error loading OS_
 

"error loading operating system_" is a message I got when I tried to reboot my computer. I tried Esc., F2, F8 and they all endup at a back screen with the above message. I also tried rebooting with the hard drive unplugged. Once the OS was being loaded from the cd-rom I plugged in the HD but then the setup wanted me to re-format the HD. I backed out because I still would like to get a shot at my files.

Any ideas how to proceed? I am limping bad on an old HD and will try to check in later.

Thanks all....

What OS?

Sounds like a virus got your master boot file. There are some apps that allow you to re-write your MBT to the HD and save a corrupt drive (the Maxtor SW works well for this if you have a Maxtor drive.)

Also, try hooking up the bad drive as a slave with your working drive and see if you can access your data at least. If you have a CD or DVD burner, at least you can retrieve the data and archive it even if you do end up having to re-format your HD.

Sometimes you can re-load an OS without having to format the drive (the registry links for any SW will not be there anymore, but you'll keep access to your files.)

Assuming a critical failure of your existing hard drive, the best thing to do is to buy a new hard drive to install your OS on, then use your existing drive as a slave -- it's a very handy arrangement for doing backups as well. I did the very same thing a few years ago. Hard drives are cheap and it worked out well for me. Good luck.

thanks for your help. i'd like to enslave the drive but since this is on a laptop that's not feasable at this point. i'll probably have to find someone who would be able to get at it though. I have a couple of things on there that i have to retreive... any idea on how i could maybe re-install windows w/o reformating? i may not have enough room though. my old HD was pretty close to full - I was getting ready to burn a bunch of music which i just put on there....

in the mean time i am trying to straighten out the old HD and get iit ready for a total refurbish....

thanks again...

You can get (I have one if you want me to loan it) a laptop HD converter to adapt it into a PC so you can access and DL/UL files from your office PC so that would work. Also, I have had luck with re-loading Win 2K onto a drive while keeping the files intact, problem is, all your registry links will be broken so any programs will still be there, they just won't work (unless they're pure DOS or something.)

You can get the converter kits for laptop to IDE on ebay cheap. LMK if you want to borrow mine.

Laptop does complicate things. Probably best to buy a new drive, then bring the laptop and the old drive to a data recovery place. We have "Data Doctor" here. For $50 - $80, they'll pull everything they can easily access off and copy it onto your newly repaired computer.

wow, they do make such an animal? cool, will have to look into it.

GStar, If not the above then that's what I'll have to do. I used a guy last year for similar thing but I think he was more then $50-$70.... we'll see

Oh BTW, it's a freaking DELL...

What OS is it? What model laptop is it? How many years old is the laptop?

Windows XP, Inspiron 5100, i can't remember how long i've had it but 1 or 2 years...

I've had quite a few problems with it. This is a 3rd major crash since i got it. One of the other ones was because of virii but not the first and the last. I feel they were related to XP bugs...

This sounds more like a hard drive failure...... I haven't had any significant problems with XP. I had some with ME, but didn't make the common mistake of installing ME over 98, which resulted in a PC horror-fest for thousands if not millions of people.

You need to boot the thing with an Emergency Boot disk and then check and see if you can access the hard drive. If, after booting with a floppy, you can access the hard drive from DOS prompt, you most likely got wacked by either a virus or you have corrupted sectors on your hard drive from a power surge. If on the other hand, you cannot access the drive from a DOS prompt, you have had a hardware failure and your hard drive is toast. Use this page to create a boot disk. You will need to find another computer running XP to do it:

http://www.computerhope.com/boot.htm

Also, forget the "slave drive" thing - that laptop will only take a single drive hard drive.

thanks, i'll try boot up disk in a bit. hopefully it will let me do it in D: (cd-rom; i have no flopy drive) Right now I am on my other HD running xp so that should be ok.

I really don't think it's HD failure because it did tell me there was a lot of files on it when i got to the reformat a couple days ago. (see above somewhere) The thing that worries me that i may not have anough memory to re-upload windows.... but i shall keep trying. have to look into dos commands it's been a while... hope i can burn data from dos....

i'll keep you posted...

When did you try a reformat - before or after the missing OS message? How ere you able to attempt a reformat if you could not boot the computer? Were you attempting to reinstall XP?

no. i used my sp1 cd from dell and was trying to boot up without the hd plugged in. when the cd started spinning i plugged the hd back in and that's when it went to reformat screen. it was trying to re-install OS because none was found.

if i just turn the computer on then it goes to the Windows loading screen for a few and then, no matter what, goes to the black screen with the error message; can't even get to bios to switch it to disk boot. eventually the cd comes on but nothing happens so i tried the above just to try it...