bios.

if it doesn't... hope your comp's mobo (a) isn't proprietary and (b) is still supported by the manufacturer... but if it's like 7 years old... there ain't much chance.
Click to expand...

I cant get into the bios man cause there is a password on it and my friend doesnt know it....

Blah, I dont need to clear the bios, I just need to get a command prompt and put win 98 back on his comp.... but its giving me that invalid system disk error, and the floppy disk drive isnt working for some reason...
 
a bios password is gonna block bootup anyways... unless you know it.

you either have to flash the bios (which you can't do without being able to run an os) or you need to get a new one... so you really, really want to hope (a) the mobo is identifiable, (b) it's an atx mobo of some flavor, (c) it's not proprietary, and (d) it's still supported by the company.

cuz otherwise you're looking at a new mobo, and since that thing's not even gonna have a p3 on it, you're looking at a new cpu as well.

actually, come to think of it, replacing the mobo and cpu would probably be the fastest way to do it... it'll bypass that pesky bios password, and won't affect anything else in the computer... unless the hdd is freaking ancient, which it shouldn't be... unless the computer was originally running win95... in which case you're basically drowning in $#!* creek.
 
CBlakeNS said:
I cant get into the bios man cause there is a password on it and my friend doesnt know it....

Blah, I dont need to clear the bios, I just need to get a command prompt and put win 98 back on his comp.... but its giving me that invalid system disk error, and the floppy disk drive isnt working for some reason...
Click to expand...

what do you mean by password? since when do they have passwords. If there is a password needed, i believe you should be able to wipe it from somewhere on the mobo.... or something.
 
CBlakeNS said:
I guess I could, but then wouldnt I have to install drivers etc...
Click to expand...

There is a password on the CMOS Setup Utility, where there is like Standard CMOS Features and Advanced BIOS features etc.
 
Floppy drives dont really need them as much.....thus how you can use them w/o a hard drive.
 
SystemERRor said:
Floppy drives dont really need them as much.....thus how you can use them w/o a hard drive.
Click to expand...

Huh, is there any other way that I can get a command prompt from that invalid disk or whatever?

Or how can I install windows without the floppy drive when its already formated.
 
Im only assuming you cant boot your windows from a cd....but you should be abel to get a command prompt if the HD was working.
 
Actually, i forget even how to get a command prompt...been a helluva long time. Hell, rarely ever needed one.
 
SystemERRor said:
Im only assuming you cant boot your windows from a cd....but you should be abel to get a command prompt if the HD was working.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but it keeps saying invalid system disk, and wont let me get to the command prompt....I had a command prompt right after I formated it, and then I restarted it to see if the floppy would work and never could get a command prompt again.
 
SystemERRor said:
Try removing floppy drive, and see if error comes back.
Click to expand...

Man It sounds gay but you are the fing best man!!!!!!!!!!!!


It definately worked and it booted from cd rom and worked!!!

Your the man!
 
gotta love it when u have such a simple problem and so many replies on a thread :)
 
Ran into another problem, got to the setup for windows and then it said:

Setup cannot install Windows 98 on your computer.

Your computer does not have a hard disk ( I guess that is hard-drive), your hard disk is not functioning correctly, or your hard disk requieres a special device driver.

What to do now?!
 
your gonna have to find out that CMOS password. older computers need to auto detect the hard drive before you can do anything. :(
 
(1) bend over
(2) put head between legs
(3) kiss @$$ goodbye

there are two possibilities here:
(1) dead hard drive
(2) dead bios

at this point, that means you're screwed. you will find it very difficult indeed to get a hard drive that's old enough to run in that computer... newer ones are just too fast to be compatible with something that's at least 5 years old... and a new bios chip (which you might have to get) is going to be insanely difficult to find.

i'm sorry dude, but it looks like this is a dead end for a dead 'puter.

tho come to think of it... i've actually got some stuff that might work, but it's in this ancient p1 tower that used to be a server (so it's f***in huge) if you're interested in a pair of hdd's that may or may not do what you need... pm me and we'll work something out.
 
MaMMa said:
your gonna have to find out that CMOS password. older computers need to auto detect the hard drive before you can do anything. :(
Click to expand...

Okay well what should I do if I can get into the bios?
 
starhawk said:
(1) bend over
(2) put head between legs
(3) kiss @$$ goodbye

there are two possibilities here:
(1) dead hard drive
(2) dead bios

at this point, that means you're screwed. you will find it very difficult indeed to get a hard drive that's old enough to run in that computer... newer ones are just too fast to be compatible with something that's at least 5 years old... and a new bios chip (which you might have to get) is going to be insanely difficult to find.

i'm sorry dude, but it looks like this is a dead end for a dead 'puter.

tho come to think of it... i've actually got some stuff that might work, but it's in this ancient p1 tower that used to be a server (so it's f***in huge) if you're interested in a pair of hdd's that may or may not do what you need... pm me and we'll work something out.
Click to expand...


Naw its not dead, like the guy said it doesnt auto detect the hd...... Everything is fine, I just need to know bios password...
 
he most likely never wrote the password down... so it's essentially over.

you're basically screwed at this point...
 
SystemERRor said:
Look up instructions on resetting the password. Try to find the model of the mobo
Click to expand...

Alright thanks man, ill do that....I appreciate your help..

Starhawk, stop being so negative.
 
Look at the HD settings and look through the options. Look, but try not to touch. Unless it says autodetect or something.
 
SystemERRor said:
Look at the HD settings and look through the options. Look, but try not to touch. Unless it says autodetect or something.
Click to expand...


Alright do you have any idea where it would be under there?

THanks man.
 
just poke around... you won't mess anything up unless you change settings, and even then, you might not mess up some things (but it's not a good idea unless you know what you're doing)

Edit: oh yeah... real strong suggestion: tank the bios password.
 
starhawk said:
just poke around... you won't mess anything up unless you change settings, and even then, you might not mess up some things (but it's not a good idea unless you know what you're doing)

Edit: oh yeah... real strong suggestion: tank the bios password.
Click to expand...

I got it now, im looking all around but dont see where it would be at haha.... sucks any ideas?

Should I be under CMOS or Advanced Bios Features?
 
on older BIOSs there's only about 4 pages, you should get to know it, really know it rather then asking us. I don't remember or know how your BIOS is laid out but I'd guess its in the first page or so.

If you really want us to tell u where to go exactly, take a picture of every page on the bios with a cam :rolleyes:
 
CBlakeNS said:
I got it now, im looking all around but dont see where it would be at haha.... sucks any ideas?

Should I be under CMOS or Advanced Bios Features?
Click to expand...

most likely Advanced Bios Features.
 
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