I think I just killed my laptop!!!

[los7883]

Earlier this year i upgraded from 98SE to XP...after putting a bunch of songs on the laptop i had to delete the previous OS to free up some space. I wanted to revert back to the old OS due to problems with XP but since I deleted the old OS files I can't just uninstall XP. So here's what I did (without thinking of course) I have a Dell Laptop with the swapable floppy and CD-ROM drive. I formatted the hard drive on the laptop but i can't reinstall 98SE. When i have the floppy drive installed it will take me all the way to the a: prompt but then i can't do anything from there. If it were a desktop i could just pop in my 98 install disk and i would be good to go, but since i have to remove the floppy to put in the CD-ROM drive it won't work. If I put it in at that point it tells me there is a seek error on my a: drive and won't let me do it.

I've tried every combination of things i can think of and i still can't install it. Any work around for installing my old OS? If I start it up with the 98SE install disk in the CD-ROM drive I get an error message right away that i have an invalid system disk loaded, and to load the system disk and strike any key. I even tried making a CD boot disk and it still didn't like it...help please!!!!

 

[lynx6200]

Have you put the cd rom drive into the computer before booting? After starting up your system go into bios, tap the 'del' key at startup, and make sure you have cd-rom set as your first boot device. After doing that, insert your OS cd, restart, and it should load from there.

 

[los7883]

I tried to enter the BIOS by pressing each of the Function Keys...F1 through F12 and couldn't get in. Didn't try the Delete key though. I should be able to enter the BIOS before the computer tries to startup right? I can hear it spinning up the CD-ROM but can't get into the BIOS then get the INVALID SYSTEM DISK error. On the dell it shows the F2 as the key to enter SETUP, i was assuming it meant the BIOS but I'm not sure. I'm just worried that I jacked up my laptop and won't be able to get it back. I tried putting in the XP install disk to see if it would pick up on that one and got the same error. Are there any other keys that I would use to enter the BIOS other than the F-keys and DELETE? I'm at work and don't have the laptop with me....

 

[Scrat]

Try the following.

Plugin the CD-Drive.

Turn your laptop on and imediatly start tapping the "F2" key and keep doing so untill you either get the error message about system disk, or untill you get the BIOS(setup) page. If F2 doesnt get you in try doing it again but tap the "DEL" key instead.

If neither of these work then...
Go to the following DELL website and enter your laptop's "Service Tag" number which should be on the bottom of your laptop. This will then take you to the downloads section for your specific dell laptop.
Once there look to see if you can download the "setup guide" or "user manual" for your model of laptop. If it is then download and look in it for the key to press to get into the BIOS.
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/index.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&~ck=mn

Ok once in BIOS, look for something like "BOOT ORDER" then make sure that the "CD-ROM" is set a 1st boot, it doesn't matter what the rest are set as.

Insert the Windows 98 CD.

Save your BIOS settings then exit. The computer will then reboot and if all goes well you should then get prompted to "boot from CDROM" which you say yes to.

 

[los7883]

Good deal i'll give the DELETE key a try and see if it works...thanks a bunch...

 

[los7883]

THANKS!!! IT WORKED!!! I had to put the floppy drive in to get it to go to the BIOS, wouldn't do it with the CD-ROM in though. Installed 98 and it worked...but had a problem, the screen size was half the size it should have been it was like at 600x800 or something like that instead of the 1200x1000 or whatever it's supposed to be. Went to the screen properties and it didn't have the option to change the resolution or the color (stuck on 8-bit). I'm figuring I wiped out the driver or something when i formatted the hard drive???

Well it was way too small so i went ahead and installed XP again (even though that put me back at square one), and was able to change the screen resolution to the higher one but could only select 16-bit for the color instead of the 32 it used to be on. Looked ok though. I went to the dell site but couldn't find a video driver for it, don't even know if one exists...it's a Dell Latitude CPi...

Would really like to have 98SE on it because i'm using a Netgear Wireless Router with the Laptop but XP keeps kicking me off the internet, with 98 i never got kicked off...any advise on how to get my resolution back when using 98?

 

[lynx6200]

Sounds to me like you where on topic, your missing the driver, which is why your having those resolution problems. I think in xp it allowed you to change that just because xp has some genric drivers. there should most certainley be a driver on the dell site, afterall they have to support their own computers. Type in your service tag, and pull up the model of your computer, and there should be a download section with drivers.

As for your internet connection, XP should be better than 98, it may be kicking you because of some incorrect settings or the firewall, so take a look at that.

 

[los7883]

I went to the dell site yesterday, went to their support page, then drivers, then entered in my asset/service tag and model of laptop, and it only gave me a generic list of the different driver categories ie. audio, video... but when i would click on the links it didn't take me anywhere, wouldn't take me to a download site or attempt to download the file...tried doing a search on the net for a generic driver but had no luck...

 

[lynx6200]

You should run some type of hardware test to fins out the whats in your system. When you find out what type of video card you are using, you should be able to search for a specific driver for it.

Do you not have your dell restoration cd? I think that has the driver on it.

 

[los7883]

nope this was a last minute laptop that i bought off eBay, no disks or nothing came with it...needed something fast and this was the only one i could find. Laptop worked great though before i wiped it clean...if all else fails i guess i will just have to put up with XP and see if i can figure out why it keeps kicking me off. Not sure what to look for as the router was setup by the book. Would it be the settings on the laptop or the router that are jacked up?

 

[lynx6200]

Well, if its been working alright with 98, I would think there might be an issue with XP, some setting on your computer possibly. Alos check that your wireless card is supposed to be compatible with XP.

Ive had a dell before, so I know for a fact all their drivers are on their website, not always easy to find, but they are out there, and you can even download a system profile from them, tell you the hardware your using.

 

[los7883]

I'll keep looking for the driver then, email them i guess if i have to...don't know if they're gonna give me problems since i wasn't the original owner of the laptop...

 

[los7883]

GOT IT!!! When i entered the Service Tag it wouldn't give me anything. But since i'm at work and don't have it with me i just entered the laptop model and it listed all the drivers for me, i downloaded the audio, video, and system bios...anything else yall can think of that i need? Here's what they have listed:

Applications
Valicert SecureTransport FTP

Audio Drivers
Crystal 4237b

Communication Drivers
3Com 3CCM156 Modem
3Com Eagle 2.0 WinModem (3CXM356)
Psion V.90 56k+fax PCMCIA Modem
Xircom WW Combo 56K+10/100 CBEM(PC Card) type II
Xircom WW Combo 56K+10/100 RBEM(PC Card)RealPort

Diagnostic Utilities
Dell 32 Bit Diagnostics

Display Devices
Dell 1503FP
Dell 1701FP
Dell 1702FP
Dell E551a Monitor
Dell E551c
Dell E771a
Dell E771p
Dell M781p/M781mm Monitor
Dell M782
Dell M991
Dell M992
Dell Monitor Driver
Dell P1130
Dell P791
Dell P792
Dell P992

FlashBIOS Updates
Dell FlashBIOS Downgrade Instructions
Dell Latitude CP System BIOS
Dell Latitude CP/CPi System BIOS

IDE and EIDE
CMD Technology 646U2 Ultra DMA Controller

Input Device Drivers
Synaptics Touchpad

Network Drivers
3Com 10/100 MB Ethernet Cardbus PC Card
3Com 3CCFEM656
IBM 16/4 Tokenring adapter
Xircom WW Combo 56K+10/100 CBEM(PC Card) type II
Xircom WW Combo 56K+10/100 RBEM(PC Card)RealPort


Removable Media Storage Devices
Adaptec CDRW-EZCD 4.02 and Direct CD 3.01
Samsung CD ROM
Toshiba 24X CD-ROM

System and Configuration Utilities
Dell Dock QuickInstall
Dell OS Updates
Dell Power Management for PC-Card Modems
Dell Suspend Utilities
Dell System Utilities
Dell Users Guide Viewer
Softex BayManager


Systems Management
Dell OpenManage IT Assistant
Dell OpenManage IT Assistant and Remote Install (Image Server)

Video Drivers
NeoMagic NM2160

Or should I just download them all?

 

[lynx6200]

Just the ones you need, however, if you have or do an entire reformat of you h/d you will probably need a chipset driver, at least I needed that for my desktop, might be diffent on the laptop.