wiped c drive how to get new os to load

compaq 550 128mb ram xp serv pak2 20 gig hd i had a 256 stick of ram installed at shop, tried to load xp in (98se already in) and then format c drive but not compatible ram stick. did not know this at time so i wiped c drive from dos prompt without boot disk in drive a. now can not get xp to finish load , it stops and says no hard drive present, how do i get c drive to be seen as i am missing some of the vital info needed after wiping without using proper boot disk

 

Double check you connections on your drive. Is it plugged in is probably the simplest yet most effective questions to ask yourself whenever you have a problem. (and makes you feel the most like an idiot to! )

Hope it helps.

 

Have you actually formatted the hard drive or is it just wiped clean? I downloaded a freebie called Killdisk to wipe everything clean, but then you must format it again before it's usable.

 

ok...first off, I'd do exactly what's already been recommended. Make sure that everything is connected properly in the physical sense. (molex...IDE/SATA...{compaq you say....IDE...hehe} jumper settings (set to master) etc...)


From there i'd do two things...get the RIGHT stick of RAM, (I'm not totally sure if you replaced the 128 with the 256, or added to it, but if I were you i'd try and get around 512 in there. XP is not gonna run too well on that machine, and if it's a celeron like my crawling skin tells me it is...you're gonna want all the aces your deck can hold if ya know what I mean.

Second, I'd Re-Format the hard drive, in the windows installation, you can simply delete the partition and then ReFormat before you install. (make sure you don't select to Repair the current windows installation if you go this route) I prefer the OmegaWipe, as I call it, which is similar to what robocrap was talking about, but a WinXP setup format should do just fine in this situation.

If you run into any problems after this point, or have any questions, contact us via the post or some other form of communication.



-koadmunki

 

If your drive has important /vital data, try installing drive in another PC as slave to see if you can save any of it, if your wiped your drive as you said could be impossible or difficult?? More Details on Vital data?
When windows trys to install say no HDD present = not connected / setup properly or not formated/partitioned.
Had memory problems, is that solved?

What brand HDD do ya got, Utilities to format/partition/diagnos are avaible from HDD manufacture, for free, I think most are avaible here at MG.
The utility will recognize the HDD if it's connected to your PC properly, regardless if it's formated/partitioned or not.
Another way, you said you have 98se, do you have the 98 startup floppy? if so it contains FDisk, which can also be used to view hdd setup/delete partitions/creat parttitions/etc.

I'd opp for the manufactures utility it much simpler to use.

Upgrading to XP, Great.
The best way to install XP is complete freash install, using the NTFS file system, This can be done even if you have upgrade cd of XP, no need to install 98 first, complete format & good bye 98.