[Thomas_Autry]

I have a compaq desk pro en trying to load win 98 .
Promt says I have no hard drive or cannot read hard drive
What could be wrong?

[jpChris]

Hi Thomas,

Three things:

1) Boot to your W98 Floppy Boot Disk. At the "A:\" prompt, type in C:\ and hit enter (or, cd <space> C:\)
When you're at a "C" prompt, type in "dir" (without the quotes) and hit enter. If you see a ton of files flash by, then you know the "C" drive is there.

2) If you don't see a ton of files in the window, then either your hard drive has been hidden or you got a virus that ate something.

3) Can you hit the F8 when you start to boot and go into Safe Mode? If so, then you know the HDD is there and you can trouble shoot from Safe Mode

The obvious question here is, what did you do before you shut off your computer before it wouldn't boot?

Either way, you may have to contact Compaq for a fix.

[toma4444]

Thanks chris ill try that . This computer has been formated
That's why I was trying to reload win. 98.

[jpChris]

Hi Thomas,

OK, what did you use to format the hard drive? Windows or a third party? When did you do it? After you did it, were you able to install and boot up, then when you did a hard shutdown, it wouldn't boot? Are you having a problem trying to install W98? Clean install or upgrade?

I'm surmising here, but it sounds like you need to do an FDISK to the "C" drive from your boot floppy, format, set your partitions, then load W98. Maybe the boot record got lost.

If this sound like a lot of work, it isn't really. If you're careful, read what each prompt says and follow directions, you can do it.

I'd give you the complete rundown, but it's been so long since I've used W98, I've forgotten. If you do a Google search, you'll find a lot of help and you can write down the step by step process.

Or, go into the BIOS, change the first boot device to CDROM, hit esc. then F10 to save the changes and then try to install 98. I would suggest doing an FDISK first, then boot to CDROM and install windows.

[toma4444]

Thanks again Chris, got this machine from work so I don't
Know how it was formated. It is dumb, startig from scratch
After I do f-disk,it says I have no hard disk or cannot find
Hard disk . Am frustrated and fixing to trash it!

[jpChris]

Hi Thomas,

Welcome to the wonderful world of computers!
(Motto: To err is human; but to really foul things up, you need a computer!)

Anyway, I know it can be extremely frustrating trying to do something that should be so simple, yet causes major brain damage.

Let's start at the basics. Did you do anything to the hard drive; like take it out? Are the jumpers set correctly?

And, I'm assuming that you've got the ribbon cable connected correctly.

And, what brand of hard drive is it? You should be able to go to the mfg.'s website and download their disk prep tools on a floppy.

As to whether to trash the HDD, give it one more shot — UNLESS — it's an old hard drive. New ones are pretty cheap.

One last thing, you said you fdisk'ed the drive. Go into the bios and change the boot to all CDROM. Then insert the W98 setup disk and see if it takes. If not, then maybe the "company" had the tech who set it up password protect it in the BIOS.

(Don't forget to change the boot in the BIOS back to: Floppy | IDE-0 | CDROM when you're done [if it works])

If none of the above helps, you can always try my tried-and-true method of dealing with stubborn hardware: A Craftsman® 16oz Ball peen Hammer ;D

[toma4444]

I think your right on the changes, but I like the last option
The best ! Thanks for your time THOMAS