stuck after disk left in A drive

[mendo]

Evidently we had a power failure today while I was gone from the house. My kitchen computer had a disk in the A drive when it happened. Now the computer won't boot up and the message I get says:
Non-system disk or disk error, replace and strike any key to continue. Even though I have removed the disk from the A drive I still keep getting the same message. I have restarted the unit several times. I don't have any kind of recovery disks in my possession. It is a Compaq running Windows 98. Pentium 4 processor. Right when I restart I do get a quick message that says PXE-E61 media test failure. This is before it goes to the black screen with the disk error message. Any ideas?

 

[TangoTrolly]

First check your BIOS and see if the HDD is detected. Then change the boot sequence to make the HDD the first bootable device (instead of your floppy).

If that works, you are good and may have a bad floppy device.
If it does not work, your HDD may be bad. If you have access to another computer, go to the HDD manufacturer web site and download a test utility. Install it on CD or floppy and then boot from that CD or floppy. The utility will determine if your HDD has a problem

For more info, you can go to this web site:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000229.htm

Hope this helps

 

[mendo]

Would you give me step-by-step instructions on how to check my BIOS to see if the HDD is detected?

 

[Tedster]

In the future ensure your system is on an UPS - a surge protector will not always protect a system.
( I know from experience.)