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Format C: Can't do it..or even get to it

Discussion in 'The Alternative OS' started by Ray, Jul 20, 2006.

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  1. Ray Newcomer, in training

    Hi
    I found an old computer Pentium 120. It was password protected but I removed that and now I can boot up and get into the cmos. I found it has Theos O/S on it but it gives an error when bootup gets going just after post. The screen is blue and states Theos portal is invalid. When I start the computer with a Winme boot disk I get to A: drive and that works ok but when I try to dos over to C: it says it's an invalid drive. I checked cmos and the drive is set up ok. I even installed another hhd that I know has info on it and when I install that one I can't go from A to C either. How can I get the computer to switch over to C:? Or..when I'm in A: and type format C: nothing happens there either. Is it possible the motherboard is no good or something has been altered on the motherboard? I just want to remove everything so I can setup a normal o/s on it and use it for older programs.
    Ray, Jul 20, 2006
    #1

  2. A_DOG73 Newcomer, in training

    Boot to CD

    Did you try to boot to the CD drive? Do you have a Windows ME OS CD? That way you can set the boot sequence in BIOS to boot to CD and format from the OS installation disc. Once you boot to CD, it should show your partitions and the OS installed and give you an option to repartition and format.
    A_DOG73, Jul 20, 2006
    #2

  3. IBN Newcomer, in training

    Is there a Virus Protect on the boot sector in the bios?
    IBN, Jul 21, 2006
    #3

  4. tekNerd Newcomer, in training

    MAybe BartPE can be of some help.

    Peace out!
    tekNerd, Jul 21, 2006
    #4

  5. Ray Newcomer, in training

    Virus Protect is disabled in the bios.
    There isn't a cdrom in the computer, I thought I might be able to troubleshoot out of this. I guess I might as well install a cdrom and try to do it that way now. I still would like to figure out a troubleshoot method for future use. If this happened to my computer I'd have lost all my data. Sort of a preventive maintenance. Also now I'm curious what this Theos o/s looks like.
    Ray, Jul 21, 2006
    #5

  6. Ray Newcomer, in training

    Hi Teknerd

    I just looked at the BartPE and it sounds good. I have a Linux Live Cd now so maybe I can use that. I can use the Bart one as well (can't have too many options) I will have to install the Cdrom first though.
    Ray, Jul 21, 2006
    #6

  7. SNGX1275 TechSpot Special Forces

    If the drive isn't formatted as FAT or FAT32 WinME won't see it. Thats why it says invalid disk. If you still want to do it from the floppy just boot up and then run fdisk and delete the existing partition(s) and then re-create them. Then reboot, and then you can format C.
    SNGX1275, Jul 21, 2006
    #7

  8. AMDIsTheBest010 Newcomer, in training

    i say buy a new HD, they're not that expensive. I bought another 80GB seagete for $60, then instal that drive as master, insert WinME boot disk into 3.5" A drive, then follow the instructions.

    ...AMD
    AMDIsTheBest010, Jul 21, 2006
    #8

  9. SNGX1275 TechSpot Special Forces

    Why the hell would he want to do that? He's got a perfectly good hard drive in there now. Also getting a new one introduces a lot of headaches with large disk support, its a P120, I guarentee you its motherboard can't handle an 80 gig hard drive without a bios update, if its even avaiable.
    SNGX1275, Jul 21, 2006
    #9

  10. AMDIsTheBest010 Newcomer, in training

    i installed a new 80GB HD on my 1999 system with an AMD Athlon, and my bios had no trouble with it. and i've nver updated my bios. I inserted the WinME bot floppy, created a partition, installed WinME and everything works fine now.

    ...AMD
    AMDIsTheBest010, Jul 21, 2006
    #10

  11. SNGX1275 TechSpot Special Forces

    Pentium 120s came out in March 1995, there is no way that motherboard is going to take an 80gig hd. Its not worth the trouble, the guy didn't even hint at that, and you are telling him to get a new hard drive because ME couldn't see a drive formatted in a filesystem it won't be able to read?

    If he does what I said in my first post it will work. If it doesn't work after that, and the jumpers are set right and the cable is properly seated and good, then we can maybe talk about a new hard drive, but not now, not with the information given.
    SNGX1275, Jul 21, 2006
    #11

  12. Ray Newcomer, in training

    Hi guys
    Is it just me or is it getting hot in here... :haha:
    AmdIsthebest010 your on the wrong track...I have 10 extra hdd's sitting in storage. I have no intention of picking up a new hdd. There is nothing wrong with the hdds I have I have tested all of them except for the one that was in the computer when I found it. I also have 6 operating computers (including a P4 3000) at this moment so putting in an 80 gig hdd would be pointless in a
    P120 computer even after I get it overclocked to a P200.
    SNGX1275 thanks for the reply that makes sense. The hdd that was in the computer I have no idea what it is and the other one I tried is old as well but I do have spare hdds with Winme on them so I'll try that and I'll try the fdisk as well.
    Ray, Jul 21, 2006
    #12

  13. AMDIsTheBest010 Newcomer, in training

    I screwed up :(

    ok you guys, im sorry, i screwed up its that big of a freakin deal. everybody makes mistakes, so stop yelling at me for just saying to buy a feakin new HD. I really dont think you would appreciate it, if i started yellin at you if you made an honest mistake.

    so lay off my back
    ...AMD
    AMDIsTheBest010, Jul 21, 2006
    #13

  14. Ray Newcomer, in training

    Hi AmdIsTheBest010
    Cheer up......I'm not yelling at you. Just making a statement. I still appreciate your time and effort.
    Ray
    Ray, Jul 21, 2006
    #14

  15. AMDIsTheBest010 Newcomer, in training

    Thank You

    hey you guys, im sorry i made that statement earlier, i had a bad day, messedp pretty much everything that could be messed up. Im sorry for that last post. Thank You Ray for helping to cheer me up.

    ...AMD
    AMDIsTheBest010, Jul 22, 2006
    #15

  16. Rage_3K_Moiz Sith Lord

    Try Hiren's Bootdisk. It comes with utilities that let u "see" NTFS partitions from DOS and recover them if they're bad, as well as other great utilities such as Antivirus programs, AGP info programs etc which all can be run from DOS itself. Google for it or download it using a torrent, it's completely free. The latest version is 8.2 if I'm not wrong. U have to burn the ISO image onto a CD and boot the PC with that. Then it gives u all these options and u choose what u want. It's very simple and I highly recommend it.
    Rage_3K_Moiz, Jul 22, 2006
    #16

  17. Ray Newcomer, in training

    it's up and running now. I did it the easiest way that I could think of after trying CDrom to boot first in bios. I couldn't get it to recognise the drive when I put in disks although the computer recognised the drive. Strange but oh well. I then fdisked the C drive (it had a non dos partition on it). Then formatted and now am installing Win95. Now it has Win95 on it so now I can upgrade what I want and then install Winme (I know but I haven't really had many problems running WinMe.....:haha: . Thanks for all your help.
    Ray, Jul 22, 2006
    #17
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