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Need to reinstall 98 from disk

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7 replies

by houtxbear

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I used the compaq restore disk and obviously did something wrong. It now only says no OS and will not do anything. HELP this is a Compaq 1200 notebook if that is any help. Was trying to restore it back because it was running poorly and was planning to upgrading to XP but don't want to purchase it untill I know I can install it. Any help would be greatly appreciated seeing that it is not mine :(.

7 replies

by willcomp

Try running system restore again. Note any error messages or unusual behavior (i.e. stopping in middle of restore).

From my experience, Compaq restore CDs are unreliable. Have found about as many that don't work as do. My response is to install Windows from an OEM CD and download drivers from Compaq (now HP) website.

Before you install XP, ensure that you have adequate hardware to run it properly. A link to MS's stated requirements is below. Take recommended values (not minimum values) and double them if you want XP to perform reasonably well. Otherwise stick with 98SE or 2000 pro.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/314865

Dalton

by blackcurrant

Hi

Do you get any error messages when restoring from the Compaq restore disk? Is the restore process finishing properly?

by cp7212

Did you low-level format your drive before reinstalling? There may be some undesirables still on your drive (besides the Compaq stuff). Just a little Compaq hate joke there.....

by cp7212

Ah, sorry. Did not see that you tried to restore on top of the platform. If your machine can't see the OS, format, and go with Willcurrant's suggestion.

by cp7212

Last post today. Willcurrant? Sounds like some kind of evil hybrid.... I meant to type Willcomp. TGIF

by zx_ray

to start with get a win98 boot disk from any other
pc. will it boot from it. can you go to the C:.. if not lets check in the BIOS for the hard drive.
if you have a " C " drive ..have u formated it.
might have to use " Fdisk " and do a full formate.
if, no " c " drive or will not formate , the drive
just might have died.

by borginva

If you have a XP CD (full not upgrade) to try, like a frend or whateever, you do not need to currently reload your PC. You can boot off the CD (I think F10 is your BIOS to make sure boot on CD is on) or boot into the command prompt (F* repeatedly when PC starts up), and go to the CD drive, say x, and into the 1386 directory:
cd x:\i386
And execute the winnt.exe file. This will also start up the XP process.
In either case you will be able to format from within the setup menu if you needed to.
If you try an upgrade CD, I am not sure if it will ask for proof of another OS, so have another Windows version available, like 98 or 2000.
Good luck.

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