Screwed up on ME install. Is there an UNDO?
 

I just bought a used Compaq computer with ME. Within days, the hard drive
died. After installing a new hard drive and formatting, I began the Operating
System install. When instructed to choose which of a dozen variations of the
Compaq Presario 7000 I have, I chose the wrong one. When instructed to
install the second disk I do, but then comes the message "Unable to locate
Drive "N". My choices a Abort, Retry, or Fail. If I choose Abort or Fail
it demands a batch file of some sort.
In frustration, I finally chose Fdisk, followed by Format, and attempted
another install, but this computer-from-hell has no forgiveness. It despenses
with all of the preliminaries and immediately asks for the second install
disk, then bellyaches about not finding Drive "N". Its as if there is a
Run-Once program in the setup that hangs on even thru a reformat. Short of
backing my bus over the computer (Its coming!), isn't there a way to wiggle
free of this pest? Booting from a floppy, I can type "C:\"and get the C
drive, but when I then type "dir" for the directory it says the drive is
empty. How the H___ can the drive be empty and still jacking me around? I
should point out that this isn't the full, from Microsoft, Win ME, but a
Compaq O.E.M. *******ization that came with their computers. I'm at the end
of my rope.

Screwed up on ME install. Is there an UNDO?
 

Does you hardware include a card reader -- one of the secure digital or
compact flash like on a pocket pc?
Could that thing be booting from a card that still has data on it from
previous install?

Screwed up on ME install. Is there an UNDO?
 

"C:\"and get the C
drive, but when I then type "dir" for the directory it says the drive is
empty. How the H___ can the drive be empty and still jacking me around


Also use

dir /a:h

and

dir /a:s


dir /a:hs

to invoke what dir alone will not cough up