Help needed with lenovo s10e

IT seems when i turn on the pad it takes me to quick start..i have no way of getting to any folders im really not sure what operating system is even in this it may be Linux but i cant find a way to tell..i can get on the web but thats it theres no login screen...i cant run programs because theres no home page?is there way of me checking the system properites on this....im lost here..:cry

thanks

 

I've done a little research, and it seems that the PC was sold new with Windows XP installed. If you have a green "Start" button in the lower left corner of the screen, then you have Windows XP. To verify, click "Start", click "Run", type winver and click "OK". This will tell you exactly which version of Windows is installed. If you don't have a green "Start" button in the lower left corner, then we'll need some accurate descriptions of what you do have in the lower left corner, along with what applications are installed, what they look like, etc. When Windows boots up, there is always a "logo" screen that is displayed while the system loads to the desktop. If you don't have any logo screen (meaning absolutely nothing - a blank screen) then determining exactly what's going on may be difficult. If you could post some screen shots of the PC in action (or take some pics w/ a digital camera and post those), we can definitely help. Some PCs are shipped with an "express launch" which is a rudimentary, basic operating system for very simple tasks such as surfing the web, taking notes in a basic Notepad-like program, etc. These "express launch" operating systems generally load up in less than 5 seconds after powering on the PC, where Windows typically takes at least 10 seconds to fully load. If you do have one of these "express launch" systems running, you can disable it by entering the PC BIOS and finding the appropriate setting. Your PC uses the F2 key to enter the BIOS; after powering on and right when the Lenovo (or similar) logo appears, start pressing the F2 key repeatedly. This should open the BIOS settings (also called "Setup" on many PCs).

I hope this helps!

 

heres what i get when i turn computor on


when i do push the green button on the bottom left all i get is a black screen with a blinking cursor in the top left..

im pretty sure it comes with linux and xp ..but i have no start button or no access to anything except the web through the quichk launch.

 

Have you tried pressing the F2 key repeatedly >immediately< after powering on? This should bring you to the BIOS Setup menu(s) and you should be able to disable this quick launch or express OS, and load to a regular full-fledged operating system.

Have you owned the PC for a while or did you recently acquire it? If you just got it, did you buy it new or used?

 

yes i bought it about a year ago..from a store i did go into bios f2 and turned it off but when i reboot com i just get a black screen with a blinking cursor.and i see no way to install win 7 or xp as there is no cd or dvd drive?

 

only thing i can suggest is a reformat, as you dont have a cd/dvd drive you could remove the hdd and reformat from a working system with a cd/dvd drive, is the system still under warranty? if it is you should be able to take it back to the store for a repair. if the above options are unnaplicable and you cant do it yourself then a paid repair from an It tech / PC repair store is your only option i,m afraid.

Regards, tigule :major

 

Explanation of OKR
http://lenovos10affair.blogspot.com/2009/02/one-key-recovery-okr.html
When you purchased this, you should have also considered getting a USB optical drive.

I have a netbook and made sure my optical drives in external USB cases were recognized by my netbook. (I have linux factory-installed).

 

USB optical drive.? do you mean a usb stick

after removing the battery

when i boot up ALL i get IS

broadcom undi pxe-2.1v11.0.14
copyright c 2000-2008 brodcom corporation
copyright c 1997-2000 intel corporation
all rights reserved
PXE-E61 Media test failure,check cable
PXE-MOF exiting broadcom PXE ROM ....

IN BIOS I GOT

LENOVO SN.xxxxxxxxxxx

P/N xxxxxxx

UUID xxxxxxxxxxx

482A00238B49E248

IN BOOT ORDER I HAVE
1 USB CDROM
2 USB HDD
3 LAN.MBAV11.0.14 SLOT 0200
4 USB KEY
5 USB FDD
6 HDD.FUJITSU MHZ20B0BH G1- S1

 

i think the HDD is messed up

even if the hdd is messed i can still get on the web using quick start...but is there a reason why when i but in a usb stick the computor reads it but when i open it i cant run or open at anything? ....

 

In BIOS try to disable the LAN and/or move it down the list to last place #6.

 

Another thought is since it seems to have the ability to boot from USB key you may be able to install XP or Linux from that. But there is a question as to why the it is not booting from HD.

See if in F2 Bios you can disable the LAN or move it to last place in the boot order. You might want to move HD way up the list to #2. So in Boot Order: #1 USB key and #2 HDD.FUJITSU MHZ20B0BH G1- S1 would be ideal.

 

An optical drive refers to any drive that can read CDs or DVDs (burning may or may not be available). So no, a USB optical drive is not a USB stick. It is an external CD or DVD drive.
A USB drive would work okay to install XP or Vista but since Windows 7 comes on a DVD, you'd need a USB DVD drive to install or re-install Win 7.

 

did all this still just black screen with blinking curser in top cornor/

 

ok when i boot from usb i get a new screen says default
says press tab to edit options thats as far as i can get?is my usb not bootable..

 

Let's see, you don't know what OS is installed or if there is an OS installed. We are not certain the HD is working although I would think you might get a specific error about a bad HD.

What I would suggest as a possibility would be to download Linux Mint either the CD(699mb) or DVD(823mb) version and put them on your USB drive (USB drive would have to be at least 1GB). LinuxLiveUSB Creator will easily put the download LinuxMint ISO onto the USB flash drive (It will need to format the flash drive so all data on it will be erased!). Then you could try booting from the USB key/flash and take a look around the HD to see if it is operational and if it contains an Operating system that is worth trying to fix.

If you have a different idea of what you want then let me know what you are thinking.

 

i was told it had xp on it untill one morning the screen was just black on boot up.

 

I guess you could try recovery console on usb. I'd have to read up on how to make one. I've looked at a few google links but haven't found a definitive one or tried it yet. The upside to recovery console is it is a tiny download but the downside is it may ask for an Administrative password which you probably don't have.

The boot problem might be something as simple as a bad boot.ini in XP.

I've never tried the BartPE or UBCD but if Dlb is still reading this thread he may be able to give you some ideas of how one of them might be useful.

I'll reread the thread tomorrow and check out the specs on the machine to get an idea of what is going on.

 

thanks if i could get this to boot from usb then i could try installing a new o.s that way?

 

I downloaded a standalone XP recovery ISO using a link Tim posted. I burned the CD and tried it. It does indeed bring up the familiar dark blue screen with the white writing that allows you to repair an XP install.

Post #6 in this thread http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=227501&highlight=recovery

 

but this computor has no cd or dvd drive and im not sure how to boot from usb..

 

pongo, you should be able to install Windows from USB but you run into the problem of needing SATA drivers for the installation to see your HD. Then you have to worry about the installation accepting your activation key.

I believe it is the same with recovery console needing SATA drivers but on that I am unsure.

If you have broadband internet than trying to boot from the Linux installation on USB would let you see if it is just a matter of a bad boot.ini file that is causing the problem with XP to boot. It wouldn't need any SATA drivers.

I just don't know enough about XP and SATA drivers to give you instructions on what software would boot your system from USB and be helpful to troubleshoot the XP install other than Linux.

 

trying to boot from the Linux installation on USB

how would i do this.....

 

Check out my post #16. The usb creator software works well. It is just 5 steps and about 10 minutes. Linux Mint gives you a Windows desktop and you should be able to see the contents of your HD to figure out what the situation is. You don't have to install Linux Mint on your HD even though you will be given the option when you boot to the Linux destop. You just want to run it off the USB stick. Only if later you decide you like it or can't install XP would you have to consider actually installing Linux on your HD.

If we can't get XP back up and running then you can still try going through a Windows installation.

There are other options to try like the UBCD but I don't have any experience with them and can't give you any advice. [For me the Linux Mint ISO is less than an hour to download and 10 minutes to put on USB so I don't consider it a big deal. If your download speeds are considerably slower than you may want to try another option] that might allow you to do more than just look at/fix the boot.ini file.

 

i have linux mint iso and linuxlive usb creator on usb now what..

it seems since i only have quick launch any programs i put on usb that are exe wont launch..

 

with on cd or dvd drive i would really sugest never to buy 1 of these....

 

You don't have a Windows machine to work on? You only have the lenovo?

 

i have my desktop also.

 

OK, you want to install USB creator on your desktop. And have the Linux Mint ISO on your desktop.

How big is your USB key? Do you have any data on the USB key that you must keep on the key?

 

usb is 2 gb..ok usb creator and Linux Mint ISO are on desktop.

 

If you don't have anything that must stay on the USB, I would let the program format it. (I have always formatted but it looks like it is optional if you have at least 900mb free)

The steps are fairly straight forward as listed here: http://old.linuxliveusb.com/en/how-to/62-preparation.html There are no error sounds so watch for the traffic light colors if something doesn't seem to be working.

Connect USB key to desktop. Start the program.

1) Choose your key from the drop down list
2) Choose ISO and Browse to Linux Mint
3) Set size for persistence. (persistence is storage to record changes on USB. So if you run Firefox and install a few addons it will remember them next time you boot up. If you set persistence to zero than each time you boot from the key it will be like a clean install. I would suggest going with the minimum up to no more than 500mb since you have limited space on that USB and you may some free space on the key.)
4) If you have nothing on the key check the box to format otherwise leave it unchecked.
5) Let it set up the key.

Takes about 10 minutes. Step 2 it has to verify the ISO for a minute or two. Step 5 takes a few minutes.

When finished, insert the key in lenovo and see if it boots from key. The boot process is automatic but takes about 3-4 minutes to get to the desktop screen. It will look like a Windows desktop with a start button to find programs.

Edit: in step 4 you can probably uncheck the box for "Enable launching Linux Live in Windows" as it is power hungry and not needed. I don't know how much space it will save but it is not necessary. It is up to you.

 

ok i did it when i put usb in the lenovo i get just a black screen but usb stick keeps flashing?

when i pull usb out i get .

operating system load error

 

Hmm, I guess it could be a problem with Linux finding the display adapter for that model but I am not sure. When you put a non bootable USB thumb drive in you got a screen that said something like "default" and it just stayed there. So this is different and just a blank screen. Normally you get a blank screen and a blinking cursor.

I'm not sure how to remedy that. You could test the USB drive in your desktop by booting from it, if you have USB boot capability. But I doubt the Creator program didn't work correctly--I've used it at least a dozen times.

I'm not sure where to go next.

 

sorry a blank screen and a blinking cursor is what i get

 

Double check your boot order. It is USB key then HD correct?

 

it is
1 usb key
2 usb hdd kingston datatravler
3 usb cdrom
4 hdd fujitsu mhz208bh g1 s1
5 usb fdd
6 lan.mba v11.0.14 slot 0200

 

Do you have a key that looks like a back swirl arrow on the keyboard (sort of like a recycle arrow logo)? That is a factory restore button that might open Lenovo One Key Recovery program.

 

Please don't ignore my last post on the One Key Recovery, it may be your best option.

But if that is not available, in BIOS under the Boot Menu is it possible to disable most of those you have listed? I would try disabling everything except USB key and see if Linux loads from your USB key.

If not you can again enable HDD fujitsu mhz208bh to get back to where you are now.

 

no i dont see a way of disabling anything and restore button does nothing.

 

Hello,
The restore button is pushed when when the netbook is turned off.

 

still just black screen with blinking cursor.

 

It seems to me we have to get it to boot from some sort of USB key since there is no other interface.

It should have linux capabilities because it is available with linux installed.

Does your desktop have boot from USB capability? It might be worth seeing if it will boot the Linux USB key to make sure it is written correctly.

 

yes it does ...its in the boot order but i can only get it to boot from usb when i use usb disk format tool and ultra iso..like at the moment the screen is just scrolling.

i get insert system disk and press any key when i take usb out.

 

The scrolling would seem to indicate Linux Mint can't find display drivers.

I think I will look at UBCD and BartPE and see what they can do, a command-line interface would eliminate display problems. UBCD doesn't look like it has a way to read NTFS files so I don't think that will do any good.

I also wonder if Ubuntu linux would work. I haven't used it recently but I think its install process starts in text rather than a picture background. I'll take a look at that too.

 

i was told that to get it to boot from usb i need to repartican first..i have no idea how.

 

You shouldn't have to repartition anything to boot to USB. The USB stick has to have the boot files in the correct place but the computer or netbook don't have to be changed except for boot order.

If you were trying to boot your desktop from USB and got a bunch of scrolling flashes on the display it is because the USB could not properly work with your computers graphics.

 

what i have now is

no systemdisk.bootong from harddisk
start booting from usb device


then a flashing cursor

 

I'm going to play around with different boot software on USB and see if I can find anything useful. It will be several hours.

When you did the Creator software did you format the USB? I'm wondering if there are other files interfering with it being read properly?

(When I boot Linux Mint from USB I get a green flash screen with Automatic boot in 8 seconds...)

 

i format the USB in step 4 using the creator...

 

I'm having terrible luck getting a decent Windows environment on USB to boot. I'm going to build the UBCD4WIN and see how that one works off of USB.

Which Service Pack is your XP CD?

Consider turning on your private messaging in your User Control Panel.

 

see i cant get to User Control Panel or anything on the lenovo only quick start.my x p is sp3