Hard Drive Blues......

[EvolZx6R]

I've been trying to get laptop A :evil: to boot to a C Prompt using format C: /s. Not Happenin. Installed HD A into Laptop B and reached the C Prompt :angel: . I've used bios settings to no avail.

Why does laptop A not boot to the prompt but laptop B does?

Why not use a bootdisk you ask? Laptop A doesnt have an internal Floppy or CD drive. Bios doesn't allow for booting to anything external.

Help rid me of these Hard Drive Blues.....

 

[patio]

You cannot format C: from C: on any machine...BTW the format command if it did work on laptop A will remove all data on that drive.

Are you sure this is what you want to do ? ?

BIOS settings have nothing to do with the OS.

Put the drive into laptop B and use a bootdisk for whatever OS you are running.

At the A: prompt type format C: /u.

This will erase everything on that drive.

patio.

p.s. More info on what you have and what you are trying to do would help us to help you.

 

[pkroks]

why type 'format C: /u ?

I always just type 'format c:\

 

[EvolZx6R]

Everything on the laptop has been backed up on my desktop so im not worried about all the formatting. I have a Sony Vaio PCG-R505TL. It's roughly 5 years old and originally came with Windows ME. I upgraded to XP Pro and the laptop was running slow. I have 320mb of memory and don't run much on the laptop aside from word, aim, msn messenger. The laptop is mostly for school papers and mobility.

I mentioned the Bios because I was assuming the laptop was having trouble booting from the HD. The Bios says its there, it just won't boot from it.

There isnt anything on the C Drive right now. What would be the purpose of doing a Format C: /u? How is that different then Format C: /s? If so, what is the difference and what should I expect from the change in formatting?

Why would the hd not boot to C on Laptop A but will on Laptop B?

B is a newer Dell Laptop.

Thanks PATIO!

Oh yea. I'm trying to install XP on Laptop A without the use of a bootdisk/cd drive. I read on one of the forums that this is possible by partitioning the laptop HD (FDISK) from my Desktop and copying the i386 files on the D partition. The C partition gets the Format C: /s treatment in order to bring up the C prompt on Laptop A which should allow me to run the setup to install XP on C.

Hope that makes sense. Check the forum for installing windows without the use of a floppy or CD Drive. I got the procedure from there.

 

[patio]

The /s switch transfers the basic system files that enable it to boot to a DOS prompt.

The /u switch does an unconditional format...everything is gone.

If that drive can get to a C: prompt on laptopB and not laptopA then i can only guess that it's something proprietary with laptop A, in other words it might need recovery files to prep that drive properly.

And yes the procedure for installing any OS without a CDRom or floppy drive as you described does work...however it will not without a Dos prompt.

Stumped.

patio.

 

[EvolZx6R]

Got It working

Here is what I had to do.

Hookup laptop HD to my desktop via 44-40pin adapter.

Install Windows 2000 on the laptop. (No drivers installed)

Install HD back into laptop and bootup. It actually worked!

Manually install all drivers (mine were all on Sony's website)

With 2000 up and running I was able to use my external cdrom drive to install XP PRO.

As for the reason why my computer wasnt booting to dos in the first place. The connector from the HD to the laptop Motherboard needed to be replaced. After that was done it was smooth sailing. So if you run into the problem of having your HD recognized In the bios but can't bootup try positioning the HD a certain way (wiggle wiggle). I had to stick a folded piece of paper between the hd and laptop side in order for it to boot before buying the new connector. Hope this helps.