Web Hosting Talk : Other Forums : Web Hosting Lounge : computer problem, help me!!!!!

[coolguy23]

ok, yesterday i was just listening to some music on my comp (mp3s) and suddenly my computer froze!!!
i reset it but now it won't load windows!!!!!!!!!
apparently it can't read the boot from my hard drive, so i inserted the boot disk that i got with my computer, it loaded windows 98 in ms dos mode and all i get is

a:\>

i tried typing exit but it didn't work
so i reset the computer (without the bootdisk) and now it never reads the boot from the hard drive
is there any way i can fix this?
how can i format my computer?
thanks in advance if you want to help

[Palm]

You can restore your default boot records by typing this:

fdisk \MBR
or
fdisk /MBR

[Studio-51]

not overly related, but when I have had similar trouble....

take out the hard drive, fiddle with the jumpers and stick it on slave and stick it in another machine - ensures you save all your gear as it by passes boot records etc.

hope it gets fixed and doesnt resort to that.

[coolguy23]

ok, too late
i formated my computer and in result lost all my data!!!!!!!


but now i have another problem!
my sound isn't working, any ideas on how to fix this?

[reflexhost.com]

Sorry to ask the stupid question... but have you installed your sound card drivers? And if yes, are they installed correctly? Check the Device Manager for to see if there are any conflicts.

Matt

[coolguy23]

no stupid question, i didn't install the drivers cuz i don't know where they are, i didn't get any cd with them on, but i do have a cd labeled "PC100 SystemBoard" do you think that has the drivers?

thanks again for the help, i just wish i didn't have to format and lose all my data!

[Kaith Sutai-Rustaz]

In most cases on a 95/98 system, if you can get the system to boot you to a dos prompt, you can usually (not always) get windows to start by typing WIN at the prompt. If you hadn't formatted the hard drive, you may have been able to save your data b4 doing the reinstall by slaving it to another system and copying it over.

fdisk /mbr from dos will usually reset the boot record.

look at the web site for the maker of your sound card for the drivers.

for future note : before wiping a system, make certain you have all the drivers (video, audio, modem, network card, etc).

Good luck.

[Kaith Sutai-Rustaz]

As a side note : be certain you are also running good antivirus software (F-Prot or McAfee), and have the latest data tables for it.

[coolguy23]

i now have windows 2000 because it was suggested that it is the stablest, and for some reason, my internet seems a little slower
i have yet to find out who made my sound card, so i can't get the drivers
man, if only i went to the library to read the replies to this post, i wouldn't have lost all my data

[B-Broker]

Call Microsoft!

They'll charge you something like $10/minute though

[joe52]

Originally posted by coolguy23
no stupid question, i didn't install the drivers cuz i don't know where they are, i didn't get any cd with them on, but i do have a cd labeled "PC100 SystemBoard" do you think that has the drivers?

thanks again for the help, i just wish i didn't have to format and lose all my data!

If your motherboard has onboard audio, then there may be drivers for that on the cd that came with the motherboard. If it's a seperate (as in you have a PCI or ISA sound card) sound card you might try looking on the web site of the company that made your sound card.

-joe

[Studio-51]

Originally posted by B-Broker
They'll charge you something like $10/minute though

is this true?

bastards! I wish people paid me for a service, and were willing to pay for support ON TOP of that!

[WebSnail.net]

Originally posted by coolguy23
i have yet to find out who made my sound card, so i can't get the drivers

Ok, first take a deep breath... avoid the temptation to "fiddle" with the computer and start looking through this lot...

1. Find your motherboard manual.. in fact find ALL your manuals. Take a look at all the various bits that are in your machine.

No manual? Ok, take off the cover (power off!) and look around for any distinguishing information. Write it ALL down, serial numbers, version numbers, etc...

2. Ok, with all that info go visit www.windrivers.com and go to the "Advanced Search" area to start locating all your latest drivers.

Chances are you won't know what your sound card actually is so if you start doing searches based on the information you gleaned from manuals or the box exploration you should find what you're looking for.

Google is a useful resource at this point and has helped me locate drivers for bits that were in excess of 5 years old and with bug all real info on them.


Oh and to re-iterate what was said earlier... Make sure you have a decent virus checker on your system and scan the hard drive before you do anything like install the drive in a second system or anything like that... You don't want to get caught way off base by some thing like that..

On last tip... Get yourself X-setup and use it to tweak your file and data settings so that those annoying little things like your address book, 'my documents' folders, templates, etc... can be located on a seperate partition or hard drive. Makes for easier backup using something like 2nd Copy. If you really want to save yourself some grief consider getting Norton Ghost or DiskImage (powerquest) and get a snapshot of your system for later reinstallation for those times when it all goes horribly wrong. Makes a major difference to your day.

Hope that lot helps

Martin

[Cyberpunk]

Is that the same board you had when you posted having troubles with a hard disk?

If its a new board gimme the model number and I'll try and suss out the sound setup.

How did you get on with your hard disk problem?

[coolguy23]

ok, yes it's the same mother board
model : P2B-F/350-U
S/N : 95M7407786

i think the sound is intergated, and i am going to get a anti-virus program, probably norton
i'm gonna open the case up later, i gotta go register my self at the school

i did have a partition before my formating, but when i inserted the win 2000 cd to install it formated the partion too!

oh well, i'm gonna have to start all over
but i need some ram cuz my 64 megs ram can't handle the win 2000, any one got any extra they wanna donate?