Keith wrote:

I was given a used computer and when I turn it on it runs
through the normal checks and then before Windows comes up
it gives me a message that says: DISK BOOT FAILURE,
INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
I insert my Win98 boot disk and press enter and it reads
the disk and gives me the MICROSOFT WINDOWS STARTUP MENU.
I choose 1. Start computer with cd-rom support. The
message comes up saying: Windows 98 has detected that
drive C does not contain a valid FAT or FAT32 partition.
Then it list 3 possible reasons. 1. being to partition the
drive. But, when I type fdisk at the MS-DOS prompt A:\
I get: "no fixed disk present" with the A:\ again.
I'm not real good with this stuff yet so any help in this
matter will be greatly appreciated. Thanking You in
advance. Keith


There's a pretty good chance the hard disk is dead.

It's possible one of the cables has come loose or that there's
some other explanation.

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