no operating system message

I have a gateway pentium 4 with Windows ME, a few days ago when I powered on the screen was completely black and I got a message saying "no operating system found". When I tried to use the recovery disks to reinstall windows I get a "critical error" message and it ejects the disk. Then it goes black again with the message "Invalid boot Diskette. Insert Boot diskette in A:" My A drive has not been working for a long time. Is there anything I can do? Thanks for any help or advice.

 

It may be possible to get ME back up and running again if you wish to, but that will depend on what you find after investigating the system.

First, check that BIOS is recognising the hard drive:
Press the ON button and start tapping the "Delete" key, and keep tapping ..... until .... if all goes well, you should arrive at the BIOS setup page. (You will need to use the arrow keys to navigate and the Enter key to select and the Escape key to go back.) Either on the first page or maybe the second, you should see reference to the hard drive (HDD) ... and next to that you will see either "none" or the make and/or model and size reference numbers of your hard drive. While in BIOS, I would like you to look for 'Boot order" or Boot Sequence" and note the order of the items listed, which could be something like: first floppy, second CD, third HDD. (When you have finished, navigate to the last page and highlight Exit without saving and hit the Enter key, type y, for yes, and hit Enter again and then hold the ON/OFF button down for >5 seconds to turn your computer off.)

So, check that out first to confirm that BIOS is actually "seeing" your hard drive. Please post back with full details of what you have done/what you seen, or any problems you may have.

Your floppy drive does not work, but you have your ME installation setup on floppy disks. Please confirm that is correct.

Do you have an optical drive (CD/DVD) installed and does it work? Do you have a USB port available for use?

Please detail any and all issues you might have been having with the ME operating system/your computer before it finally stopped working. Please post back in this same thread.

 

I did what you told me and I got the Bios setup utility screen: on the main page there is a description of processor type, speed, cache RAM, and Memory.On the second page (ADVANCED) there is a setup warning, then it says " Extended configuraton (not used)" then a list of Boot configuration:
-Peripheral configuration
-IDE configuration
-Diskette configuration
-Event Log configuration
Video configuration
I don't see mention of HDD on either of these pages.
On the 4th page (POWER):
ACPI Suspend State (SI State)
Power Management (Disabled)
HARD DRIVE (ENABLED)

The 5th page (BOOT):
1st. Boot Device (ATAPI CDROM)
2nd Boot Device (FLOPPY)
3rd Boot Device (IDE_HDD)
4th Boot Device (Disabled)

IDE Drive Configuration
Keyboard Detected Warning (Enabled)
Mouse Detected Warning (Disabled)
Foppy Detected Warning (enabled)
CD/DVD Detected Warning (Enabled)
Hard Drive Detect.Warning ( Disabled)
SMART for Hard Disks (Enabled)

My floppy has never worked and my Me instalation is on cd.
my CD/DVD drives are working, I think my Me instalation CD is corrupted, I do have the USB drive working because the mouse I used is USB and it works when I tried to recover Windows with a Recovery CD I bought. This did not work however because it told me I have no operating system, or no Windows to recover. When I tried to reinstall Windows with my original System Restoration CD thats when I get the CRITICAL ERROR message and it ejects the CD. I started to wonder if my Hard Drive is damaged or gone completely... or should I get a new operating system CD and try reinstaling Windows? All this happened overnight, my computer was working just fine although it is a little old. I suspect some type of virus through downloads on an USB flash drive I was using - I threw it out after destroying it, too late I guess...
Thanks for all the help you can give me!

 

From the above, we can see that the CD-ROM will boot before your hard drive (3rd Boot Device (IDE_HDD)). That is what I wanted to see. Good, thank you.
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I think you should change this setting "Hard Drive Detect.Warning ( Disabled)" while you are in BIOS. Highlight it, and using the PageUp/PageDown keys change it to Enabled.
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Unfortunately, I can not tell you what "there is a setup warning, then it says " Extended configuraton (not used)"" means, but I don't like the sound of it. Please try to work out what it means and what alternatives are available.

I have to guess here: Highlight "IDE configuration" and press the Enter key.
This should then display your HDD (Hard drives) if present and detected.
(Another guess, is that you have already done this and presented the displayed information in your last post???)

Somewhere in page 1 or 2 of BIOS you will see "IDE" or "HDD" .... you may have to highlight it and press Enter key to see the info .... ? Please keep trying.

Please post with info on the BIOS Make/version, so I can google it and check out what you might be looking at .... and then I might be able to guide you more accurately.

If you have changed a setting as I suggested above, you will need to save that change .... so when you are ready to exit BIOS, select the option to "Save changes and exit".

Let us know what you see.

Thank you for supplying the info that I requested.

 

Please provide me with full details of both of these CDs.

What is this "Recovery CD"?

By "original System Restoration CD" ... is this what it actually is .. provided by the manufacturer of your computer system (brand name?)? ... or is it a full Windows ME installation disk?

 

Thank you for continued advice. I went back to the BIOS and changed the "Hard Drive Detect Warning" to ENABLED. Also when I go to the page IDE CONFIGURATION, this is what it looks like:
IDE Controller (BOTH)
Hard Disk Pre-Delay (DISABLED)
-Primary IDE Master (Not Installed)
-Primary IDE Slave (Not Installed)
-Secondary IDE Master (MATSHITADVD-ROM SR-8)
-Secondary IDE Slave (LG CD-RW CED-8120B )

When I exited this time after saving changes I now get the following message: THE HARDDRIVE WAS NOT FOUND. CONSULT THE TROUBLESHOOTING SECTION OF YOUR USER'S MANUEL IF PROBLEM CONTINUES.

I guess that means I have no harddrive, Is there anything I can do besides getting a new computer? Thank you very much for all your help.

 

Right! That pinpoints the source of the problem: BIOS is not seeing the attached hard drive (HDD) for some reason.

***Ensure that the power to the computer is OFF***

Take the cover/side off the box. Locate the hard drive. Now check that the data cable is fully and firmly inserted in both the HDD and the motherboard (mobo). Give them a good wriggle ... pull the cable out a little/push it back in. Similarly check the power lead plug in the HDD.

Now, turn the power back on and check in BIOS again, to see whether the HDD is now recogised.
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Please post with info on the BIOS Make/version, so I can google it and check out what you might be looking at .... and then I might be able to guide you more accurately.
This info will be seen at the top of the screen when you enter the BIOS setup menu.
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Please provide me with full details of both of these CDs.

What is this "Recovery CD"?

By "original System Restoration CD" ... is this what it actually is .. provided by the manufacturer of your computer system (brand name?)? ... or is it a full Windows ME installation disk?

 

I followed your instructions, opened the box and checked the connections of HDD and motherboard, all seems to be firmly connected. I went back to the Bios setup and the IDE configuration still reads as follows:
Primary IDE master (Not installed)
Primary IDE Slave (Not installed)
when I exit Bios setup I get the message that the harddrive was not found.
The Bios version: GB85010A.15A.0017.P06
the recovery cd that I mentioned before is a windows recovery that I bought at spotmau.com. The original System Restoration CD is the one provided by gateway when I bought the computer, it is not a full Windows installation disk.

Thanks again for your help.

 

Well, we have certainly ascertained the location of the problem .... but what is the exact cause? How can we test for where the problem lies?

Suggested possible causes:
1. Bad connection .... unplug/reconnect
2. Faulty hard drive .... try connecting the hard drive to another computer
3. Faulty IDE cable .... try connecting with another cable
4. Faulty mobo (motherboard) .... arrive at this conclusion if the hdd test ok and the cable tests ok

***Important: The power connection is just as important ie. the 4 wire cable and plug. If this is not connected properly and there is no power available, then BIOS will not see the hard drive. So, pull this plug, and then reconnect it firmly.

I would definitely give the existing cable connections a good shake-up, unplug and then reconnect them again as the first step.

***Can you remove the hard drive from the box and connect it to another computer as a secondary drive .... to see whether it works or not in that situation? That is relatively easy to do and probably one of the first things I would do.

***Can you connect the hard drive with another plug on the same IDE (flat - 40 or 80 wire) cable?

***Can you connect the hard drive with another IDE cable already in the box? For example, remove the cable from the CD-ROM drive and connect it to the hard drive.

Try these options if you can.
If you can't do it by yourself, then you may have to organise some assistance, at this stage.