CD rom drive disappeared

Hello,
I'm trying to re-install dos (win 98 after that) on an HP Vectra VL18, PII, but after changing the cd-rom device the pc can't find the cd rom at all. I'm sure all cables are connected correctly and the device works.
What changes do I have to make in the BIOS (or wherever) to start recognizing the thing?

Thanks a million!

 

I had the same problem a few days ago with my DVD drive. i unplugged the cables from the drive, loaded windows, turned it off, reattached the wires and it came back.

Worth a try.

 

Thanks Petemate!
I'll give it a try, the thing is however, I can't load anything at the moment at all except dos without the cd driver. The pc is back at scratch, there's nothing on it. Can only use floppy disks..

 

sorry, i might've just misunderstood the problem. does the drive work, but you can't boot from the cd?

there should be an option for primary boot device in bios that needs to be set to the cd rom drive not the a:\ drive (as it usually is by default). it's usually D: or E:

if all's well you should get an invite to press any key to boot from cd (or something similar) when you put the windows disc in and turn the machine on.

It's now nearly 6am here, so i'm going to bed, but the other members will be happy to help you sort the problem (and do a better job of explaining stuff).

Good luck sorting it mate.

 

Thanks again! You're right, I need to be more clear about this problem.

When I turn the pc on there's nothing on it: 'no operating system found'; so I load a dos floppy and turn it on again. Dos is loaded, but when trying to load the 'banana' cd driver (that's on the dos floppy disk) it aborts, cos it can't find a cd device.. But there's a cd rom device attached to it! So the pc doesn't know it has a cd rom device. I just need to know how to make the cd rom device 'recognizable' to the pc as a part of the configuration...

 

I'm gonna hold my hands up and say that i don't know. Anyone else want to help on this one?