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ooo
02-10-2003, 02:47 AM
i am currently usin my mothers computer...

my computer is a win 98se..

i get an error

''Invalid system disk, replace disk, and press any key''

n there is no disc in the A:/ Drive or C:/ Drive... wat can i do
... i cant enter safe mood or command prompt

start up boot disc dont work too i tried

plz help me...

the onli thing i can access is setup

ooo
02-10-2003, 02:56 AM
ONCE AGAIN SORRY THIS IS MY TRIPLE POST*

i am currently usin my mothers computer...

my computer is a win 98se..

i get an error

''Invalid system disk, replace disk, and press any key''

n there is no disc in the A:/ Drive or C:/ Drive... wat can i do
... i cant enter safe mood or command prompt

start up boot disc dont work too i tried

plz help me...

the onli thing i can access is setup

Nightwolf
02-10-2003, 02:59 AM
Can you get into your BIOS Setup before the error message? If so you might be able to tell your system not to attempt to boot from the floppy drive first. If not, as a last resort you could try opening your tower and physically disconnect it. Hopefully that will force it to boot from the hard drive, assuming there is still an OS on there and it wasn't wiped out by a virus or something.

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:00 AM
i doubt it is a virus... checked my bios already... eh.... nuttin rong there....

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:01 AM
since the problem onli occured after i manually restarted the com for no reason at all... i have the newest norton installed in my com 2

Chilly
02-10-2003, 03:08 AM
Did you install any software or uninstall any?

Restarting your pc and pressing F8 should take you in to safe mode.

Or you could try doing a system restore in the system tools?

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:10 AM
ummm didnt install any softwares..... i dink i tried it... the thing is... after the first screnn... the one where u can click DEL to enter the setup menu it jumps rite to the invalid system disk screen.... tried boot diskes n start up diskes non work... :/

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 03:13 AM
Do as nightwolf says, unplug the floppy from the computer. Hopefully BIOS will boot from the HDD. After that is a success, plug-in the floppy again.

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:14 AM
okay i will try unpluging it now...

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:16 AM
removed my a: drive... still didnt work...

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 03:18 AM
You wouldn't happen to mess around with the jumpers for the hard disk, would you? Because, if you changed the jumper for the BIOS to pick-up the HDD as a slave, you will have tons of problems. If you did, make sure you get it back to origional format.

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 03:20 AM
BTW, how are you talking to us, if your computer won't boot?

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:21 AM
umm im on my mothers com rite now... i have my own one... but i screwed up mine...

watz a jumper... i wasnt messin around w/ external stuff...

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:23 AM
nope i didnt mess w/ the jumpers...

i copied all the C:/ >> Windows >> files to C:/ by accident i just made a replica... n den i deleted all the replicaz datz all... n the originalz were still in windows n i didnt even clean out the trash can....

Chilly
02-10-2003, 03:23 AM
When you go into the Bios does it recognise the disks?

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:23 AM
wat do u mean by that.... im sorta confused...

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 03:26 AM
Well a jumper is a piece of plastic that goes on the pins in the back of you hard drive to tell the BIOS to consider it to be a master or slave. If it is set for a slave, then your OS wouldn't be recognized and that can cause a lot of problems.

I suggest you go to google.com and type in the error. Usually this error is when floppy disks are in the A drive.

You can bypass the A drive in BIOS somehow. Follow the instructions from a site for you specific BIOS.

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:28 AM
umm i will try the google search... i was searching for "invalid system disk" disk b4... n all i got were forums of ppl havin teh same problem but they never solved it... ppl just got a new com.... sigh*..... i did not mess w/ the jumper n im sure w/ that

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 03:29 AM
Good luck. I had this problem once too, but it was because I messed with the jumper. :P

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:30 AM
ummm my com's time has stopped for like 2 yrs... thatz the cmos battery rite? woudl that finnaly affect anything? after so long...

Chilly
02-10-2003, 03:31 AM
Originally posted by Soul814@10 February 2003 - 03:23
nope i didnt mess w/ the jumpers...

i copied all the C:/ >> Windows >> files to C:/ by accident i just made a replica... n den i deleted all the replicaz datz all... n the originalz were still in windows n i didnt even clean out the trash can....
If they are all in the trash then why cant you RESTORE them by right clicking on the trash can.

Sounds like you deleted alot of fles there :(

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:32 AM
darn does that mean no more help from u?

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:32 AM
Originally posted by Chilly+10 February 2003 - 04:31--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Chilly @ 10 February 2003 - 04:31)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Soul814@10 February 2003 - 03:23
nope i didnt mess w/ the jumpers...

i copied all the C:/ >> Windows >> files to C:/ by accident i just made a replica... n den i deleted all the replicaz datz all... n the originalz were still in windows n i didnt even clean out the trash can....
If they are all in the trash then why cant you RESTORE them by right clicking on the trash can.

Sounds like you deleted alot of fles there :( [/b][/quote]
well i restarted my com... n i dunt dink that would affect anything... since i just deleted all the files i copied... so it negates it

Chilly
02-10-2003, 03:36 AM
You should have a system restore on your pc have you tried that?

Go to system tools and try it?

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:41 AM
ummm i cant enter my hard drive? .... im stuck between 2 screens.... the initial screen n the screen after that....

rite now im USING my mothers com...

RPerry
02-10-2003, 03:45 AM
Is this a windows error your getting? and about the system restore, don&#39;t think 98SE has that.

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:47 AM
no that isnt a windows error... itz reboot* ... i just restarted my com n im not even in windows yet...

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:49 AM
http://www.google.com/search?q=invalid+sys...8&start=10&sa=N (http://www.google.com/search?q=invalid+system+disk&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N)

anyone of these forums can resemble in a way of the problem im having... not exactly the same problem but itz veri similar....

RPerry
02-10-2003, 03:49 AM
Have you tried booting into safe mode?

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 03:50 AM
you may need to go ahead and reinstall windows, cause if you cant boot from the boot disk your pretty much shit out of luck.

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:51 AM
i would if i could reach it.... it pops up the second after i restart my com... damn i gotta sleep soon since i got school tommo... but i will be sure to check this forum again wen i get bac from school tommo... so if there r any suggestionz keep postin it... dankz...

ooo
02-10-2003, 03:52 AM
Originally posted by computerfreak76@10 February 2003 - 04:50
you may need to go ahead and reinstall windows, cause if you cant boot from the boot disk your pretty much shit out of luck.
yea i noticed... if i plug my hard drive to another com 2 c if it still works will i screw up anotehr com?.... since my momz com is runnin perfectly fine...

BYTHEWAY IM USING MY MOTHERS COM FOR ANY NEW COMERS* tryin to help me... dankz peepz

RPerry
02-10-2003, 03:53 AM
doesn&#39;t sound very good for you right now, You may indeed end up re-installing your OS

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 03:53 AM
yeah dude your gonna have to reinstall windows if your lucky you wont lose any data.

once you get the invalid disk error thats nothing you can do just hope like hell it will let you reinstall with no problems.

Chilly
02-10-2003, 03:55 AM
RP it sounds like he has deleted his C: drive.

If you go into safe mode cant you restore whats in the recycle been from there?

If not then you are going to need 98 backup restore disk, and reinstall the operating system back on to the pc.

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 03:56 AM
yes you can hook your drive up to your moms as long as they are compatible and NO it wont hurt your moms computer.

that would be a good idea too especially if you have alot of files you don&#39;t want to lose.

RPerry
02-10-2003, 03:56 AM
if he could into safe mode, yes he would be able to get to the recycle bin, problem is he say that the error is popping up before windows loads

Chilly
02-10-2003, 04:02 AM
If he has a back up disk you should be able to reinstall it over the top of the the old operating system with out losing any files.

Or even better did you back your files up on to disks.

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:05 AM
did you address as to whether or not you had the Windows 98SE install or update disk?

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 04:06 AM
either you should find a boot disk that works or reinstall thats your two choices as of now.

Chilly
02-10-2003, 04:09 AM
Originally posted by computerfreak76@10 February 2003 - 04:06
either you should find a boot disk that works or reinstall thats your two choices as of now.
Thats sounds about your only option SOUL814 :(

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:12 AM
I agree with that only if your sure you have tried boooting into safe mode. would suggest rebooting the pc, and holding down the CTRL key.

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 04:12 AM
you may need to go ahead and reinstall windows, cause if you cant boot from the boot disk your pretty much shit out of luck.

Don&#39;t reinstall windows. Like the above, boot into safe and restore what you deleted back again.

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 04:14 AM
rp that won&#39;t work he is getting the invalid error because the boot files are screwed and when that happens it won&#39;t let you into safe mode.

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 04:16 AM
Perhaps he can boot with minimal amout of drivers? That may allow him into Windows to restore the file. And why would someone make files move like that? I have done some bad things too, so I shouldn&#39;t talk. But why move windows files to the root of C?

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:17 AM
Originally posted by mobboss01@9 February 2003 - 23:16
Perhaps he can boot with minimal amout of drivers? That may allow him into Windows to restore the file. And why would someone make files move like that? I have done some bad things too, so I shouldn&#39;t talk. But why move windows files to the root of C?
Why ask why??? :lol: :P :lol:

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 04:19 AM
if it was anything else other than the windows files id think of something else to say. but ive had the same exact problem he is having and i didn&#39;t have a boot disk so i ended up reinstalling.

dirtyoldman
02-10-2003, 04:20 AM
it&#39;s possible that you may have deleted system files when you del. the copies.
the systen files needed to boot must remain in c:&#092; directy.you need to boot using a rescue disk in a drive.
then you can reinstall windows. it&#39;s possible you may not loose all.the setup screen you see is in the bios.
make shure your setup screen sees your hard drive or it won&#39;t boot eather.
hope this helps and good luck

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 04:23 AM
Let&#39;s just make sure he doesn&#39;t reformat. My mom did that once...once.

I am sure there is a way to boot into safe somehow, then he can restore the files from the recycle bin. If not then he should to a restore from the Restore Disk. You know the purple or greenish CD that came with the OS.

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:24 AM
I think most of us have done something like this. Me, I only had a 6.5 gig HD and began deleting files to make room.( second hand pc)
anyway, a friend from work who just happened to be the IT Tech gave me a copy of Win98SE to copy. I always got a missing file error: Arkdoshk.vxk.

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 04:25 AM
mobboss the only way he could get into windows is with a boot disk and chances are that wont work.

thats the good thing about windows xp if a problem like that occurs you can do a repair install.

dirtyoldman
02-10-2003, 04:26 AM
one more note. does your moms com use the same windows version? if so you might make a boot floppy
disk on her com to use on yours.

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 04:27 AM
An idea...if your mom has the same OS then go to add/remove programs. Select startup disk and create a startup disk on your mom&#39;s computer. Then insert that disk into your computer. I am sure the same gerneral files are in both computers. Give that a shot before reinstalling and do not reformat unless you care not for the files you have.

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:28 AM
On that same thought, you said your bootdisk was not working. Have you got you bios set to boot to hdd first? try setting them to boot to your A/drive then install the boot disk

mobboss01
02-10-2003, 04:28 AM
That&#39;s crazy dirtyoldman, great minds think alike. I would have beat you to the punch, but I needed more words. Ok I am off to play The Sims.

Chilly
02-10-2003, 04:32 AM
When you reboot your system just keep pressing F8.

No matter how bad the problem is, it should let you get to safe mode.

dirtyoldman
02-10-2003, 04:37 AM
rperry i think he said he didn&#39;t have a disk in a :&#092;.hope he knows what a bootable disk is

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:39 AM
Originally posted by dirtyoldman@9 February 2003 - 23:37
rperry i think he said he didn&#39;t have a disk in a :&#092;.hope he knows what a bootable disk is
yes, but he also said he tried to use a boot disk and it didn&#39;t work.

Chilly
02-10-2003, 04:41 AM
He Has&#39;nt replied, i reckon his mum is telling him off.

Or he has fell asleep LOL :D

RPerry
02-10-2003, 04:43 AM
or he tried swapping his harddrive over to the other computer...

Chilly
02-10-2003, 04:53 AM
I think thats a bad idea, if he starts playing around with his mums and mucks up the jumpers on that then he really is in deep water. :(

I_DONT_SHARE_PORN
02-10-2003, 04:55 AM
Originally posted by Chilly@10 February 2003 - 05:32
When you reboot your system just keep pressing F8.

No matter how bad the problem is, it should let you get to safe mode.
AMEN&#33;&#33;

Chilly
02-10-2003, 04:58 AM
I think thats what he does need a Blessing LOL

dirtyoldman
02-10-2003, 05:04 AM
it&#39;s easy to change something in the setup also.hope he hasn&#39;t changed something.souls profile says 15yrs.
he may get in more trouble putting his drive in moms.i&#39;ve never used win se i use win 98 original.
daughter has win me on hers i don&#39;t like at all.every one needs a startup disk.

RPerry
02-10-2003, 05:07 AM
he may get in more trouble putting his drive in moms

I was afraid of that myself, thats why I didn&#39;t suggest it

Chilly
02-10-2003, 05:11 AM
Originally posted by dirtyoldman@10 February 2003 - 05:04
it&#39;s easy to change something in the setup also.hope he hasn&#39;t changed something.souls profile says 15yrs.
he may get in more trouble putting his drive in moms.i&#39;ve never used win se i use win 98 original.
daughter has win me on hers i don&#39;t like at all.every one needs a startup disk.
Thats why i burn everything on to disk, and do backups.

I even burn off a couple of restore disks incase they get damaged, or scratched.

15 wow i think thats definatly not a wise idea, to be playing around in a pc without any experiance.

XP cant fault it, and recomened it.

Rip The Jacker
02-10-2003, 08:13 AM
I had this problem once. Invaild System Disk Error, even when there is no disk inserted. Here is what I did:

1. Open Computer
2. Disconnect the hard drives IDE cable.
2. Reconnect the hard drives IDE cable.

And it worked after that.

RDanneskjold
02-10-2003, 08:53 AM
damn.... that sounds rough :(....try maybe installing/repairing your operating system ...ie installing over what you already have so you dont lose any settings or files.....you may just have a corrupted operating system....here check this thread what i said to this guy:Help Re-installing Xp, One quick question (http://www.klboard.ath.cx/bb/index.php?act=ST&f=14&t=15383)

sounds like your operating system is corrupted....hopefull your harddrive isn&#39;t messed up


good luck :)...wish you the best

Alexusa67
02-10-2003, 09:30 AM
yeah, same advice here. unless somebody got inside cmos settings and block your hard drive from showing or the parallel cable (from the hard drive) is loose your best bet is to re-install windows. You will need to make a boot disk (add/remove programs//startup disk). Make sure cmos is set to load from floppy as well, or if you can load from cd you won&#39;t need the floppy, (if you have a full version of win98).

jetje
02-10-2003, 11:19 AM
Don&#39;t double or even worse triple post again "never" we all read this so you get the attention you deserve <_<


btw added all three topics to this one single thread

FlamingYob
02-10-2003, 11:55 AM
I didn&#39;t read the replys so don&#39;t flame if this has been said...

Try making your PC boot like this

Hard disk
Drive A
CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive

Grim
02-10-2003, 01:31 PM
I know this won&#39;t solve your problem immediatly but for future reference bye a cheep secondhand drive, anything over a couple a hundred mb & install windows on that for emergencies such as the 1 your havin right now. Do not leeve it plugged into your system when not in use, this way the drive is safe from viri. For folk usin the ntfs file system win98 does not read ntfs disk&#39;s. I found this out the hard way.

Nobody1234
02-10-2003, 03:31 PM
First of all it seems most of you are missing the point. He cannot get to access his harddrive. So stop telling him to boot his Windows (even in safe mode.)

He is using Windows 98. So he is using a FAT32 file system.

1. Make a &#39;Startup Diskette&#39; from your mothers computer.(Start>settings>control panel>add remove programs>Startup disk tab.)
2. Bootup with that diskette and you will be able to get to a DOS prompt. (A:>)
3. At that prompt type C: and press return.
4. Do you get a C:> Prompt? If yes type dir and press return. Do you get a list of files? Your hardrive is ok and you probably need to rewrite a new master boot record.
5. If you can&#39;t get a C:> then from the A:> type fdisk and see if you can access your harddirve. If not then you have a hardware failure and that needs to be further diagnosed.

Benno
02-10-2003, 03:36 PM
I had the same problem about 6 months ago.
I couldnt reinstall my os because windows kept telling me that there&#39;s a disk in drive a: it then aborted the installation.

It worked for me after I got new ram. :blink:

I don&#39;t have any idea why but that was the only thing that worked for me.

CornerPocket
02-10-2003, 04:36 PM
You could always use a Win98SE bootdisk (http://www.bootdisk.com) to re-install. Checking the cables is not a bad suggestions either, unplug and replug.



My guess as others suggest, you fouled up the OS system files....

ooo
02-10-2003, 10:28 PM
okay i still havent fixed my com.... imma try some of these suggestionz... im up to reading page 4... sigh*.... umm boot diskes didnt work n neither did win98se cd...

tried manually unpluging cdrom n floppy drive... didnt work... soon im goign to take out my hard drive n check it out...

ooo
02-10-2003, 10:33 PM
Originally posted by Nobody1234@10 February 2003 - 16:31
First of all it seems most of you are missing the point. He cannot get to access his harddrive. So stop telling him to boot his Windows (even in safe mode.)

He is using Windows 98. So he is using a FAT32 file system.

1. Make a &#39;Startup Diskette&#39; from your mothers computer.(Start>settings>control panel>add remove programs>Startup disk tab.)
2. Bootup with that diskette and you will be able to get to a DOS prompt. (A:>)
3. At that prompt type C: and press return.
4. Do you get a C:> Prompt? If yes type dir and press return. Do you get a list of files? Your hardrive is ok and you probably need to rewrite a new master boot record.
5. If you can&#39;t get a C:> then from the A:> type fdisk and see if you can access your harddirve. If not then you have a hardware failure and that needs to be further diagnosed.
tried dat... made a startup n boot up disk neither one worked... i still cant get to command prompt*... i tried mostly ever1z suggestion... now im going to try holding the CTRL button as sum1 advised...

imported_computerfreak76
02-10-2003, 10:38 PM
dude its time to reinstall

Nobody1234
02-10-2003, 11:02 PM
If you made a boot diskette and you booted your system with it what happened?

And please don&#39;t answer it didn&#39;t work. Be specific.

If you can&#39;t get to the command prompt with a diskette I would say for sure you have a problem with hardware.

dude its time to reinstall
You won&#39;t be able to reinstall anything until you get to a command prompt.

ooo
02-10-2003, 11:21 PM
boot up disk didnt work n neither did i start up disk
ummm the same error showed up

"INVALID SYSTEM DISK
PLEASE REPLACE DISK AND TRY AGAIN"

-- i dink w/ out the please lol...

this happened w/ both the start up disk n boot up disk...
------------------------------------------------------
now... okay i just spent a few mins switching hard drives...

my com is a pentium I, sigh* n itz win98se...

my mom has a pentium III, n itz win2000...

i switched hard drives.... n my hard drive ran on her com w/ the same error...
den i tried running her hard drive on my com n it didnt even run....

is it possible that the newer computers can run older hard drive but older ones cant run newer ones?

my bro has a pentium II, win98se... but hez not lettin me take apart his com since hez afraid i&#39;ll mess it up... sigh*...

Nobody1234
02-10-2003, 11:44 PM
Maybe, just maybe, it would be easier for me to read your posts if you would use complete english words.

Try this: Disconnect all the drives (hard drives, CDroms etc.)..

Leave only the floppy drive plugged in.

Boot up your computer with the startup diskette and tell me what it does.

ooo
02-10-2003, 11:46 PM
okay sorry about that...umm I&#39;m going to try that right now...

start up disk or boot up disk?

or both?

imported_QuietSilence!
02-10-2003, 11:47 PM
LOL its been fun reading this thread but guys here is what the problem is
he has got a dead cmos battery and no matter what he dose in the bios its not gona take till he puts in a new one the reaison that he keeps getting the boot disk erior is that his bios dose not know what kinda hd he has or where it is and its checking for the boot disk at c: before i looks too a:

go bye a new battry there cheap

ooo
02-10-2003, 11:54 PM
are you sure now? even tho i&#39;ve had this computer for a while, i think that the battery&#39;s always been dead since my clock has stopped one or two years ago.

another thing when i removed my hard drive and switched it with my mothers. On my mother&#39;s computer w/ my hard drive in it, it showed the same problem. On my computer with my mother&#39;s hard drive, nothing loaded, the monitor was on but all i got was a blank screen.

Ron
02-10-2003, 11:55 PM
I had something similar two years ago.
I thought my HD was broken.
I took it to the shop to have it checked, and there was nothing wrong with it.
So I took it back home, re-installed it, and it worked fine&#33;
Have you tried removing the cables from your HD for a few minutes?
Forgive me if this sounds stupid, but PC&#39;s react to the darnest things.

Btw, did you try kicking the case already?
;)

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:01 AM
tried that it didnt work...

okay i took pictures of all my bios w/ my digital camera and the error screen. I&#39;m uploading it right now to a geocities site. i will post the site when i am done uploading..

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:03 AM
www.geocities.com/soulz814

i will upload it in another site since the site will crash really soon after people look at the pictures...

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:06 AM
http://photos.yahoo.com/soulz814

Click On My Photos

if you enlarge the pictures you can see the words

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 12:06 AM
Originally posted by QuietSilence&#33;@10 February 2003 - 18:47
LOL its been fun reading this thread but guys here is what the problem is
he has got a dead cmos battery and no matter what he dose in the bios its not gona take till he puts in a new one the reaison that he keeps getting the boot disk erior is that his bios dose not know what kinda hd he has or where it is and its checking for the boot disk at c: before i looks too a:

go bye a new battry there cheap
This guy is probably right but I was trying to go step by step to be sure.

Even if you go get a battery you still need to reprogram all the settings in the CMOS.

Can you get into the CMOS settings screen? You need to press the del key while booting.(some motherboards use other methods). Look in its manual if you have it.

Do you know what motherboard you have?

Nightwolf
02-11-2003, 12:08 AM
Originally posted by Soul814@10 February 2003 - 19:54
... when i removed my hard drive and switched it with my mothers. On my mother&#39;s computer w/ my hard drive in it, it showed the same problem. On my computer with my mother&#39;s hard drive, nothing loaded, the monitor was on but all i got was a blank screen.
You can&#39;t just swap hard drives. You have to go into BIOS setup and have it detect the cylinders and sectors and stuff first. If you want to do that, my suggestion would be to leave your mom&#39;s C: drive in it&#39;s original postition, but change you drive&#39;s jumpers to &#39;slave&#39; and plug it into the same IDE cable as her C. Then set her BIOS to detect the second drive. Then see if you can retreive your deleted system files from the Recycle Bin.

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:09 AM
I don&#39;t know what mother board i have but it&#39;s probably a really old one, but one thing. How is it that I get the same error on my mother&#39;s computer? Her cmos battery is good and her computer is newer then mine.

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:10 AM
Umm can I get step by step instructions, since I&#39;m not a hardware person, and I&#39;m pretty bad with computers since I&#39;m only fourteen...

this link has the error screen shown...

Error (http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/soulz814/vwp?.dir=/My+Photos&.src=ph&.dnm=DSC00026.jpg&.view=t&.done=http%3a//photos.yahoo.com/bc/soulz814/lst%3f%26.dir=/My%2bPhotos%26.src=ph%26.view=t)

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 12:15 AM
Ok, I looked at those pictures. Did you change any of those settings like your clock since the problem started?

And did you find a detect drives section of your CMOS?

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:16 AM
The problem started yesterday and I changed some stuff but i was careful to change them back each time after I messed with it.

Umm do you mean the auto detect drive part?

Well my clock&#39;s been dead for two years... it just doesn&#39;t run when my computer is shut...

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 12:20 AM
Ok see the first screen of your CMOS? the one with the drive Primary Master?
Try to make it show &#39;Auto&#39; Where it says &#39;User&#39; now.

Save the changes when you exit the CMOS. (don&#39;t turn off your PC)

ooo
02-11-2003, 12:22 AM
umm okay... i took some more pictures... but i will try the AUTO thing

it auto detected a hard drive but I get the same error... i have a picture of it.

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 12:28 AM
I got to see those newer pictures now. Yes, those are the pages that are used to setup and detect your harddrive.
Size, Number of cylinders, #of heads etc.

If the previous &#39;Auto&#39; setting doesn&#39;t work use this section.

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 12:31 AM
Well if you can auto detect the drive then leave it like that.
Now try to bootup with a Strtup diskette. Can you get to a prompt?

I&#39;m just curious if you bootup with a diskette does the diskette drive light come on and does the floppy drive spin?

If you can&#39;t boot a floppy... try pluging in another Floppy drive to see if you can boot a diskette.

imported_QuietSilence!
02-11-2003, 12:47 AM
it realy woryes me that ur screen shoots show ur hd as being only 106 mb windows cant run on that small a hd but i think wats wrong is that some thing has happened to the boot record of that drive try to start from a floppy and type fdisk /mbr this will restore ur boot record

too get ur comp to start from a floppy go in too bios and find a reffrence too boot device priorty and move ur floppy disk to the top

Be advised that u have probly lost every thing on this HD

if this works and u can see the c:/ drive they come back a say and i walk u thru partisioning ur hd

sry about spelling i fix comps not wright books:)

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 12:53 AM
Yes, QuietSilence&#33;, I will get to those steps but as you can see he still has not been able to get his diskette to boot.
If you look at his pictures they show the boot sequence as A,C so therefore it is already set to be A: first.

imported_QuietSilence!
02-11-2003, 01:02 AM
im beting its a boot virus that an awfull small partision but i leve this in ur cappable hands Nobody1234

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 01:09 AM
Well, we have not heard from Soul814 in over 45 minutes now. What&#39;s up with that?

I will be back in a bit...

ooo
02-11-2003, 01:41 AM
ooo sorry for not responding... I want to really thank everyone for helping me... I ended up getting my cousin to come up... he attached my drive as a slave in my mothers computer and it worked perfectly fine... i ended up reformating my drive. Now i just have to figure out how to install windows. This is going to be a long tiring process. I wish i could help everyone else that has this problem since i was searching google and there was alot of forums w/ this problem. No one ever resolved this problem. They just ended up buying a new computer when they could fix their computer.

I think my computer is fixed since i got it formated. Now i just have to figure out how to reinstall windows. Im not that good with it. :P... but...


THANK YOU EVERYONE WHO HAS HELPED ME OUT&#33;

ummm i couldnt get names of ppl who helped me out alot...
but thankz 2 these ppl

RPerry
Chilly
mobboss01
Nobody1234
computerfreak76
dirtyoldman
QuietSilence&#33;
Nightwolf^.`.^
CornerPocket
jetje
KrackHead2k
Grim
Alexusa67
RDanneskjold
Ron
Benno
FlamingYob
I_DONT_SHARE_PORN

i just took this list off of the "Who posted in:" list

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 02:24 AM
Don&#39;t leave me waiting like that again without saying something.

Well if you want to install windows you need to boot with the windows 98 startup diskette.
Your harddisk needs to have an active primary DOS partition. (you can see that using fdisk)
The partition needs to be formatted. (use format c:)
------Since you say yours is already formatted you can start here.
Boot your computer with the Win98 startup diskette. (choose with cdrom support)
Insert the Windows98 cd in the cd drive.
At the prompt type d:setup and press enter to launch the setup. (where &#39;d&#39; is the cdrom drive...Varies with different setups)

ooo
02-11-2003, 02:27 AM
heh thanks nobody and sorry for leaving you hanging... my cousin had just walked in and he told me to shut the computer and tell him what was wrong. Now it&#39;s isntalling... don&#39;t know if i&#39;m going to have anymore problems afterwards... heh it was E:/ i tried D:/ and that was just the startup disk... i guess it was a tempory drive... i don&#39;t know. Soon I&#39;m going to have to take and hour and reconfigure my whole computer... well reinstall / fix up the hardware... / plug in everything / close up the tower and put the drives back in their right ful spots...

ooo
02-11-2003, 02:43 AM
ahh.... damn&#33;... during my reinstall of windows 98se... i got several errors... is this a good sigh...... nooooooooooooo there goes my 1hr of waitin for the setups.... i shall try again.... stay tune for more news

ooo
02-11-2003, 02:49 AM
now this will be my third attempt to reinstall....

second attempt was a failure.... it was doing sumding w/ the registry n the whole computer froze.. i just got pass the system scandisk.... sigh... maybe this will take anotehr day...

ooo
02-11-2003, 03:01 AM
nooo im getting errors this is not good...

http://photos.yahoo.com/soulz814

pic number 35 n beyond are the errors... n im so close to fixing my computer&#33;

Nightwolf
02-11-2003, 03:46 AM
Doesn&#39;t look good, dude. Maybe it is the CMOS battery. One other thing you could try is a new IDE cable - they go bad sometimes.

imported_computerfreak76
02-11-2003, 05:31 AM
if youve formatted and still having problems im starting to think maybe youve got a hardware issue somewhere.

if you can find out the maker of your hard drive you can go to their website and download a diagnostic program to test the hard drive.

i had almost the same exact problems your having dude and after what seemed like forever i found out my hard drive was bad.

oh before you try all that does your hard drive support S.M.A.R.T.?
if so enable it and see if it tells you if anything is wrong with your hard drive.

RPerry
02-11-2003, 10:57 AM
Soul, figure your asleep at this hour. Waiting to hear how you made out. Hate to say it, but the ones who are saying its the cmos battery are probably right. Computers built before 1995 may not remember they have a hard drive if the cmos battery dies.

Nightwolf
02-11-2003, 11:33 AM
When you reformatted, did you scan the disk for surface errors?

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 01:50 PM
-Check all your connections.
-Clean the contacts of your RAM modules.
-Change your CMOS battery.
-Get a dignostic diskette from the website of your harddrive mfg. (in your case Western Digital)-- Test your drive.
-Try another copy of the Windows 98 CD. Preferably Windows 98 Second Edition.
-Try completely deleting the partition(s) and repartition with a new Active Primary Partition.(I say this because I have seen a virus survive in a system even after formatting.(it was called &#39;Junky boot virus&#39;)) (and I suspect a virus was the cause of all your troubles.)

CornerPocket
02-11-2003, 02:25 PM
Originally posted by Soul814@10 February 2003 - 18:06
http://photos.yahoo.com/soulz814

Click On My Photos

if you enlarge the pictures you can see the words
In reference to your photo with the "SUWIN General Protection Fault" Error Messages during Win98 Setup (http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=224836)



I see in your Bios pics (lower right corner) that you have the options to use
F6 - Load Bios Defaults
F7 - Load Setup Defaults

Try using those features, one at a time&#33; As the link above states, could be a possibilty of a bad motherboard as well ;)

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 07:09 PM
Go to the motherboard mfg. website and find the latest bios update. Download and install the firmware update. (follow their instructions presicely)

And again... get a new battery.

ooo
02-11-2003, 10:03 PM
ummm intresting suggestions... well before i formated my computer i was able to access all my files in my hard drive so i know it isn&#39;t dead... i took out the important stuff / files that i needed before i formatted it..... right now I&#39;m installing windows 95, i also got windows 2000 but that will just kill my computer if I install it, if this doesn&#39;t work then I&#39;m going to borrow my cousin&#39;s window 98se cd and try again... if that doesnt work... then i guess I will have to use my own money and buy a new computer... i shall see in a while... it is installing right now... hope everything turns out fine... :P

ooo
02-11-2003, 10:04 PM
Originally posted by Nightwolf^.`.^@11 February 2003 - 12:33
When you reformatted, did you scan the disk for surface errors?
yea i checked, no errors...

ooo
02-11-2003, 10:09 PM
YahOOOOOOOOOOOOOOo i think i got my windows 95 to work... but im going to have to install 98 so i can network my computers once again....

well, i will keep you people informed... right now im running the screen

Windows 95 is starting up for the first time...

Nightwolf
02-11-2003, 10:38 PM
Y&#39;know, you really should invest in a new hard drive. Like someone else said, 106 MB doesn&#39;t even seem big enough for Win98. Not only that, but they do tend to fail over time. I&#39;m sure if you go to Pricewatch or even eBay you could find something much bigger and faster that you could probably afford.

ooo
02-11-2003, 10:42 PM
well i can get a new one... but i would have to use 100 or 200 dollars outta my pocket and that&#39;s all i have... I&#39;m pretty happy w/ my computer right now.. i really don&#39;t use it for much... i have no games on it so it really doesn&#39;t matter, just microsoft office, some art programs and datz all... i dunt even have a speaker... since i lost the sound card for the speaker it came with, so it has no music in it, my computer has no internet in it... now i will have to wait and get a window 98se cd... n try to install that

bytheway WINDOWS 95 WORKS ON MY COM&#33;

dankz 2 everyone who has helped me in this long tiring process...

mobboss01
02-11-2003, 11:00 PM
I logged on and was shocked to see that this thread was still hot. Sorry to hear you had that hard of a time Soul. I know what it is like to start from scratch. BTW, you don&#39;t need to spend that much on a HDD. You could get a 40 gig for like &#036;70, I am guessing.

You started this thread as a newbie, I think...now a full member. Wow, this is some involved thread.

Nobody1234
02-11-2003, 11:46 PM
I looked at all those pictures again. The one that shows the model of your harddrive is unclear. I think it shows WDC AC26400R. Am I correct? If so that&#39;s a 6 Gig harddrive Western Digital. So Everyone he is ok with that he doesn&#39;t need a bigger one. (the screen that shows 106Meg is incorrect as that was before proper CMOS configuration.)

Did you get a battery yet?
Were you able to get a BIOS update?

ooo
02-12-2003, 12:07 AM
ummm thanks for everyones help who replied to me... i finnally got my computer fixed after three whole days w/ the help of this wonderful forum and the wonderful people and my cousin.... :P i formatted my computer, now its a bare skeleton and I have to reinstalled all my programs and fix up all my settings and stuff... and yes i have a 6gb hard drive... the thing is it use to be 106 mbs probably but that was real far back then. I got a virus around 1998 or some where there and bought a new hard drive for 100 dollars....

right now it is fixed, once again i am hookin up my hard drive to my mother&#39;s to retrieve some of my files / documents, pics n stuff.... ummm any good suggestions on any nice programs to dl and quickly transfer into my computer while i have to chance to... since it isnt every day that i take apart my computer... :lol: :lol: :lol:

Nobody1234
02-12-2003, 12:22 AM
Congratulations&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33; Party time... yeah&#33; :lol:

By the way what was the solution for getting Win98 to work? You know... to help someone else reading this.

What are some new tricks you could tell us?

ooo
02-12-2003, 12:38 AM
Yes it is time to party... lol... well first i installed windows 95 to see if it worked then i formated my computer for like the 5th time or so and ran out and stole my cousin&#39;s window 98se cd lol... no one was home but i doubt anyone would know that i took it lol... and then i installed it using his... now i am puttin all the files / docs / pics back to my computer.... i saved some stuff before i formatted... any suggestions on what i should download and put in to my boring computer.... its so slow.... lol.... :P

P a R t Y p E e P z

if u ever get this problem be sure to READ THIS&#33;

ooo
02-12-2003, 12:44 AM
i am having dinner now nobody... see i am telling you ahead of time now :P

Nightwolf
02-12-2003, 12:53 AM
My best software suggestions aren&#39;t very much fun, but they sure are useful:


Norton Utilities

Mcaffee&#39;s Virus Scan

WinBoost

Nobody1234
02-12-2003, 12:54 AM
Originally posted by Soul814@11 February 2003 - 19:44
i am having dinner now nobody... see i am telling you ahead of time now :P
Thanks&#33; :lol:


any suggestions on what i should download and put in to my boring computer.... its so slow.... lol....
Yes... KazaaLite&#33; :D :D

Chilly
02-12-2003, 12:58 AM
Congratulations Soul814, glad you got it sorted.

Even thou i was late for work the next day LOL.

Well done mate.

Abit of advice, Email this topic to yourself for future problems LOL. ;)

:D :D :D :D :D :D

ooo
02-12-2003, 01:05 AM
Originally posted by Chilly@12 February 2003 - 01:59
Congratulations Soul814, glad you got it sorted.

Even thou i was late for work the next day LOL.

Well done mate.

Abit of advice, Email this topic to yourself for future problems LOL. ;)
lol intresting idea... i don&#39;t think it&#39;s going to happen to me again... :P

ooo
02-12-2003, 01:07 AM
Originally posted by Nobody1234@12 February 2003 - 01:54
Yes... KazaaLite&#33; :D :D
lol.... i wish i had the internet on my computer... but i can&#39;t network it without my mom knowing therez a line going from my computer to hers&#33; lol... and she doesn&#39;t want me going on line because she&#39;s afraid its going to deprive me of my school work... o well... it doesn&#39;t matter since i use her computer 4 - 5 hrs a day and i have kazaa lite on that lol :P

Nobody1234
02-12-2003, 01:08 AM
Originally posted by Soul814+11 February 2003 - 20:05--></span><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Soul814 @ 11 February 2003 - 20:05)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin--Chilly@12 February 2003 - 01:59
Congratulations Soul814, glad you got it sorted.

Even thou i was late for work the next day LOL.

Well done mate.

Abit of advice, Email this topic to yourself for future problems LOL. ;)
lol intresting idea... i don&#39;t think it&#39;s going to happen to me again... :P [/b][/quote]
It will... Its just a matter of time&#33; :lol: :lol:

ooo
02-12-2003, 01:34 AM
fwah hahaha.... maybe then i will have saved up enough money to buy myself a new computer that is if i don&#39;t spend it all during mid winter recess lol :P

RPerry
02-12-2003, 08:34 AM
My only question is how is he running with a dead cmos battery?? :blink:

ooo
02-12-2003, 09:27 PM
are you sure its dead... only the clock has stopped well the clock stops when my computer isnt running... i fixed my computer&#33; well sorta, i tried plugging back in my hard drive and it wouldnt open... then i disconnected my cd rom drive and plugged in my hard drive and it worked... weird... so now i disconnected my cd rom drive.... o well no cd rom drive lol...

Nightwolf
02-12-2003, 10:22 PM
Did you have the CD-Rom Drive on the same IDE cable as the hard drive? You&#39;re not supposed to do that.

ooo
02-12-2003, 10:24 PM
well im not that stupid lol.... no i didnt... they were on different ones... even when i plugged in my cd rom drive it gave me a blank screen but the monitor worked since the self test appeared*... o well... i can figure that out afterwards... im happy with my computer working again

nobody -- PARTY&#33;

ooo
02-13-2003, 01:43 AM
oh darn the problems is not solved... well it is lol... in a way

okay now wen i plug in my cd rom drive my hard drive wont run so i got a blank screen...

now wen i disconnected the ide cable of my cd rom drive my computer runs... now the question is... how do i get both running at the same time&#33;... ahhh... nobody help.... lol

imported_QuietSilence!
02-13-2003, 02:04 AM
Originally posted by RPerry@12 February 2003 - 09:34
My only question is how is he running with a dead cmos battery?? :blink:
the batter is only used when comp is off if u leve it on u dont need it but every time u hard boot ull have too reset all ur bios data it can be a pain

lol it remindes me of my first comp it was an 8086 and had no battry every time u started it up dos would ask u what day and time it was them where the good old day
it was an 8086 had 1 meg ram on 16 difrent chips and 40 MB hd that was as big as the comp was it sat next too it and took 5mins to warm up and i had to change the fillters on it about once every 3months. dule 5 1/4 floppys and a monocrome display too. LOL and yes the best part was there was no such thing as windows

ooo
02-13-2003, 02:10 AM
LOL but no one answered my question..... about my cd rom drive read ABOVE...

anyways... my window 3.11 got upgraded to windows95 n that computer only had 106mbs (err dankz ppl for pointing that out) but then i got a virus so i had to get a new hard drive (6gbs)... o well better then 100mbs cant even hold a movie a cdrom is bigger then that...

lookin through my old cd roms drives i found a 4x... :P lol

Nightwolf
02-13-2003, 03:56 AM
Only thing I can suggest is all the same things you just did with your hard drive - check your BIOS settings, check your cables and jumpers, try it in your mom&#39;s computer, try another CD drive in yours....

Supernatural
02-13-2003, 04:20 PM
Did you have the CD-Rom Drive on the same IDE cable as the hard drive? You&#39;re not supposed to do that.
I have my second HD is sharing the same cable as my CD-ROM and it works perfect.

Sounds like soul&#39;s problem could be power related, if its not a jumper problem. Maybe the power supply has 1 too many drives connected.

dirtyoldman
02-13-2003, 06:07 PM
sounds like your bios isn&#39;t seeing your cd or the cable is pluged upside down on cd.some will plug up either way.i&#39;ve seen that happen.another cd may fix it. :huh:

ooo
02-13-2003, 10:33 PM
ummm ide cable is pluggedin correctly and so is the electical wire, umm i can check the bios i guess, but my hard drive works on my moms computer... :/... maybe my hard drive took in some thing?... not a virus, i mean *an immunity* lol or sumding.... since her hard drive didnt work on my computer in the first place too... :/

Nightwolf
02-13-2003, 11:39 PM
Originally posted by Soul814@13 February 2003 - 18:33
...but my hard drive works on my moms computer...
Yes, but does you CD-Rom work on your mom&#39;s comp? Maybe it got fried somehow.

krome
02-13-2003, 11:55 PM
Originally posted by Soul814@9 February 2003 - 18:47
i am currently usin my mothers computer...

my computer is a win 98se..

i get an error

&#39;&#39;Invalid system disk, replace disk, and press any key&#39;&#39;

n there is no disc in the A:/ Drive or C:/ Drive... wat can i do
... i cant enter safe mood or command prompt

start up boot disc dont work too i tried

plz help me...

the onli thing i can access is setup
1.enter into bios setup and then change
the boot sequence and boot through the startup
disk and then type at the command prompt sys c:
and after that you will get a indication
saying that system transfered

2. Then after that restart your computer your
system should boot to windows

3. If not you need to reinstall the windows (Format and then reinstall) <~~~ Best thing i can come up with what you should do....."

4. And if you get any erros while you do a format
then your hard drive is damaged and you need
to replace the hard drive

dirtyoldman
02-14-2003, 05:25 AM
i think i missed something.how did u install win95?did u do it on moms before you took ur drive back out?
your cmos may not be seeing your cd drive.

marlin
02-14-2003, 12:46 PM
maybe you already tried this, but in the bios you can set the boot order. usually the bios checks you floppy for a bootable disk (disk with OS on it) first. It souds like you have a problem with your floppy (at least), so if you change the boot order to check your hard disk for being bootable first (and windows still works) you should get through the boot process into windows. You can change your floppy drive afterwards and reset the boot order. Shouldnt be to difficult, but bios are not all the same so i cant tell you exactly how.

It seems that your floppy or motherboard (could be the motherboard as well) tells your bios that there is a disk in it.

viw2227
02-14-2003, 02:33 PM
You either have it or you don`t&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;

Nightwolf
02-14-2003, 06:27 PM
Originally posted by viw2227@14 February 2003 - 10:33
You either have it or you don`t&#33;&#33;&#33;&#33;
Yeah&#33;

ooo
02-14-2003, 09:37 PM
Originally posted by dirtyoldman@14 February 2003 - 06:25
i think i missed something.how did u install win95?did u do it on moms before you took ur drive back out?
your cmos may not be seeing your cd drive.
ummmm steps -- okay i installed windows98se usin my own computer... then i took out my hard drive and inserted to my moms computer to retrieve some files, after that when i plugged it back into my computer it didnt work... weird*... the first time when i tried plugging in my mom&#39;s hard drive to my computer it didnt work either...

ooo
02-15-2003, 08:57 PM
Yes... now it is truly time to celebrate... i fixed my own problem...

weirdly enough, my floppy drive ide cable was not securely on... well half of it was on and the other half was slightly off... so i pushed it in a little more and then i plugged in the cd rom ide cable and it works now..

well i only checked my floppy drive ide cable because the floppy drive was visible but i couldn&#39;t get into my floppy drive, the conents wouldn&#39;t show

Hip Hip Hooary&#33;.... problem totally solved.... it only took 11pages and a hell lot of posts...

bytheway thanks to everyone who helped me...

Chilly
02-15-2003, 09:07 PM
I saw this topic again just come up with Soul814 and i thought Oh no not again :lol:

Is it all sorted now are ya cruising ;)

Can we break out the Beers :lol:

ooo
02-15-2003, 09:26 PM
yes u can take your beer out and party... lol i posted that i solved this problem in alot of other forums other then this and someone actually imed me having the same problem... and they formated the drive and it didnt work... weird now...

Nightwolf
02-15-2003, 09:31 PM
Originally posted by Soul814@15 February 2003 - 16:57
my floppy drive ide cable was not securely on... well half of it was on and the other half was slightly off...
I wonder if that was the whole problem right from the start?

ooo
02-15-2003, 09:36 PM
lol nope... since my boot disk worked... fine... i musta messed it up since i kept takin out the electric plug and thatz connected to my floppy one... old pentium one stupid mother board...all teh wires are so tangled...

Gambo
02-15-2003, 09:41 PM
Classic. Loose cables cost. What an interesting thread. :D

Nightwolf
02-15-2003, 09:46 PM
Yeah, my Gateway is like that too. I just added a third HD and found that I had to flip my other two over, and move my floppy and DVD drives to new bays just so all the cables would reach. Now I can&#39;t even see the motherboard without unplugging a bunch of stuff first. Oh well, glad you&#39;re all fixed up now&#33; B)

ooo
02-15-2003, 09:52 PM
lol wait up... i told somone that is having the same problem as me to sign up, since they tried what i told them and it&#39;s not working... i was thinking you people could explain better ... and NO i did not have a loose ide cable when i first had the invalid system disk error :P.... sooo blahz&#33; lolz

jetje
02-16-2003, 05:03 PM
problem solved B) .... topic closed B)