computer wizzes?

[DustyWolfe]

I was reformatting my comp and the electricity went off. I reformatted again and a friend told me to do something with the partitions. Evidently he was wrong. Now I can't get past the first screen that tells what kind of computer it is. You know.. the black bios screen. Nothing I have tried works. Sheesh

Help me please... I really need to sell this so I can pay a bill

 

[HeavyStick]

get rid of the partition and reformat, set up a new partition and you should be set

reboot after each step

 

[Tap-Out]

Were you trying to install an OS or were you just doing a format from a boot disk?

 

[throbbingcock]

Actually this might be a Motherboard issue the same thing happened to a friends computer, and it turned out the motherboard was shot!!!!!!!!!!

 

[DustyWolfe]

get rid of the partition and reformat, set up a new partition and you should be set

reboot after each step

But how do I do that? I can't get past the first screen. f2, delete... nothing works...

 

[DustyWolfe]

Were you trying to install an OS or were you just doing a format from a boot disk?

I was reformatting so I could sell the computer. But after I did the partition thing the computer became useless. It makes a good door stop.

 

[Tap-Out]

If you have a windows 98 boot disk throw that in the floppy drive and turn it on, and see if it does anything then.

 

[DustyWolfe]

If you have a windows 98 boot disk throw that in the floppy drive and turn it on, and see if it does anything then.

It wont do a darn thing It just sits there
And Dell wont help me because I'm not the first owner

 

[Bob_Bytchin]

Go into BIOS, and have the first boot device set to CD....then put in the CD of whichever OS you are using....WIN98 for example. There is an option once the CD boots up that will allow you to install the OS from the CD.

 

[Tap-Out]

Odd...

Try pressing F2 durring the boot up, and see if that will get you into the bios settings. In there check the boot order and see if it will boot from a floppy first.

 

[HeavyStick]

you can create a "boot disk" on the computer you are on now

after you create the boot disk "3.5 floppy" put it in your floppy drive

your computer should boot to a certain degree. it should come to a halt. when it does type "a:"

the floppy drive will start reading whats on the disk
type "dir" you'll see a list of commands

type "fdisk" say yes to whatever comes up and you should be presented with 5 options look at your partition information delete your current partition reboot the computer. after it reboots go through the same steps up to "fdisk" instead of typing that type in "format c:" it should format. Dell is notorious for putting stuff in the bios so you have to go through them. I don't know of any good tech forums but Dell's homapage might have a section for downloads or FAQ's...besides that good luck

 

[Susano]

If a reformat went off and left the rest of the computer undamaged, you should get an error after the BIOS screen, something like, for example "NTLDR not found" (for Windows NT). This is from the Master Boot Record, which a format will leave intact. If it completely freezes without any such message, there's something wrong.
You can try a utility like Zap, which will remove even the master boot record, partition table, and everything from the disk. Wish I could come over with the manufacturer's HD diagnostic utilities, but it's a bit too long of a bike ride.

 

[HeavyStick]

Odd...

Try pressing F2 durring the boot up, and see if that will get you into the bios settings. In there check the boot order and see if it will boot from a floppy first.

not all bios is F2, try all 'em all after each reboot some have you hit tow keys at once... good luck on finding your bios shortcut

 

[DustyWolfe]

Heh.. no matter what I press or do I can't get past the test page.

I have a boot disk...

after I did the partition and tried to format it told me it didn't recognize the media type

 

[HeavyStick]

sounds like your master boot record is corrupted.....try Susano's idea

 

[Susano]

**** Slow connection. Just read the Dell part.

Hold <ctrl+alt+d> during the boot (d, not delete) and it'll activate a BIOS utility for disk testing. If it gives you a return code of 7, the disk's bad.

 

[Bob_Bytchin]

Star BIOS is usually F2....Phoenix BIOS is usually F1. Of course, some computers use ESC also.

 

[DustyWolfe]

not all bios is F2, try all 'em all after each reboot some have you hit tow keys at once... good luck on finding your bios shortcut

I've tried them all

 

[DustyWolfe]

Nope.. no luck with anything anyone has suggested. I will check out Zap though... I don't get it. It was fine till I repartitioned.

 

[Weird Harold]

Nope.. no luck with anything anyone has suggested. I will check out Zap though... I don't get it. It was fine till I repartitioned.

How long are you waiting for it do something when you try to reboot?

I've had bad partitions cause confusion in the bios boot sequence that can last ten minutes to an hour before it gives up on trying to access the hard-drive and gives an error message that will let you into the bios setup or boot from a floppy.

 

[DustyWolfe]

How long are you waiting for it do something when you try to reboot?

I've had bad partitions cause confusion in the bios boot sequence that can last ten minutes to an hour before it gives up on trying to access the hard-drive and gives an error message that will let you into the bios setup or boot from a floppy.

Okay... I just started it up and pressed F2 several times I will leave it up for awhile and see what happens.

Thanks

 

[DustyWolfe]

I left the computer unplugged with no battery for several days and when I rebooted and hit delete I got to the bios screen.

Now what do I do?

 

[Ukin]

I left the computer unplugged with no battery for several days and when I rebooted and hit delete I got to the bios screen.

Now what do I do?

I am not quite a whizz on computers...but if you can or have got to the BIOS screen, you should (maybe) be able to use the boot disk. I always thought the BIOS was F1 though. I think that there is a menu you can choose..but as I said, I am not that up on the technical side...sorry, but I do hope you get it going again.

 

[penguindance]

 

[DustyWolfe]

Ummmm.. I think I might have fixed it? It's formatting the drive on it's own...