Invalid boot diskette in Drive A:\?

Silhouette · 02-26-2008, 07:36 PM

I rescued an old Win ME computer from my parents' house a bit ago, and I'm trying to get it to run again. When I boot it up, after the splash screen, it displays an error message "Invalid boot diskette in Drive A:\" but I don't have any disk inserted! How do I fix this? (I don't have any disks that came with the computer. I'm willing to maybe reformat and install a new OS (i.e. linux) but would like to maybe look at my files to see if anything can be rescued first). Any help would be appreciated!

**The_Other_One** · 02-26-2008, 10:21 PM

Your boot order may be set wrong in the bios, but I suspect the hard drive has either failed or it has a bad install of windows on it. Easiest thing would probably be to simply reload it completely.

Silhouette · 02-26-2008, 10:45 PM

I've tried messing around with boot order/disabling stuff, but haven't got it to work yet. I also don't have the CDs to reinstall windows, but have thought about reinstalling Linux. What would you suggest to make sure we know what the problem is? Also, here's the setup:

What I see in SETUP menu:

Dell Dimension 4100 SETUP:

MAIN:
Processor Serial Number enable/disable, system time, system date
ADVANCED:
Boot Configuration:
-Plug & Play O/S yes/no
-Reset Config Data yes/no
-Numlock on/off

Peripheral Configuration:
-Serial Port A disable/enable/auto
-Parallel Port disable/enable/auto
=mode: output only, bi-directional, EPP, ECP

IDE Configuration:
-IDE Controller disabled/primary/secondary/both
=Primary IDE Master
=Primary IDE Slave
=Secondary IDE Master
=Secondary IDE Slave

Diskette Configuration:
-Diskette Controller enable/disable
-floppy A
-Diskette write protect enable/disable

Event Log Configuration:
-view event log
-clear all event logs yes/no
-event logging enable/disable
-mark events as read

Video Configuration:
-AGP Aperture Size
-Primary Video Adapter

SECURITY:
Set Supervisor Password
Set User Password

BOOT:
Quiet boot enable/disable
quick boot enable/disable
Restore on AC/Power loss
On LAN
On PME
1st boot device - 4th boot device
IDE Drive Configuration
-Primary + secondary master/slave stuff

EXIT (and all the save options, load defaults, etc.)

oscaryu1 · 02-26-2008, 11:41 PM

You have:

1) Dead/bad hard drive.

2) No operating system.

Silhouette · 02-27-2008, 03:35 PM

Can anyone else help me diagnose my problem? And more importantly, help me fix it? Thanks!

Silhouette · 02-27-2008, 09:21 PM

Okay, I can get into DOS now and use Boot CDs. I'm trying to find a way to fix the HDD w/ Hiren's BootCD but now the system won't recognize I have a HDD installed. Has it finally kicked the bucket? Is there no hope to at least get files off of it?

02-26-2008, 07:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
Silhouette New Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	Invalid boot diskette in Drive A:\? I rescued an old Win ME computer from my parents' house a bit ago, and I'm trying to get it to run again. When I boot it up, after the splash screen, it displays an error message "Invalid boot diskette in Drive A:\" but I don't have any disk inserted! How do I fix this? (I don't have any disks that came with the computer. I'm willing to maybe reformat and install a new OS (i.e. linux) but would like to maybe look at my files to see if anything can be rescued first). Any help would be appreciated!

02-26-2008, 10:21 PM	#2 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,307	Your boot order may be set wrong in the bios, but I suspect the hard drive has either failed or it has a bad install of windows on it. Easiest thing would probably be to simply reload it completely. __________________ Urban De-Development * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT * C2D T5250 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100 * G4 1.33GHz \| 512M RAM \| 40G HD \| Radeon 9200

02-26-2008, 11:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
oscaryu1 VIP Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Age: 13 Posts: 9,829	You have: 1) Dead/bad hard drive. 2) No operating system. __________________ Core 2 Duo E2140 1.6GHz @ 3.04GHz GA-P31-DS3L pqi Turbo CL4 DDR2-800 2GB Sapphire HD3850 256MB Sony Writemaster DVD Burner EIDE Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200.9 8MB SATII

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02-26-2008, 10:45 PM	#3 (permalink)
Silhouette New Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	I've tried messing around with boot order/disabling stuff, but haven't got it to work yet. I also don't have the CDs to reinstall windows, but have thought about reinstalling Linux. What would you suggest to make sure we know what the problem is? Also, here's the setup: What I see in SETUP menu: Dell Dimension 4100 SETUP: MAIN: Processor Serial Number enable/disable, system time, system date ADVANCED: Boot Configuration: -Plug & Play O/S yes/no -Reset Config Data yes/no -Numlock on/off Peripheral Configuration: -Serial Port A disable/enable/auto -Parallel Port disable/enable/auto =mode: output only, bi-directional, EPP, ECP IDE Configuration: -IDE Controller disabled/primary/secondary/both =Primary IDE Master =Primary IDE Slave =Secondary IDE Master =Secondary IDE Slave Diskette Configuration: -Diskette Controller enable/disable -floppy A -Diskette write protect enable/disable Event Log Configuration: -view event log -clear all event logs yes/no -event logging enable/disable -mark events as read Video Configuration: -AGP Aperture Size -Primary Video Adapter SECURITY: Set Supervisor Password Set User Password BOOT: Quiet boot enable/disable quick boot enable/disable Restore on AC/Power loss On LAN On PME 1st boot device - 4th boot device IDE Drive Configuration -Primary + secondary master/slave stuff EXIT (and all the save options, load defaults, etc.)

02-27-2008, 03:35 PM	#5 (permalink)
Silhouette New Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	Can anyone else help me diagnose my problem? And more importantly, help me fix it? Thanks!

02-27-2008, 09:21 PM	#6 (permalink)
Silhouette New Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 4	Okay, I can get into DOS now and use Boot CDs. I'm trying to find a way to fix the HDD w/ Hiren's BootCD but now the system won't recognize I have a HDD installed. Has it finally kicked the bucket? Is there no hope to at least get files off of it?