I really need this computer...please help! (Win98)

I've got a Win98SE machine that was working fine. We had a power outage. It's hooked up to a battery back up but it still abruptly powered off, i.e. not proper shut down.

About an hour later I rebooted and it loaded into Windows. I ran Scan Disk (minus surface scan). It founds errors and corrected them. I rebooted without a problem then checked out a couple websites and checked email, etc...about 45 minutes. It was still raining and windy so I decide to shut it down to avoid any spikes, outages, etc.

When I turned it on a couple hours later the Compaq logo loaded> Starting Windows 98> (autoran) Scan Disk. It found error after error. I had it fix all of them. And, if I remember correctly, there was an error message here that said that I'd need to run Scan Disc for Windows to repair an error that it couldn't. It may have been later. Then I exited...

"Invalid system disk. Replace the disk and press any key." Tried a few more times with the same error.

I put in the Win98 Start Up/ultimate boot disk..same error.

I put in the Win98 Setup Disk (x3). It loads. Does the system checks. Runs Scan Disk. Finds errors and repairs them and then tells me that I have to run Scan Disk in Windows to finish the install. Hmm? How do I do that if it won't load?

Apparently the A drive isn't working. I tried to load some repair utilities and it wouldn't load the programs. The really ODD thing here is that I'd type a:, c:, d:, or e: and it would show that I was in the directory but "dir" would only list the same set of files (on the Set up disk? screwy).

I have no idea where to go from here. I really need this computer so if anybody can walk me through this I'd REALLY appreciate it!

By the way, I'm writing this on my mom's computer so I'll check back as often as I can. She has a CD burner so I can download and burn ISO's if I need to.

Thanks!

 

It was always easier to reinstall earlier Windows than mess about repairing. Especially as they are less fault tolerant.

It is likely that your power failure has not only scrambled some Windows files but also the disk Master Boot Record and/or the Boot sector /FAT table.

The normal cure for this is a reformat. You may be able to recover using the drive manuacturers software. Look here

http://www.asci-red.net/tools.htm#hmt


What resources do you have and

 

Thank you!

I went to Compaq's website and downloaded "Drive Check Utility for Western Digital IDE Hard Drives." (http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...m=pv-40003-1&cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&product=93633)

My mom's got Nero 8 but I couldn't figure out how to make a bootable CD with it (the help file sucks), so I burned it anyway. I figured I could boot with 98 installation disk, get to a command prompt and run it but as I stated before it's not reading the drives properly.

Sorry, to be such a dummy here, but can you tell me from the link you gave me which utility I'd need and how to get it to run in this situation? Other manufactures have downloadable ISO's, which, I think are bootable, but WD didn't.

The system: Compaq Presario 5838 Desktop

 

Try here for a bootable CD image.

In Nero Smart Start try Nero Express>Image Project>Disc Image or Saved Project.

 

On the original error--are you sure you haven't left a floppy in A:\ ?

 

Older systems may not actually boot from CD, which was why Windows 98 had a boot floppy.

You need to start by confirming that the basic system is intact.
Boot to the BIOS and check that it properly recognises the hard drive and floppy.
Better remove the hard drive,
check / renew the coin cell battery and reset to defaults

Download a boot floppy from

www.bootdisk.com

and prove that you can boot the machine.

You did not say if you have a Windows 98 CD?

If you are able to connect your hard drive to the other computer as a slave then you can reformat it more easily there.
Copy any data that you want
Delete all existing partitions
create new partition to put W98 on and format it as FAT32

Now return the hard drive to your Compaq and see if the BIOS recognises it.

When you have done this W98 reinstall should proceed normally.

 

I just triple-checked and there's no floppy nor CD in either drive. I still get the invalid system disk error.

Thanks for the link and info, sach2...I'll get on that and see what happens.

By the way, Sorry, it took me so long to get back here. We lost power again. Apparently, there's a lot of interference (chewing squirrels & rain) in the line. I've tried to post this 3 times and the dsl drops off mid-post.

Ok, didn't know that. I've got 3 bootable floppies and tried all 3. I'll see if I can figure out why it's not seeing the A: drive...loose cable, etc.

My bad. I just don't know the proper names for things, yet. That's what I meant by, "Win98 Set Up" disk. By the way, that's the only disk that get's me anywhere. I boot with it and get to here:

"Start computer with CD Rom support" and it loads drivers then dumps to the A\: drive.

OR: "Load without CD..." and it immediately dumps to A\:.

If I try to install Windows I get all the errors I mentioned in the original post.

Side note: I haven't been able to get to a screen that allows me into the BIOS.

Thanks, much for all the info! I'll do the best I can. Just in case I run into some trouble, e.g.

getting my mom's system to recongnise my HD as a slave, I appreciate it if you'd keep an eye on the board for another "help" from me.

 

My dsl is hit-n-miss right now so I haven't been able to research/download, etc...hopefully, I can get this uploaded.

Anyway, did I just do something stupid?

I disconnected everything, put the computer on the kitchen table and I replaced the battery. Now, I get nothing on the monitor. It won't load the Windows 98 CD anymore, and I'm not even getting the flashing cursor in the upper left. I hooked it up to a different (known good) monitor and still nothing.

I've never really messed with the BIOS before. I thought if I replaced the battery I would need reconfigure it but it's not even loading that Compaq logo screen.

Why am I not getting anything now?

I'll wait and see if I get some instruction from you guys. I'd like to try a little more repair before trying to connect it as a slave on my mom's system.

Thanks, again!

 

Let's see. First of all hitting F10 immediately after starting the computer should get you to the BIOS screen.

When you say you are getting nothing on the monitor--are the fans running, do you have a power light on the front?

 

Thanks, sach2!

It's powering up the CD & the CD-RW drives. The psu & cpu fans are whiring and the power light is on. But nothing is happening on the monitor. I just checked to see if I unseated the video card when I replaced the battery. It's looks fine but I pressed down and whiggled it a bit anyway.

I hadn't tried F10 because I thought F2 got you into BIOS.

While I was replacing the battery I checked to see if the power cable and ribbon cable were connected to the floppy drive. They seemed to be fine but, again, pushed and whiggled to reseat them. But it's still not working...the light doesn't even come on when powering up.

 

Replacing the battery shouldn't have given you any trouble. Maybe, try removing the video card and connecting the monitor to the onboard video would be easiest to make sure the BIOS is working correctly. Compaq says F10 for pre 2002 and F1 for after 2002. I had a 5834 and it was always F10.

****
Your case is different than mine but my floppy drive ribbon cable always came loose at the back of the unit itself whenever I messed around with the CDROM drive above it.

 

Hi, sach2-

Boy, I'm feeling like knucklehead. I looked all over the motherboard, etc., I searched every page of my manuals. I downloaded two manuals from retrevo.com and I have no idea where the connection is to the onboard video.

Can I run something by you for analysis, because the logic just doesn't make sense to me?

In a nutshell: The system shut itself off during the power outage. Then I booted, it ran Scan Disk and loaded Windows. I ran an email client and web browser for about 45 minutes. Then I properly shut it down to avoid any problems during the storm.

Then on the next boot is when all the problems occured and apparently has caused some sort of cascading failures. That just doesn't make sense to me.

If the boot sector was damaged during the outage how did it boot after that? I mention it, in part, to see if it might spark an idea, like maybe we're missing something very simple, i.e. looking too deep.


Anyway, if you can tell me how to connect the monitor to the onboard video I'll test that. Thanks!

 

Just a minor update: As mentioned nothing is displaying on monitor. I thought I'd try Ctrl-Alt-Del to see if it would reboot. It didn't (the CD & CD-RW drives didn't reinitiate). So, it's not seeing the keyboard either?

Anyway, I thought I'd throw that out there. I think both things point to the BIOS, but I don't know for sure.

 

Sorry, just saw the specs for your PC you don't have onboard video.

Yes, the original problem could be caused by a failing HD. Any file at any time could be corrupted causing start up problems. So the plan was to fully check your HD for errors by running the manufacturer's disk. The display problem has made that impossible for now.

A loose connection on the monitor or graphics card would make the most sense since nothing was changed except moving the PC to the table. Because everything is getting power I would think the BIOS is loading but you can't see it. Try these instructions that are written for a blank screen. Be sure to wait the 5 seconds since you won't be able to see the screens. I would use the F10 key to initiate since all Compaqs I have seen use this key.

 

Do you have a steady light on keyboard? Hit Caps Lock to check for power. If you are using a USB KB switch to a PS/2(round plug). You have to restart the computer to get a different KB recognized.

 

Negative on the steady light. All 3 lights briefly light when I first power on, but nothing after that. Caps Lock does nothing.

I swapped keyboards with mom's computer and it's working fine there.

It's a PS/2 plug and I'm restarting the computer for every test.

I tried the "Blank Screen" instructions anyway...nothing.

I'll re-re-seat the graphics card. The video cable has the "bolts" (don't know what to call them) and they are snugged-up, not overly tight. Is there something else I need to double-check here?

 

I would try and clear the CMOS which will load defaults. I can't find a manual for your model. The pins should be close to the battery and marked although hard to read.

This link gives a basic pic of what jumpers look like (small rectangular piece of plastic that are used to connect two pins).

 

sach2, I just want to say that I really appreciate the extra effort!

I powered off, unplugged and switched the jumpers, waited about 4 minutes (got a phone call) and switched back. Still only getting the 3 lights briefly lighting (keyboard) when powering on and nothing on the monitor.

If it makes any difference I did miss with the jumper the on the 1st try. I only caught pin3. I immediately pulled it off and caught both 2 & 3 (for 4 minutes).

Side note (clue?): the power light comes on and stays on. The HD indicator comes on for 30 seconds and then goes out.

 

I'm really at a loss here. Clearing CMOS should have given you a keyboard. Still no caps lock? Maybe, try unplugging the power cord to the HD and restarting would force CMOS to see that the configuration had changed?

*******
If you put a disc in A:\ do you get any sounds? I'm trying to see if a CMOS flash is a possibility.

I'm beginning to think it could be a motherboard problem.

 

Correct. Still no caps lock.

OK. I unplugged it and tried booting twice. The HD light never goes out (I assumed it wasn't going to come on). It was staying on for 30 secs.

Negative. No light. No vibration. Nada. It's acting like it's not getting power, but I don't see any place where the power cable(s) are disconnected or loose. I'll put it back on the kitchen table where the light is better and check again.

A friend has an old floppy drive that was a working pull, but she's not sure if it works now or not. I'm not sure if will physically mount up in the Compaq case or not. Compaq's floppy doesn't have a face plate and its' eject button is about 3 times longer than "standard."

I'll try swapping those out. If you think that's a bad idea at this point, please, let me know.

 

I tried swapping out the floppies but they're incompatible. The Compaq has one fewer pin, maybe two.

I reconnected everything, powered up: no floppy, no keyboard, etc.

 

When you cleared the CMOS you had it unplugged but left the battery in right? The battery would have to be in for the jumper change to register. I'm just checking.

 

Yes, the battery was in.

It's looking like it's just toast, aye?

 

Yes, I would say the BIOS defaults don't match your video card type except that wouldn't explain the lack of keyboard. You could try unplugging it, removing the battery and plugging back in without the battery. Shouldn't make any difference but it's all I can think of at the moment.

 

Double check your keyboard plug to make sure you haven't bent a pin. I'm thinking that some BIOS's will halt startup if no keyboard is found and because your video is a card rather than onboard that the video isn't being loaded because the keyboard isn't detected.

 

I pulled the battery and rebooted...no change.

Then unplugged and reinstalled the battery rebooted...no change.

Then unplugged and recleared the CMOS. Rebooted...no change.

I guess this system is history.

I'll be out of a computer for a while but, that's the way it goes sometimes.

If you think of something else I can try, please, post it.

Again, thank you very much for your help!!

 

Whoops. A little hasty in my last post. I checked the pins. They look good.

I tried my mom's keyboard...still dead.

The only thing I can think of, which is highly unlikley, is the new battery is defective.