HELP!! PC broke

gonzo127

there are instructions on the ubuntu website as to how to make a bootable memory stick follow them and you should be fine, and no you should not have any problems on the laptop if you follow the instructions

phxweb problem is as follows (as i understand it)
pc will not boot saying NTLDTR is missing
pc can not get into BIOS
internal cd/dvd drive broken so can not boot to cd/dvd
external cd/dvd drive not being recognised so can not boot to cd/dvd
no extra PC usable as on laptop so can just take out hard drive and put in into another system to do diagnostics

so hence the suggestion of using ubuntu on a memory stick, which should at least allow him to get into his system and maybe save things on his hard drive

phxweb

bossymommy wrote: »

Not sure what make/model, it was built up..all seperate parts.
Running windows xp and yes i have windows disk.
Tried pressing all those F buttons repeatedly :-(

Ok when your machine powers on does it show you any logo or name ? Try the ESC key , And you have tried the Delete key ? Keep pressing them from the moment you turn on to the moment you get the error msg as its tricky to find the right place to get it right.

To be able to do anything we need to get in to the bios to change boot prefs to get you machine to boot from cd/usb before Hard Drive.

Additionaly try unplugging your keyboard and mouse then turning on, the machine shouldnt try and boot as it doesnt have a keyboard. There should be a message which says " Keyboard Failure" or something similar .... does this screen show any bios name or info ?

bossymommy

gonzo127 wrote: »

there are instructions on the ubuntu website as to how to make a bootable memory stick follow them and you should be fine, and no you should not have any problems on the laptop if you follow the instructions

phxweb problem is as follows (as i understand it)
pc will not boot saying NTLDTR is missing
pc can not get into BIOS
internal cd/dvd drive broken so can not boot to cd/dvd
external cd/dvd drive not being recognised so can not boot to cd/dvd
no extra PC usable as on laptop so can just take out hard drive and put in into another system to do diagnostics

so hence the suggestion of using ubuntu on a memory stick, which should at least allow him to get into his system and maybe save things on his hard drive

Just been looking at how to do it......OMG! Its all so confusing...im a woman btw lol

Snowman here i come...back soon

phxweb

gonzo127 wrote: »

so hence the suggestion of using ubuntu on a memory stick, which should at least allow him to get into his system and maybe save things on his hard drive

Im a little confused as to if the CD Drive / Disk Drive / is the same thing and if it is faulty. OP Please confirm if your CD/DVD drive in your tower was working or not prior to this error message.

I also doubt that an 8 year old machine will support booting from usb, If it does i further doubt the bios will be set to boot off the usb stick first, with out geting into the BIOS then you wont be able to set boot priorities

gonzo127

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

to help create the bootable memory stick

true about the boot order... probably worth a try for the amount of time it should take

bossymommy

phxweb wrote: »

Im a little confused as to if the CD Drive / Disk Drive / is the same thing and if it is faulty. OP Please confirm if your CD/DVD drive in your tower was working or not prior to this error message.

I also doubt that an 8 year old machine will support booting from usb, If it does i further doubt the bios will be set to boot off the usb stick first, with out geting into the BIOS then you wont be able to set boot priorities

The CD/DVD drive hasnt worked in the tower for about 12 months. I have been using an external CD/DVD drive ever since and have had no probs with it. I think its not reading the disk at start up because the bios settings need to be changed so that pc boots up with external drive, which i cannot get into. I also doubt that my pc will be able to boot from usb stick.

phxweb

bossymommy wrote: »

The CD/DVD drive hasnt worked in the tower for about 12 months. I have been using an external CD/DVD drive ever since and have had no probs with it. I think its not reading the disk at start up because the bios settings need to be changed so that pc boots up with external drive, which i cannot get into. I also doubt that my pc will be able to boot from usb stick.

Any luck with my 3rd post on the 2nd page ?

bossymommy

phxweb wrote: »

Ok when your machine powers on does it show you any logo or name ? Try the ESC key , And you have tried the Delete key ? Keep pressing them from the moment you turn on to the moment you get the error msg as its tricky to find the right place to get it right.

To be able to do anything we need to get in to the bios to change boot prefs to get you machine to boot from cd/usb before Hard Drive.

Additionaly try unplugging your keyboard and mouse then turning on, the machine shouldnt try and boot as it doesnt have a keyboard. There should be a message which says " Keyboard Failure" or something similar .... does this screen show any bios name or info ?

Biostar is the logo that comes up. Have tried every single letter/number/digit but nothing works. It just says "press ctrl+alt+del" and when i do it just restarts

bossymommy

OOOOOHHH i got something!!. Why doesnt this thing have chat?? lol

bossymommy

Got a bluescreen...cmos setup?? Helpppp

Should i click "advanced bios features"??