Windows XP Old Tiny Laptop Issue

[Max_Autobrake]

Hoping for a little help please.......

My son has an old Tiny laptop running XP that he uses with my old flight sims. Everything working fine until today when starting up and 'disc error, press any key to continue' pops up on screen. When any key is pressed it says it needs a re-boot using the correct disc, but we have no disc and the system won't start or progress any further than that.

I don't really want to bin it so any help greatly appreciated. TIA

 

[DavidG]

Almost certainly with a laptop of this age the hard drive has failed. To fix it the hard drive must be replaced and the operating system reinstalled. This in itself will present some challenges. The laptop will need to be stripped the hard drive removed and a suitable replacement found. If the drive is an IDE drive these are obsolete and you won't find any new stock just refurbs. If the drive is a SATA then windows XP doesn't natively support SATA so you would need a software patch when you come to install windows XP. After that you will need to find a windows XP installation disk and reinstall windows XP. If all this sounds too much then either take it to a tech or just purchase another laptop which will be way faster and a more pleasant experience.
Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear

 

[Max_Autobrake]

Almost certainly with a laptop of this age the hard drive has failed. To fix it the hard drive must be replaced and the operating system reinstalled. This in itself will present some challenges. The laptop will need to be stripped the hard drive removed and a suitable replacement found. If the drive is an IDE drive these are obsolete and you won't find any new stock just refurbs. If the drive is a SATA then windows XP doesn't natively support SATA so you would need a software patch when you come to install windows XP. After that you will need to find a windows XP installation disk and reinstall windows XP. If all this sounds too much then either take it to a tech or just purchase another laptop which will be way faster and a more pleasant experience.
Sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear

I've found an XP reboot disc. Is that worth trying first or does it have to be specific to Tiny?

 

[Max_Autobrake]

It's now telling me the following file is missing or corrupt:

<windows root.\system32\hal.dll.

I've found this website - www.dll-files.com - that has a list of free downloads but I haven't got a clue which one I need. Also, I'd have to download it on to my laptop and transfer it, would that work?

TIA

 

[johnb35]

As David has said, it seems the hard drive has failed and would need a new one and reinstall of windows. But since it's so old, I wouldn't even mess with it. You can boot to dos and run a check disk to see what it says.

 

[Max_Autobrake]

As David has said, it seems the hard drive has failed and would need a new one and reinstall of windows. But since it's so old, I wouldn't even mess with it. You can boot to dos and run a check disk to see what it says.

Thanks for the reply. How do I do as you suggest?

 

[DavidG]

It's now telling me the following file is missing or corrupt:

<windows root.\system32\hal.dll.

I've found this website - www.dll-files.com - that has a list of free downloads but I haven't got a clue which one I need. Also, I'd have to download it on to my laptop and transfer it, would that work?

TIA

No it won't work - hal.dll is a major file (hardware abstraction layer) specifically created when windows installs, it is unique to your computer. Simply downloading and transferring a copy won't work.
If you have a windows XP installation disk there is no harm in trying although you will likely lose any data already on the drive. If any of the data is precious I would remove the old drive and take it to a local computer shop and see if they can pull any of the data off.

 

[johnb35]

Thanks for the reply. How do I do as you suggest?

Providing it has a cd drive.

Page Not Found

Any windows xp/vista/7 install disk should be able to do this. But since you don't have an install cd you would be better off taking it to somebody for help or just buy a new one.