compaq presario 1920 wont boot!

[pcblues]

Hi all!Here's my prob!

My girlfriend bought a second hand compaq presario laptop about 6 months ago.The model number is 1920.It has a 56k modem connection and an external pc card cdrom drive.

It has no floppy drive.Looking at some web sites about this laptop I found out that it originally came with a docking station that my girlfriend did not get.It was quite cheap anyway!

When my girlfriend bought the laptop it had windows 98 on it.She recently tried to format it and since then it will not boot.It just shows the compaq logo followed by invalid system disk..press any key.Prior to this the laptop was working okay.

The problem now is how do I reinstall win98 with no floppy drive to boot from?I have a win98 boot cd that works okay with my desktop.I changed the bios on the laptop to boot from a cdrom drive first.It did not work I suppose because it is an external pc card drive.

I should also let you know that the one hard drive is split into two partitions C&D.The win98 setup files are on drive D.My girlfriend said that she did format c and not format c: /s.Is this the reason why the hard drive won't boot now?

I have changed the bios settings to boot from the 3 different options (cd,harddrive & diskette) and still no joy.

Please somebody help!!Thanks for your time!

THX pcblues!

[AllGamer]

There are a few solutions for you

but all of them either requires a

1) FDD
2) bootable NIC
3) Internal Bootable CDROM
4) a working HDD
5) 2.5" HDD IDE adapter to normal 3.5" ATA IDE cable
http://www.sysopt.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=117512&highlight=2.5+IDE
:t

[LordKwiKSilva00]

ehh, just get a converter kit and move ur laptop hdd to ur desktop and install it there....or, if the laptop has an A drive or a cdrom, or both, just perform a normal install

[AllGamer]

That's Exactely his problem

No A: drive, no FDD

and the CD ROM is external PCMCIA, which needs PCMCIA drivers, for it to be loaded

and by default Win98 CD does not have it


OH!! THAT JUST REMINDS ME

options # 6

6) install Win2k or WinXP :t

cuz those 2 does come with PCMCIA boot able drivers :p

[Midknyte]

You should really get the quick restore cds from compaq. This is a set of 2-3 cds that has windows plus all the programs and drivers that the system originally came with. Basically, it reinstalls all the default software, as if you had just opened it from the box. If she didn't get them with the unit, you can order a set from compaq. Make sure you have the model number and serial number on hand. I don't think they're that expensive.

1-800-OKCOMPAQ

Even if you get win98 loaded, it will be missing all the software and drivers. It will be very difficult to put the drivers on the system without a floppy, modem, or network card.

compaq typically creates a "system_sav" partition. This is where it keeps all the system files. That is totally normal.

you can do a format c: /s to add boot files. if she formatted the drive already, it will only come up to a c: prompt.

[AllGamer]

The problem is How's he gonna load that Restore CD, if the CD ROM is not installed?

no CD
no FDD
:x

[Midknyte]

oh shiznit. I missed that. :rolleyes:

[AllGamer]

Originally posted by Midknyte
oh shiznit. I missed that. :rolleyes:

Do you know by any chace if PCMCIA CD ROM drive will work via BIOS boot?

last i knew by experiecen that only works for internal ATA / SCSI types of CD ROMs

so my last suggestion about Win2k/XP, was just a long shot

i know those 2 comes with the right drivers, but the problem is

can it be booted off that?

so far option # 5 seems to be the only tangible thing here:p

[Midknyte]

pc card or pcmcia cdroms won't work booting from bios. gotta have a boot floppy as far as I've seen.

I think the sonys with the proprietary cdroms can, though. You know those super small laptops a little bigger than a videotape. Those are the only slim ones I can think of that don't have a docking station.

you might have to bite the bullet and get that docking station.

are the win98 setup files on the d: partition? maybe you can run a setup from there. The drivers and programs are usually zipped on there. once win98 is on, you'll have to install winzip (or something similar) to use them.

[AllGamer]

Problem is

they ran just

Format C:

and not

Format C: /s

so the drive is not Bootable :rolleyes:

no CD
no FDD

oh yet another option #7

get a BootAble PCMCIA NIC adapter :t
(if such beast exist;))
geez... so far every thing needs to use $$

that sucks

[pcblues]

Wow!Thanks for all your replies!It looks like I will have to take the hard disk out and put it in another pc.

If i do this will I be able to save the data that was on the partition (drive d)?

Can somebody please tell me or give me a link to how I take the drive out of the laptop and put it in my pc?

Thanks again to the cool users of this forum!Pcblues

[pcblues]

I forget to mention that I tried windows 2000 which is cd bootable on my desktop but it did not work on the laptop!

Thanks again,pcblues!

[Midknyte]

it ain't gonna be easy. i'm not familiar with that particular model, but you'll have to get a very small screw driver or a #8 torx driver. compaq is famous for using #8 torx.

you'll need to buy a laptop drive to standard ide adapter. you can't just plug the drive into your desktop. They should run about $10-15.

http://www.cablesonline.net/25hdmounkitw.html

copy the win98 folder from a win98 cd onto the laptop hard drive. make sure to sys the drive too.

if you have your desktop hard drive as c:, then you'd have to sys d:

I would leave the partitions as is.

[Midknyte]

You can't boot from a pcmcia cd drive, because you need to load the card services and drivers first. sorry