No Operating system found

Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.

System is fully updated with all Windows 98 updates and critical updates and
security patches.

Office 2000 Premium is also fully updated with all updates and security
patches.

OS was reinstalled due to slow down and hanging and McAfee issues.
Currently have installed the eTrust EZ Amour and it seems to be very good.

Have posted several questions and received some excellent advise.

PC is up and running extremely fast now with no slow down or freezing.

I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and all
was good.
2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.

Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the case and
reseated all IDE cables.

I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR

Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up. I
really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper will
forget it exists rather than try to find out why.

However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up again got
the message
"no operating system found"

Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7 different
times and have restarted without issue.

My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent image
(several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

BL

Both messages suggest an intermittent hard drive problem. For instance, it
could be that the drive is taking extra time to come up to speed - a problem
that increases as the drive gets older. If that's the case, eventually it
won't come ready at all.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP (Windows - Shell/User)
"MedRxMan" wrote in message
...
Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.

System is fully updated with all Windows 98 updates and critical updates
and
security patches.

Office 2000 Premium is also fully updated with all updates and security
patches.

OS was reinstalled due to slow down and hanging and McAfee issues.
Currently have installed the eTrust EZ Amour and it seems to be very good.

Have posted several questions and received some excellent advise.

PC is up and running extremely fast now with no slow down or freezing.

I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and all
was good.
2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.

Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the case
and
reseated all IDE cables.

I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR

Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up. I
really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper will
forget it exists rather than try to find out why.

However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up again
got
the message
"no operating system found"

Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7 different
times and have restarted without issue.

My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent image
(several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

BL

As you have a full system backup I hope on a different HDD or on a CD,
you should survive the worst. Nevertheless, here is what I usually post
for that condition. (At least, scroll to the bottom for the URLs of
Glee.)

Eject any floppy or CD left in a drive. Does it still happen? Then...

I guess do go into BIOS first, to see settings weren't mussed that may
upset the "geometry" of it. I don't know what you might look for, but I
have two guesses...

(1) I guess "Reset to defaults & exit" is a viable choice.
(2) I suppose that means it will Auto-Detect the hard drives.

Here is what I know of the MBR and partition boot sectors.

"Fdisk /mbr" will restore Microsoft "boot code" to the Master Boot
Record of the boot HDD, usually the Primary Master. (This perhaps should
not be done, if you have a drive overlay in the MBR or if you suspect a
boot sector virus. The drive overlay would have to be restored in the
first case.) Boot code in the MBR, as I understand, searches the
partition table, also in the MBR, for the one that is Active. The boot
sector of the Active partition is hard-coded with the name of the
OPERATING SYSTEM that the boot code must load. For Win98, that OS is
IO.sys (DOS), which eventually leads to Windows. The other portion of
the MBR, the partition table, normally is not disturbed by "Fdisk /MBR".
The partition table contains the dimensions of the partitions and is
updated only when the partitions are created or resized. However, /MBR
may combine multiple partitions into a single one. It will do so, if it
discovers a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA) in the MBR sector. This
may result in a "mess of goo", says Blanton, if you had multiple
partitions, per
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found

(1)
(a) Hold Ctrl as you boot for the Startup Menu, if it hasn't already
been activated at "START, Run, MSConfig, Advanced button". Select to
boot to the "Command Prompt Only" (DOS).

.......Start...Quote from Windows 98 Secrets (Livingston/Straub).....
Ctrl or F8: Starts the Windows 98 Startup Menu. You need to hold down
the Ctrl key before the DOS bootup process begins. If you have quick
fingers you can press the F8 key in between the end of the power-on self
test & the beginning of the DOS bootup phase.
.......End........

(b) Alternatively, get a Startup Diskette from
http://www.bootdisk.com/ , if you don't already have one from "Control
Panel, Add/Remove Programs, Startup Disk tab". Put the diskette in &
turn on the computer.

(2) Enter "DIR C:". Did you get a listing or an error message?

If a listing, then... things to consider....

(1) Perhaps enter "SYS C:".

This will copy certain system files (IO.sys, Command.com & perhaps
MSDOS.sys) from the Startup Diskette to C:\. (It also sets the BPB drive
number to HD0, so that it is now in the bootstrap. It does so, no matter
whether it is HD0. To boot it, one must still move it to be HD0,
however.) You may now be able to boot to Windows, if all folders are
intact. If not, some further adjustment need be done to "MSDOS.sys",
that was copied to C:\. The floppy has just a shell of it. Well, remove
the floppy & boot.

Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS MVP W95/W98,
about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:

(a) "Major errors were reported in Scandisk."
(b) "A drive is moved from one machine to another", because of the next
two, maybe.
(c) "The BIOS setting for a drive is changed (eg, LBA to LARGE)."
(d) "A drive that uses overlay software is operated without the overlay
loaded."

(2) Enter "FDISK /MBR"
This will rewrite the code portion of the Master Boot Record,
leaving the Partition Table untouched, except it may muss the partition
table, if there is a missing End-Of-Sector marker (55AA), per
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=149877
Boot Record Signature AA55 Not Found

Here are the warnings against it...

(a) If you have a boot sector virus, you may lose access to all
partitions. Then
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/utilities.html MBRWork "might" help to
recover them.

(b) If you have "overlay" code in the MBR, e.g., EZ-BIOS, Maxblast, a
boot manager, then that will need to be reestablished afterwards.
http://www.aefdisk.com/ FDISK & Boot Manager
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=245162
Cannot Access Hard Disk After Booting from Floppy Disk

(c) FDISK may be buggy. So? Use MBRWork to do it, or
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=263044
Latest FDISK, hoping this one doesn't have any bugs. (But it doesn't
solve the 55AA thing.)

(d) If for some reason the "geometry" setting in BIOS does not match the
hard drive, then any write to the drive may be destructive. So, go into
BIOS and have it "automatically detect" the proper setting. (If you can
DIR the drive in DOS, then you have proven the geometry is probably all
right, though Blanton has said it may not be so under a certain rare
circumstance.)

(3)
(a) Boot to DOS. (Hold CTRL as you boot for the Startup Menu, & select
"Command Prompt Only".)

(b) Scandisk /Checkonly
Might be wise to know beforehand what it intends to fix. Will
display on screen & get written to "C:\Scandisk.log".
NOTE: Steps (b) & (c) may take QUITE a while to complete.

(c) Scandisk
Let it fix, if it didn't sound horrible. Otherwise, post what it
said.

In Dos, you may see "C:\Scandisk.log" this way...

EDIT C:\Scandisk.log
Alt-F-X (pressed separately) to exit EDIT. (TAB to traverse buttons.)

........Quote.......
You should run the diagnostics for the brand of hard drive that is in
the computer.

If you don't know what brand the drive is, you can download the
limited-use free edition of OnTrack Data Advisor from this location:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor

When you click the download link on that page for Data Advisor 5.0 Free
edition, you will be taken to a page to register with the OnTrack site,
then you will be able to download the diskette creator file.

The downloads are diskette creators. They are to be run once from a
working Windows system and will guide you through the process of
extracting the Data Advisor onto a 3.5" floppy disk.

Download and Use Instructions:
http://www.ontrack.com/dataadvisor/downloadinfo.asp

Hard Drive Diagnostic Programs by Vendor:

OnTrack Data Advisor:
http://www.ontrack.com/freesoftware/#dataadvisor
IBM/Hitachi Drive Fitness Test:
http://www.hgst.com/hdd/support/download.htm
Western Digital Data Lifeguard Tools:
http://support.wdc.com/download/
Quantum/Maxtor PowerMax:
http://www.maxtor.com/en/support/downloads/powermax.htm
Seagate SeaTools:
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/index.html
Download:
http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/B7a.html
http://www.seagate.com/support/seato...toold_reg.html
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP W95/98 Systems
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
......End.of... URLs of Glee...


--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"MedRxMan" wrote in message
...
| Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.
|
| System is fully updated with all Windows 98 updates and critical
updates and
| security patches.
|
| Office 2000 Premium is also fully updated with all updates and
security
| patches.
|
| OS was reinstalled due to slow down and hanging and McAfee issues.
| Currently have installed the eTrust EZ Amour and it seems to be very
good.
|
| Have posted several questions and received some excellent advise.
|
| PC is up and running extremely fast now with no slow down or freezing.
|
| I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
| 1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and
all
| was good.
| 2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
| restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.
|
| Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the
case and
| reseated all IDE cables.
|
| I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR
|
| Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up.
I
| really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper
will
| forget it exists rather than try to find out why.
|
| However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up
again got
| the message
| "no operating system found"
|
| Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7
different
| times and have restarted without issue.
|
| My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent
image
| (several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.
|
| Any other suggestions would be appreciated.
|
| Thanks in advance,
|
| BL
|
|

"MedRxMan" wrote in message
...
Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.

System is fully updated with all Windows 98 updates and critical updates
and
security patches.

Office 2000 Premium is also fully updated with all updates and security
patches.

OS was reinstalled due to slow down and hanging and McAfee issues.
Currently have installed the eTrust EZ Amour and it seems to be very good.

Have posted several questions and received some excellent advise.

PC is up and running extremely fast now with no slow down or freezing.

I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and all
was good.
2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.

Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the case
and
reseated all IDE cables.

I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR

Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up. I
really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper will
forget it exists rather than try to find out why.

However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up again
got
the message
"no operating system found"

Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7 different
times and have restarted without issue.

My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent image
(several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

BL



PC is initially having a difficult time reading the partition boot record
for location of the system boot files initially. Since this happens on a
regular basis, apparently, the hard disk is losing some magnetic storage
capability in the vicinity of the partition boot record location as is
initially not readable. Or, its beginning to fail.

Run a hard disk utility. Get it from the hard disk mfrs website. It may or
may not show anything since this is a marginal failure. If the offending
disk area is found, it will map that area out of usage. If excessive, it
will stop the program.

Doubtful, but try disconnecting a device that using some +5 vdc current,
like your CD/DVD. Could be that the power supply may be inadequate, noted
especially at turnon of the PC. Its not the 12V because the hard drive
spins up, and the mbr is found to point to the active primary partition.

Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS MVP W95/W98,
about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:

heh heh,,,
You still crack me up PCR.
Excellent tutorial and run-down on
o/p's problem....... in fact you went
above and beyond.

gosh, i'm flabberghasted.

janey

"MedRxMan" wrote in message
...
Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.

I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and all
was good.
2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.

Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the case
and
reseated all IDE cables.

I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR

Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up. I
really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper will
forget it exists rather than try to find out why.

However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up again
got
the message
"no operating system found"

Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7 different
times and have restarted without issue.

My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent image
(several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

My brother had this problem once. It was in a HP WinXP machine. The
"Operating system not found" message would appear on occasion. He replaced
his hard drive with a new one, and I took his old one, because it seemed to
work fine under Win98SE. His problems disappeared, and I was able to use the
hard drive for longer than 6 months. Finally, a few weeks ago, it failed.

So, I would suggest that you get your data off it, and replace it.

jkb

Ah, ha, ha. But, seriously, let me know if you see Richards within 7
threads of here! Or Blanton!

--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR

"jane" wrote in message
...
|
| Oh gosh! Here are some warnings from Jeff Richards, MS MVP W95/W98,
| about "SYS C:". DON'T DO IT, he says, if:
|
| heh heh,,,
| You still crack me up PCR.
| Excellent tutorial and run-down on
| o/p's problem....... in fact you went
| above and beyond.
|
| gosh, i'm flabberghasted.
|
| janey
|
|

Did run hard drive diagnostics from mfgs program..no problem.

Thanks for the suggestion.

"Lil' Dave" wrote in message
...
"MedRxMan" wrote in message
...
Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.

System is fully updated with all Windows 98 updates and critical updates
and
security patches.

Office 2000 Premium is also fully updated with all updates and security
patches.

OS was reinstalled due to slow down and hanging and McAfee issues.
Currently have installed the eTrust EZ Amour and it seems to be very
good.

Have posted several questions and received some excellent advise.

PC is up and running extremely fast now with no slow down or freezing.

I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and
all
was good.
2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.

Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the case
and
reseated all IDE cables.

I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR

Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up. I
really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper will
forget it exists rather than try to find out why.

However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up again
got
the message
"no operating system found"

Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7 different
times and have restarted without issue.

My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent
image
(several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

BL



PC is initially having a difficult time reading the partition boot record
for location of the system boot files initially. Since this happens on a
regular basis, apparently, the hard disk is losing some magnetic storage
capability in the vicinity of the partition boot record location as is
initially not readable. Or, its beginning to fail.

Run a hard disk utility. Get it from the hard disk mfrs website. It may
or
may not show anything since this is a marginal failure. If the offending
disk area is found, it will map that area out of usage. If excessive, it
will stop the program.

Doubtful, but try disconnecting a device that using some +5 vdc current,
like your CD/DVD. Could be that the power supply may be inadequate, noted
especially at turnon of the PC. Its not the 12V because the hard drive
spins up, and the mbr is found to point to the active primary partition.

I will be replacing the HDD son. I do have several images. I made
incremental images at different points of restoring my Windows98 system.

I was just looking for the most common causes of my problem.

Like going to a mechanic with your car and saying car seems to be missing.
He suggests a tune up when in fact you had water in the gas tank.

Thanks,

BL

"jkb" nospam@none wrote in message
...

"MedRxMan" wrote in message
...
Recently did a fresh install of Windows 98SE.

I have experienced 2 issues at different times on boot up.
1. Once got the message No operating system found. Did a soft boot and
all
was good.
2. Once got a message Error 0200, Failure Fixed Disk 0. Turned off pc,
restarted and all was ok. Haven't gotten the error again.

Since I opened the case to check memory modules, I again opened the case
and
reseated all IDE cables.

I also booted to a command prompt and ran FDISK /MBR

Tonight I tried to use the standby mode and the PC would not wake up. I
really don't use this mode and at the suggestion of Richard Harper will
forget it exists rather than try to find out why.

However, I had to turn off the PC forcefully and upon starting up again
got
the message
"no operating system found"

Did a soft boot and all was ok. Have turned off the PC 6 or 7 different
times and have restarted without issue.

My feeling is my Hard Drive is beginning to fail. I do have a recent
image
(several) on CD and a second hard drive in the PC.

Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

My brother had this problem once. It was in a HP WinXP machine. The
"Operating system not found" message would appear on occasion. He replaced
his hard drive with a new one, and I took his old one, because it seemed
to
work fine under Win98SE. His problems disappeared, and I was able to use
the
hard drive for longer than 6 months. Finally, a few weeks ago, it failed.

So, I would suggest that you get your data off it, and replace it.

jkb

I will be replacing the HDD son. I do have several images. I made
incremental images at different points of restoring my Windows98 system.

That's good. I have replaced my hard drive.

jkb