A could be major problem on my PC

**Godscrasher** · 24th April 2003

The Problem:

My computer, when i switch it on it trys to boot up, but nothing happens, except i get a message saying " ERROR LOADING OPERATING SYSTEM" ive had this PC for about 10 months, and if i cant resolve the problem myself iam gonna take it back to the shop.

So has anybody got any ideas of what it could be?

system info.

pentium 4 2.0 processor

256 mb ram

40gb hd

i had 3gb of storage left last time i had a look last week if thats any help.

tried booting up from hard drive, cd and floppy, wont do owt.

Cheers u lot..

**Aido** · 24th April 2003

What OS is it - do you get the error immediately?

Maybe a problem with the system files or the master boot record?

HAve you ensured the BIOS settings are correct, it is seeing the HDD and is set to boot from C:?

If so you may need to change that setting to get it to boot from floppy or the CD drive...

**Godscrasher** · 24th April 2003

iam running xp pro.....all the setting in BIOS are correct.

ive tried booting from the cd and floppy, it nearly boots up, but gives up at the last minute then the message appears again.

Yeah i get the ERROR message straight away as soon as i boot up...straight after i swicth the thing on.

**Aido** · 24th April 2003

Can you try a bootdisk from www.bootdisk.com just to see whether it's a problem with the disks you've got?

**Godscrasher** · 24th April 2003

nope..stillno joy on that one...it did get a little bit further than the last times ive tried..but didnt boot up properly..got the same message again.

**Aido** · 24th April 2003

One last go mate, try the image here:

http://home.eunet.no/~pnordahl/ntpasswd/

That should boot up regardless.

If not it sounds more like a BIOS / board problem I'd imagine..

**Godscrasher** · 24th April 2003

cheers mate..i'll try that last link 2moro..and let you know how i get on.

**Aido** · 24th April 2003

Nice one mate, I've been doing a look around Google which makes it sound like an MBR problem - have you got an XP CD that you could try - even if you have to install a parallel copy on the same disk in a different folder just to see if it boots...

**neo2810** · 24th April 2003

I presume that by saying your BIOS settings are correct, the error message comes up AFTER your PC does the memory checks and ID's the IDE devices. (Does it recognise your HD during this check?)...
What you'll probably find is that your IDE cable has come loose (check all connections) or that the jumper settings are incorrect (possibly set as "Cable Select" which will sometimes work for a while on a non-supporting cable, but then stop accepting it). Make sure it is set as "master" or "slave" appropriately.

It is basically either your HD is not feeding the nessecary Windows startup files through, or they are corrupt, in which case you should be able to boot up from a windows cd and reinstall. If (as I think you said) your CD-ROM as ALSO not booting up from the windows disk, then you could have a serious problem with your mobo....

Good luck trying to sort it...
PS: If you are taking it in to the shop, make sure you don't have any "potentially incriminating" files (pirate movies, music) on the drive before leaving it with them. Rest assured, they will probably have a good look at whats on your PC for a laugh...