Experts, please help! Desperately asking for help!!! - China DOS Union Forum

I'm helping a friend repair a machine. His machine is a Pentium 75HZ, 16M RAM, 540M hard disk, with Win98 installed. I took his hard disk and connected it to my machine to copy some files, (my machine is a P3 with a 20G hard disk) but after putting it back, his machine no longer recognizes this hard disk. It can be detected in CMOS, but it can't enter Win98, and gives the message "No system disk, please insert system disk, press any key". I inserted a WINME boot disk, and it can boot, but it can't find drive C. Also, on my machine it can enter the system normally. What kind of fault is this, and how should I fix it? If it's a CMOS setting error, how should I change it? (I once restored the CMOS)
And this guy is my boss! Experts, please give me lots of advice!! I would be deeply grateful!!!

That's backwards — you use a P3 yourself, but your boss only uses a P75MHZ, what kind of world is this??
The problem should be in the hard disk working mode. Change them one by one and try it!!

Could it be a hard disk jumper problem?

Are you kidding! 16M RAM can install 98?

Use PartitionMagic to take a look and see whether the partition format has turned into a special format like FAT12. If so, change it to FAT16, then transfer the system again, FDISK/mbr; if that doesn't work, try using DISKGEN to rebuild the partition table, then transfer the system again and write the boot record.

1、sys c:
2、Check whether the C partition on that small hard disk is still active. If not, then active it
3、Did you set the jumper on the small hard disk wrong? Check carefully

I did touch the jumper, but I shouldn't have plugged it in wrong! I put it back in the original position!

The following is quoted from gxdxlh's post at 2003-6-11 8:08:42:
Use PartitionMagic to take a look and see whether the partition format has turned into a special format like FAT12. If so, change it to FAT16, then transfer the system again, FDISK/mbr; if that doesn't work, try using DISKGEN to rebuild the partition table, then transfer the system again and write the boot record.

Man, but I don't know how to use PartitionMagic! And this software can't run on that lousy machine either. Also, what do you mean by "transfer the system again"? Can it be done under DOS with a boot disk?

The following is quoted from 冰水遥's post at 2003-6-10 22:28:05:
That's backwards — you use a P3 yourself, but your boss only uses a P75MHZ, what kind of world is this??
The problem should be in the hard disk working mode. Change them one by one and try it!!

Are the hard disk working modes LAB, NORMAL, and LARGE? But I've tried them all, and it didn't help!

The following is quoted from 龙卷风's post at 2003-6-11 10:41:52:
1、sys c:
2、Check whether the C partition on that small hard disk is still active. If not, then active it
3、Did you set the jumper on the small hard disk wrong? Check carefully

Brother, your suggestion sounds very reasonable, but I really didn't understand any of it. Could you give me a more detailed explanation!! Thanks!
1、What does sys c: mean? Where do I run or type it?
2、That small hard disk only has drive C. How do I see whether it can be active? (It can run normally on my own computer.) If it can't, how do I active it?
3、How do I determine whether the jumper is correct? What does the correct jumper setting look like?

The following is quoted from ljk_huan's post at 2003-6-11 7:13:05:
Are you kidding! 16M RAM can install 98?

Brother, I don't want to install 98 for him either! But right now I really can't find 95 or any smaller system. Do you have any good suggestions?

The following is quoted from 天骄's post at 2003-6-10 22:04:41:
I'm helping a friend repair a machine. His machine is a Pentium 75HZ, 16M RAM, 540M hard disk, with Win98 installed. I took his hard disk and connected it to my machine to copy some files, (my machine is a P3 with a 20G hard disk) but after putting it back, his machine no longer recognizes this hard disk. It can be detected in CMOS, but it can't enter Win98, and gives the message "No system disk, please insert system disk, press any key". I inserted a WINME boot disk, and it can boot, but it can't find drive C. Also, on my machine it can enter the system normally. What kind of fault is this, and how should I fix it? If it's a CMOS setting error, how should I change it? (I once restored the CMOS)
And this guy is my boss! Experts, please give me lots of advice!! I would be deeply grateful!!!

The following is quoted from 天骄's post at 2003-6-11 13:55:52:

The following is quoted from 冰水遥's post at 2003-6-1022:28:05:
That's backwards — you use a P3 yourself, but your boss only uses a P75MHZ, what kind of world is this??
The problem should be in the hard disk working mode. Change them one by one and try it!!

Are the hard disk working modes LAB, NORMAL, and LARGE? But I've tried them all, and it didn't help!

Since your computer is a 586 or above (nonsense), when the 540M hard disk is installed on it, the computer will automatically use LBA mode for the hard disk, while your boss's computer's default mode is NORMAL, so you just need to change NORMAL to LBA in CMOS.
If your boss's machine has only this one hard disk and no CD-ROM drive, then there's no need to worry about hard disk jumper issues!!
Try it again~~
Since it can boot normally on your computer, then it should have nothing to do with the steps in post #5 and post #6!
If your boss's computer has a CD-ROM drive, first remove it and connect only the hard disk to have a look! That way you won't need to worry about jumper issues!
Another possibility is that the CMOS battery on your boss's motherboard just happened to die, so it can't keep the hard disk parameters, causing you to have to reset it every time you boot. Just replace the battery!

I suspect the hard disk boot sector was modified. Is there any way to rewrite the boot sector without damaging the data inside the hard disk?

Boot the computer with a floppy disk that has FDISK on it, then at A：\> enter FDISK/MBR, but the kind of situation you described should have nothing to do with the hard disk boot sector being modified.

1、What does sys c: mean? Where do I run or type it?
2、That small hard disk only has drive C. How do I see whether it can be active? (It can run normally on my own computer.) If it can't, how do I active it?
3、How do I determine whether the jumper is correct? What does the correct jumper setting look like?

You don't even know this sys stuff? Recreate the partition on the original machine. Copy over a 95 and install it on the original machine.

Floor1　天骄	Posted 2003-06-10 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
I'm helping a friend repair a machine. His machine is a Pentium 75HZ, 16M RAM, 540M hard disk, with Win98 installed. I took his hard disk and connected it to my machine to copy some files, (my machine is a P3 with a 20G hard disk) but after putting it back, his machine no longer recognizes this hard disk. It can be detected in CMOS, but it can't enter Win98, and gives the message "No system disk, please insert system disk, press any key". I inserted a WINME boot disk, and it can boot, but it can't find drive C. Also, on my machine it can enter the system normally. What kind of fault is this, and how should I fix it? If it's a CMOS setting error, how should I change it? (I once restored the CMOS) And this guy is my boss! Experts, please give me lots of advice!! I would be deeply grateful!!!

Floor2　冰水遥	Posted 2003-06-10 00:00
高级用户　Posts 118　Credits 524
That's backwards — you use a P3 yourself, but your boss only uses a P75MHZ, what kind of world is this?? The problem should be in the hard disk working mode. Change them one by one and try it!!

Floor3　幻虫	Posted 2003-06-10 00:00
中级用户　Posts 31　Credits 226
Could it be a hard disk jumper problem?

Floor4　ljk_huan	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 3　Credits 106
Are you kidding! 16M RAM can install 98?

Floor5　GXDXLH	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 6　Credits 120
Use PartitionMagic to take a look and see whether the partition format has turned into a special format like FAT12. If so, change it to FAT16, then transfer the system again, FDISK/mbr; if that doesn't work, try using DISKGEN to rebuild the partition table, then transfer the system again and write the boot record.

Floor6　龙卷风	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 28　Credits 198
1、sys c: 2、Check whether the C partition on that small hard disk is still active. If not, then active it 3、Did you set the jumper on the small hard disk wrong? Check carefully

Floor7　天骄	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
I did touch the jumper, but I shouldn't have plugged it in wrong! I put it back in the original position!

Floor8　天骄	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
*The following is quoted from gxdxlh's post at 2003-6-11 8:08:42:* Use PartitionMagic to take a look and see whether the partition format has turned into a special format like FAT12. If so, change it to FAT16, then transfer the system again, FDISK/mbr; if that doesn't work, try using DISKGEN to rebuild the partition table, then transfer the system again and write the boot record. Man, but I don't know how to use PartitionMagic! And this software can't run on that lousy machine either. Also, what do you mean by "transfer the system again"? Can it be done under DOS with a boot disk?

Floor9　天骄	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
*The following is quoted from 冰水遥's post at 2003-6-10 22:28:05:* That's backwards — you use a P3 yourself, but your boss only uses a P75MHZ, what kind of world is this?? The problem should be in the hard disk working mode. Change them one by one and try it!! Are the hard disk working modes LAB, NORMAL, and LARGE? But I've tried them all, and it didn't help!

Floor10　天骄	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
*The following is quoted from 龙卷风's post at 2003-6-11 10:41:52:* 1、sys c: 2、Check whether the C partition on that small hard disk is still active. If not, then active it 3、Did you set the jumper on the small hard disk wrong? Check carefully Brother, your suggestion sounds very reasonable, but I really didn't understand any of it. Could you give me a more detailed explanation!! Thanks! 1、What does sys c: mean? Where do I run or type it? 2、That small hard disk only has drive C. How do I see whether it can be active? (It can run normally on my own computer.) If it can't, how do I active it? 3、How do I determine whether the jumper is correct? What does the correct jumper setting look like?

Floor11　天骄	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
*The following is quoted from ljk_huan's post at 2003-6-11 7:13:05:* Are you kidding! 16M RAM can install 98? Brother, I don't want to install 98 for him either! But right now I really can't find 95 or any smaller system. Do you have any good suggestions?

Floor12　冰水遥	Posted 2003-06-11 00:00
高级用户　Posts 118　Credits 524
The following is quoted from 天骄's post at 2003-6-10 22:04:41: I'm helping a friend repair a machine. His machine is a Pentium 75HZ, 16M RAM, 540M hard disk, with Win98 installed. I took his hard disk and connected it to my machine to copy some files, (my machine is a P3 with a 20G hard disk) but after putting it back, his machine no longer recognizes this hard disk. It can be detected in CMOS, but it can't enter Win98, and gives the message "No system disk, please insert system disk, press any key". I inserted a WINME boot disk, and it can boot, but it can't find drive C. Also, on my machine it can enter the system normally. What kind of fault is this, and how should I fix it? If it's a CMOS setting error, how should I change it? (I once restored the CMOS) And this guy is my boss! Experts, please give me lots of advice!! I would be deeply grateful!!! The following is quoted from 天骄's post at 2003-6-11 13:55:52: *The following is quoted from 冰水遥's post at 2003-6-1022:28:05:* That's backwards — you use a P3 yourself, but your boss only uses a P75MHZ, what kind of world is this?? The problem should be in the hard disk working mode. Change them one by one and try it!! Are the hard disk working modes LAB, NORMAL, and LARGE? But I've tried them all, and it didn't help! Since your computer is a 586 or above (nonsense), when the 540M hard disk is installed on it, the computer will automatically use LBA mode for the hard disk, while your boss's computer's default mode is NORMAL, so you just need to change NORMAL to LBA in CMOS. If your boss's machine has only this one hard disk and no CD-ROM drive, then there's no need to worry about hard disk jumper issues!! Try it again~~ Since it can boot normally on your computer, then it should have nothing to do with the steps in post #5 and post #6! If your boss's computer has a CD-ROM drive, first remove it and connect only the hard disk to have a look! That way you won't need to worry about jumper issues! Another possibility is that the CMOS battery on your boss's motherboard just happened to die, so it can't keep the hard disk parameters, causing you to have to reset it every time you boot. Just replace the battery!

Floor13　天骄	Posted 2003-06-13 00:00
初级用户　Posts 14　Credits 139
I suspect the hard disk boot sector was modified. Is there any way to rewrite the boot sector without damaging the data inside the hard disk?

Floor14　冰水遥	Posted 2003-06-14 00:00
高级用户　Posts 118　Credits 524
Boot the computer with a floppy disk that has FDISK on it, then at A：\> enter FDISK/MBR, but the kind of situation you described should have nothing to do with the hard disk boot sector being modified.

Floor15　如是大师	Posted 2003-06-14 00:00
元老会员　Posts 3,351　Credits 9,654　From 湖北
1、What does sys c: mean? Where do I run or type it? 2、That small hard disk only has drive C. How do I see whether it can be active? (It can run normally on my own computer.) If it can't, how do I active it? 3、How do I determine whether the jumper is correct? What does the correct jumper setting look like? You don't even know this sys stuff? Recreate the partition on the original machine. Copy over a 95 and install it on the original machine.