no fixed disks present

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Keith - 08 May 2004 22:40 GMT

I was given a used computer and when I turn it on it runs
through the normal checks and then before Windows comes up
it gives me a message that says: DISK BOOT FAILURE,
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
I insert my Win98 boot disk and press enter and it reads
the disk and gives me the MICROSOFT WINDOWS STARTUP MENU.
I choose 1. Start computer with cd-rom support. The
message comes up saying: Windows 98 has detected that
drive C does not contain a valid FAT or FAT32 partition.
Then it list 3 possible reasons. 1. being to partition the
drive. But, when I type fdisk at the MS-DOS prompt A:\>
I get: "no fixed disk present" with the A:\> again.
I'm not real good with this stuff yet so any help in this
matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanking You in
advance. Keith

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CJT - 08 May 2004 23:19 GMT

> I was given a used computer and when I turn it on it runs
> through the normal checks and then before Windows comes up
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
> matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanking You in
> advance. Keith

There's a pretty good chance the hard disk is dead.

It's possible one of the cables has come loose or that there's
some other explanation.

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Ron Badour - 09 May 2004 03:58 GMT

Check the cables to the hard drive and while there, determine what brand it
is. Then go to the maker's web site, download their diagnostic software and
check the health of the drive (it is probably DOA). The software runs from
a floppy disk.

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Regards

Ron Badour, MS MVP for W98
Tips: http://home.satx.rr.com/badour
Knowledge Base Info:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=kbinfo

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