[triadtechtalk] Re: Old Pentium won't boot to Windows
- From: RobertHenr@xxxxxxx
- To: triadtechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sun, 22 Aug 2004 20:45:25 EDT
Hi,
I finally got back (after a trip to NC and taking my wife to the hospital) to
the old Pentium that would not boot. I chosed the option of without CD
support but when it reaches, "Preparing to start your computer. This may take
a
few minutes, please wait." it just hangs for 20 minutes. The floppy's green
light is on but I don't hear any chunking/reading or writing. Would I be
correct
if I suspect that the floppy is no good or intermittent?
Thanks,
Robert
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
In a message dated 7/29/04 11:25:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
bint@xxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Hi Robert ... I doubt there is anything you can do without using fdisk first.
In your other message you mention all those missing files, but they are on C
drive. If all those are missing or bad, you will never boot up that disk.
If you start with the win98 boot disk and chose the option "start without CD
support" and let it boot to the A prompt. This is the time to type fdisk
<enter> then answer the "big file" question YES and you will be given the
option menu in fdisk. Follow the last instructions I posted to fdisk the hard
drive. This wipes the drive clean (and will also tell you if there are bad
sectors
on the drive). If there are many bad sectors, there is no use fooling with it
... it will always be a pain in the butt. After fdisk is through, press
escape back to the A prompt then reboot using the win98 boot disk the same as
before (no cd support). Then at the A prompt, type format C: /s <enter>
and
follow the steps in my last post. Assuming all goes well and the format
completes succesfully, press escape back to the A prompt and reboot using the
same
disk, but this time choose "with cd rom support". It will make it's own small
virtual drive to allow the CD to run. Note the drive letter for the CD ROM
drive. At the A prompt, type E: (assuming thats the cdrom drive) and after
it
changes to the cdrom drive, type dir <enter> this will show the
folders on the OS system disk in the CD ROM (probably win 98 or 98SE). Now type
setup.exe <enter> and the setup should begin if all is well. Follow
instructions to setup the OS you choose.
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