fixing a laptop and need some help

Discussion in 'Software' started by whocares741, Nov 30, 2004.

  1. whocares741

    whocares741 Private E-2

    Alright, my friend asked me to fix his laptop for him. He tried installing service pack 2, but it royally screwed up his laptop. He called up and talked to microsoft and they said it was a corrupt version. He ended up reformatting his hard drive, however now it will not boot. He sees "colors and some weird music" when it goes to load up xp. I guess now, there is no operating system? He said he had dual partitions, windows xp on top of windows xp, but when he reformatted it, he says he thinks it got messed up. He just wants it working again now. Any ideas on what to do?
     
  2. acktom

    acktom Private First Class

    Try starting from CD w/XP Install Disk. Go to Bios if needed to ensure boot order has CD-ROM before the HD. Should be able to delete all partitions and reformat drive once started from CD. Reinstall XP.

    Acktom
     
  3. whocares741

    whocares741 Private E-2

    Uh..hmm. I haven't really delt with bios and stuff. How do I ensure that it'll boot from the CD-Rom first? (don't really know how to enter the bios and deal with it)
     
  4. acktom

    acktom Private First Class

    First start you PC with CD in drive and see if it starts from the CD. If so, no need to enter bios. If not... turn on system and press either F10, F12, or ESC (press a few times if needed). One of these should open your bios. Find, using your arrow keys, your Boot Sequence or Boot Order. Should be in your basic BIOS settings. Ensure the first boot device listed is your cd-rom. Save and exit per screen instructions. PC should now boot from CD. Delete all partitions. Setup will format your drive (NTFS).

    Good Luck,

    Acktom
     
  5. whocares741

    whocares741 Private E-2

    cool beans....thanks, i'll try that out. :D
     
  6. whocares741

    whocares741 Private E-2

    Oh wait, just thought of something. Should I switch it back to booting from the hard drive again first? or just keep it as it is and don't bother? Thanks
     
  7. acktom

    acktom Private First Class

    Either way is fine. Your PC will look to the CD-ROM first, but assuming there is no System CD in there it will move to the HD.

    Acktom
     
  8. Colemanguy

    Colemanguy MajorGeek

    Switch it back so your system isn't infected by a malissicas cd.
     

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