can't start OS anymore

Hi everyone,

I'm using Win 98 on a Pentium III, and I just started having this problem.
The other day, when I clicked on the Start menu, the system froze, and when I
tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del, the blue error screen(Blue Screen of Death!)
came up. So I restarted the computer, but instead of the OS starting up, I
got this message:

DISK BOOT FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER:

I tried turning off the computer and restarting it, but the message still
came up. This isn't normal, since the OS usually loads automatically. I tried
changing the boot sequence in the BIOS setup to load the C: drive before the
floppy and CD-ROM drives, but that didn't help anything. So this would seem
to indicate there is a problem with the hard disk itself.

I don't know if getting a startup floppy disk or CD will solve the problem.
It wouldn't be too difficult for me to get one, but I think it'd just be a
temporary fix, since the real problem is with the hard drive.

I don't know if it has anything to do with the problem, but my C: drive was
almost full before this happened.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks, in advance, for
any help.


Satish Sivaprakasapillai
Toronto, Canada

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/kb/q245162/
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/default...;en-us;Q263044
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

"Satish Sivaprakasapillai" Satish
wrote in message
...
| Hi everyone,
|
| I'm using Win 98 on a Pentium III, and I just started having this
problem.
| The other day, when I clicked on the Start menu, the system froze, and
when I
| tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del, the blue error screen(Blue Screen of
Death!)
| came up. So I restarted the computer, but instead of the OS starting
up, I
| got this message:
|
| DISK BOOT FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER:
|
| I tried turning off the computer and restarting it, but the message
still
| came up. This isn't normal, since the OS usually loads automatically.
I tried
| changing the boot sequence in the BIOS setup to load the C: drive
before the
| floppy and CD-ROM drives, but that didn't help anything. So this would
seem
| to indicate there is a problem with the hard disk itself.
|
| I don't know if getting a startup floppy disk or CD will solve the
problem.
| It wouldn't be too difficult for me to get one, but I think it'd just
be a
| temporary fix, since the real problem is with the hard drive.
|
| I don't know if it has anything to do with the problem, but my C:
drive was
| almost full before this happened.
|
| I'd greatly appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks, in advance,
for
| any help.
|
|
| Satish Sivaprakasapillai
| Toronto, Canada

The info on this web page, and the linked pages, might help you:
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/hdd/fail_Failure.htm

The error could be caused by hard disk failure, or by the boot partition somehow
having lost the 'Active' setting:
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=199

I suggest you download the hard drive diagnostic bootdisk-maker for your brand of
hard drive.
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

As far as I know, Maxtor's diagnostics will also work with any brand of drive.

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 Shell/User, A+
~ In memory of our friend, MVP Alex Nichol ~
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm


"Satish Sivaprakasapillai" Satish
wrote in message ...
Hi everyone,

I'm using Win 98 on a Pentium III, and I just started having this problem.
The other day, when I clicked on the Start menu, the system froze, and when I
tried pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del, the blue error screen(Blue Screen of Death!)
came up. So I restarted the computer, but instead of the OS starting up, I
got this message:

DISK BOOT FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER:

I tried turning off the computer and restarting it, but the message still
came up. This isn't normal, since the OS usually loads automatically. I tried
changing the boot sequence in the BIOS setup to load the C: drive before the
floppy and CD-ROM drives, but that didn't help anything. So this would seem
to indicate there is a problem with the hard disk itself.

I don't know if getting a startup floppy disk or CD will solve the problem.
It wouldn't be too difficult for me to get one, but I think it'd just be a
temporary fix, since the real problem is with the hard drive.

I don't know if it has anything to do with the problem, but my C: drive was
almost full before this happened.

I'd greatly appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks, in advance, for
any help.


Satish Sivaprakasapillai
Toronto, Canada