Thread: A Word of Wisdom from DavidP

  1. #31
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    going there now...
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    "Circular logic is good because it is."

  2. #32
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    okay....i tried it...this is what happened.

    first it said Starting Windows 98...

    then the CD check thing came up...so i was like, woohoo! it might work...then it automatically said that it couldnt find the CD rom drive and continued boot up straight to the A: prompt without entering installation.

    I need to get into BIOS to enable the CDROM....but ive tried everything....how can I get into BIOS....
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    "Circular logic is good because it is."

  3. #33
    Just one more wrong move. -KEN-'s Avatar
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    It's F2 on my system here, F8 on the one upstairs, F2 on my laptop, and F1 on my friend's computer (which I spent 4 hours doing, it would seem, almost the exact same thing you are.)


    What I'm basically saying is to boot up and try one hot key per boot.

  4. #34
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    great...now i get to try two more hot keys! F2 and F8!
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  5. #35
    l'Anziano DavidP's Avatar
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    neither F2 or F8 work.

    I did get a response to F8...but not BIOS...

    F8 simply let me choose how I wanted to boot...in safe mode...normal, etc.
    My Website

    "Circular logic is good because it is."

  6. #36
    Skunkmeister Stoned_Coder's Avatar
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    normally delete gets you into the bios.

    and yes if you want partitions that are bigger than 8 gb then you do need large disc support.
    Free the weed!! Class B to class C is not good enough!!
    And the FAQ is here :- http://faq.cprogramming.com/cgi-bin/smartfaq.cgi

  7. #37
    _B-L-U-E_ Betazep's Avatar
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    "Compaq Desktop Pro 590

    it has:
    1 GB hd
    32 MB of RAM
    120 MHz processor
    "

    >>>and yes if you want partitions that are bigger than 8 gb then you do need large disc support<<<

    I will give you three guesses why he doesn't need large disk support...
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  8. #38
    _B-L-U-E_ Betazep's Avatar
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    Q. Why can't I get into CMOS Setup by pressing the F10 key at boot. How can this be fixed?

    A. First, check your hard drive for a Non-DOS partition of about 3 MB. To do this, run Fdisk and select option four, "display partition information." The setup utilities are located in this partition. If this partition is not there, run setup from the diskettes.


    If the diagnostics partition is OK, you may have a Virus. In order for Setup to run 640K of conventional memory must be free. If you have a virus you need to remove it from the system before setup will run.

    Could this mean that they are holding their cmos in 3megs of non-DOS disk data.... argx! That sucks royally. Another reason why I hate Compaqs....!!!!!


    edit... that is what they did. You cannot access f10 setup in compaq desktop pros before 1998 unless you have a floppy disk with the program on it or the three megs on your hard drive that has it in it... f&*( me... what a pain in the arse. I am trying to find the f10 setup disk for you...
    Last edited by Betazep; 01-08-2002 at 12:58 AM.
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  9. #39
    _B-L-U-E_ Betazep's Avatar
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    ok... here you go...

    http://www.compaq.com/support/files/...e/3_35.html#17


    go here and get the F10 Setup and Personal Computer Diagnostics (I would get version 1.23a) in the ROMPaqs and System Software section. I will double check the link after I post this to verify that it gets you there. THat will make your setup disk for the F10 setup which will allow you to run your CMOS setup. Then you can enable your CDROM if it is disabled, and then boot with the win98 boot disk and enable cdrom support. Let us know how it comes...

    ~Betazep
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  10. #40
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    a Since I've seen so quick replies from you DavidP I assume that you have another computer of your own there. How about plugging the HD of that 120 Compaq to some other computer (obviously with a cd-rom) and installing Windows there and then plugging it back?

    b Look for your motherboards manual and see if you can find some switch or smth where you can reset your BIOS setting (most BIOSes have a: first in the boot sequence as default). I believe that unplugging that battery might do the trick also (though I suggest checking that up before trying...)

  11. #41
    _B-L-U-E_ Betazep's Avatar
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    Good idea (with loading the hd on another computer) other than it will be setup with all of the drivers and plug n play devices for that computer which will require him to go into safe mode and delete all of his devices when he gets back to his compaq.

    I would just go with the Setup utility that Compaq offers as written above. I had posted to clear your cmos by taking out the battery or removing a short on one of the jumpers, but I deleted that post because it is a poor option. (imagine clearing your cmos and then not being able to get into it and your HD doesn't work anymore...) So, best bet is to make the two Compaq disks from the link I gave you and use disk one to boot your computer and get into F10 setup. The second disk has some diagnostic utilities that would be good for you to work with as well...

    ~Betazep
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  12. #42
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    Windows 98 startup disks have basically no support for CDROM drives (not to mention they have basically no tools). Get the Ultimate Boot Disk from www.startdisk.com I have yet to find a CDROM drive it hasn't recognised, and it actually has useful tools. Works for any Windows OS, including 2000 with a plugin.
    Allegro precompiled Installer for Dev-C++, MSVC, and Borland: http://galileo.spaceports.com/~springs/

  13. #43
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    Oh and here's how you should install your OS:

    ---------------

    Exit the boot disk menu.

    prompt $p$g

    C:

    md tmp

    cd tmp

    *insert OS CD*

    X:

    cd win98

    copy *.* C:

    cd..

    setup

    -----------------------------

    98 will not have CD support until almost the end of the install, but it will need its cab files. When it asks for them mid way thru, you just point it to your tmp directory on drive C and all is good.

    [edit]By the way, the X: in the instructions is literal. That will be what the UBD assigns your CD to.[/edit]
    Last edited by Justin W; 01-08-2002 at 12:40 PM.
    Allegro precompiled Installer for Dev-C++, MSVC, and Borland: http://galileo.spaceports.com/~springs/

  14. #44
    Registered User argon's Avatar
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    Try MSCDEX.EXE

    Why don´t you try to get the mscdex.exe file from somebody else's computer?
    Then you need to copy one line from the autoexec.bat and another from the config.sys, insert them in your corresponding files and reboot.

    That's what I always do when I'm starting from scratch.

    Unfortunately, I don't quite remember the contents of those lines, but they specify the drive letter and the directory of the mscdex.

    When you reboot having those 3 items, you can access your cdrom and start working with it.

    About the BIOS access, try ctl+alt+esc or ctl+alt+del

    I'm not sure in what brand of computers I used to do that, but it's an alternative...

    cheers!!
    Greetings from México

  15. #45
    Barjor
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    As said in earlier thread most older Compaqs need a special Bios boot floppy for accessing the bios. Works well when you have the right floppy, download from Compaq. After getting the bios right I am sure the win 98 Boot disk will do the rest of the job just fine.Remeber my old compaq 486 that always needed alot of tweaking to install from the CD.
    ~Barjor

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