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Have i turned my Laptop into just a Box?

Discussion in 'PC hardware help' started by Kylebacon, Feb 15, 2009.

  1. Kylebacon

    Kylebacon Regular member

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    Hey there ive been trying to put a new OS on a laptop my friend gave me some years ago its a pretty old laptop and all back when they were like NEW and everything as it only had a 2 hour warranty so yer its years and years and years old anyways...

    So its got 128MB of Ram 5GB Hard Drive no graphics card was running Windows ME the battery in it is like useless(needed recharging within a min or less after being recharged up to 100%) so now doesn't have one and is pretty much a PC lol..and yeah was a tiny bit slow but i was thinking how much i liked Windows 98 better so i thought id put that on so i went to find the Shutdown in dos mode wasn't there and after stuffing around for a while I found something downloaded it and was able to get into dos and format all of C so after doing that i thought to myself yes ive finally formatted C now i can just install Windows 98 and everything will be cool...by god i was wrong..

    I have a Windows 98 Start up Disc with Windows 98 SE on a CD but my big massive problem is..there's no setup before Windows would load so there's like no BIOS to say yep boot up off the Floppy Drive or CD drive so all i get it...

    Invalid system disk
    Replace the disk, and then press any key

    So i put in Windows 98 Start up floppy into the floppy disk drive press a key it doesn't seem to read the floppy disk and gets the same error message last time i checked the floppy drive was working and functioning so i thought ill put in the Windows 98 SE Setup disc pressed a key still the same message..

    So i thought maybe i could try put the files that wer on the floppy disk onto a CD so i wasted 2 CD's trying that method because it looks like it wants to boot up off the CD drive even when there is no CD in there like the light flashes when it gives me that error message and stuff and the CD Drive is working i know as you can here it spin up and i had recently used it before formatting the Hard drive.

    So now i have no clue what i could do unless there's some button to get into the setup Del or delete doesn't work F1 doesn't work F8 doesn't work either it like doesn't even have a boot up screen bit where it checks how much memory you have and all that just a bit of a blank screen and then it would load Windows ME up and what makes it even more confusing is i know you can have other OS on it as i remember back when my friend had it and used it and everything he said that they had installed XP on it but was too slow (of course) so they went back to Windows ME.

    ive tried other windows 98 boot up disks but still no luck i really have no idea what i could do or haven't tried yet so i thought id ask here because chances are this is like nothing to someone out there lol

    But yer if its like ruined/ive killed it then yer ah well its pretty wrecked anyways and its no biggie was just going to use it from time to time and play some old games but yeah if anyone can help that would be great if not thanks for reading this long as question thingo lol
     
  2. dailun

    dailun Active member

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    Dare we even ask what the make/model of the laptop is?

    It might help one of us help you.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2009
  3. Kylebacon

    Kylebacon Regular member

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    Yeah sure its a Acer TravelMate 514T
     
  4. Kylebacon

    Kylebacon Regular member

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    Okay don't worry i found of if you press F2 it gets you into the setup i should be able to do it now i found out by trying to look for a place to download the boot disc for free and it gave me instructions on how to get the CD running so its pretty much the exact same thing i was looking for..

    Edit: turns out the floppy drive is stuffed..this will sound so stupid to some people but is it possible if i use a floppy drive (for a PC not a laptop) but still use it as in connect it to the laptop just its like an external floppy drive?
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2009
  5. dailun

    dailun Active member

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    You may as well forget about running anything newer than Windows 98SE.

    Specifications - Model 514T
    Part Number

    91.45C01.T05

    Processor / Speed

    Intel Celeron 466MHz
     
  6. Kylebacon

    Kylebacon Regular member

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    Yeah that's why i thought Windows 98 SE would be good for it not powerful at all lol

    Hm so im guessing a floppy drive that's meant for a PC doesn't have the same connections as a laptop floppy drive? because if i can just connect it with it not actually being inside the laptop just so i can install Windows and such then that would help me out alot but if i have to buy one then i just wont worry about it

    Its got a 3½-inch drive in it but it just doesn't work it seems so im hoping that a 3½-inch drive that's for a PC would work even though that might sound stupid i was just wondering if its possible? like not going to try put it in all i need to know is if i can connect it like uses the same connections and such? it would almost act like an external floppy drive..anyone know if that's possible?
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2009
  7. pernal

    pernal Regular member

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    @Kylebacon
    I would run Windows 2000 Professional. It not as pretty as ME; But runs smoother and faster.

    I have installed 2000 on many desktops and laptops that were made for 98 and ME. There are many businesses and hospitals still running 2000.

    Burn On,
    Russell
     
  8. dailun

    dailun Active member

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    Laptops typically had proprietary floppy drive interfaces until the advent of USB.

    Since you laptop doesn't support booting from a USB device you are probably going to need to find a bootable CD of Win98SE or Win2K

    Be advised that your laptop isn't even powerful enough to be a DVD player and with 128MB of RAM IMHO Windows 2K is a stretch.
     
    Last edited: Feb 15, 2009
  9. Kylebacon

    Kylebacon Regular member

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    well the way things are going i wont be booting up anything lol but yer thanks i think i have a Windows 2000 disc lying around somewhere thanks for the suggestion
     
  10. Kylebacon

    Kylebacon Regular member

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    yer nah it has a floppy drive 1 USB port and 1 CD drive so yer im hoping there's a bootable CD of Windows 98SE some where around here but yer i don't have spare laptop bits lying around and its sure as hell not worth wasting money i don't really have on parts that would help me out but yer thanks for the info
     

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