OS Not found message

[DKL01]

Hi

I had Windows NT 4.0 on my PC. Few months back I upgraded it to Win 2000. Couple of days back it started giving me message "operating system not found" when I tried to start my PC. In the BIOS information I changed the sequence to make CD drive as first device the computer should look for the OS. I misplaced my Win 2000 CD so I placed NT disk in my CD drive. Now when I restart my PC it tries to setup NT and gives series of messages

Setup is loading files ... (Video Driver)
Setup is loading files .... (Windows NT Setup)
Setup is loading files .... (FAT File System)
Setup is loading files .... (Setup font)
Setup is loading files ... (CD ROM file system)

But when it comes to Setup is loading files ... (CD ROM file system) it halts. Nothing will happen.

Any ideas what is going on ? I really appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks

 

[felixc]

OS not found may happen when the BIOS setting for the drive type have changed. Check if your IDE setups are at "auto", it may give a chance. It may be that the disk boot records have been altered, either by a virus, or by a power up/down glitch.
If you boot from the emergency diskettes can you still see the drive and its contents?

 

[DKL01]

Thanks for the response. When I tried to re-install WIN 2K it is giving message "Start-up disk is new or has been erased". I'm not able to go to either C or E drive using emergency diskettes. Do you think I need a new hard drive ?

 

[ACowWithNoLegs]

DKL01;

My very first suggestion would be to just check to make sure all your IDE cables are in place completely...

If that isn't it, check to make sure you can see your hard drive in your BIOS.

Another suggestion would be to set your current hard drive as a slave in another computer to see if it can be detected and access it; this is probably the best way to check to see if the hard drive is corrupt.

All else fails; zipzoomfly.com and newegg.com have the best prices for Seagate hd's.

Hope this helps you out, good luck.

 

[mikeguava]

Can you see the hardrive in your bios? In the boot sequence it might still be listed even if it is not present. If is shows up in your bios and start-up screen - something really funky must have happened - eg virus.

Or do you have a special IDE controler that requires a driver for Windows setup ( eg IDE Raid controler ) In that case you would need to install the driver first.( forgot - think by hitting F6 or F8 as soon as setup starts

Cheers

Mike