i have got a compaq presario 5204 computer from a friend that is comming up with a non-system disk or disk error, replace and strike any key when ready. the computer was running windows 200 pro. i believe that i need to reinstall the os. do you think this is the case of what needs to be done to get it back up and running again? also what key do i hit to get into the bios on the compaq? thanks for your help
this is off the hp site for that computer. "When the color screen with the logo appears, press the F1 key on the keyboard until Entering SETUP is displayed. (You only have a few seconds to press the F1 key before the normal startup process continues.) Wait until the BIOS setup program opens." do that & see if the bios sees the drive. read this link about system recovery. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...o 5204 &product=93134&dest_page=solveCategory
ok ddp i tried that and it ain't work. heres what happens when i turned the computer on i get the compaq logo screen then i hi the f1 key and it just sits there but if i stop pressing the f1 key then it goes right to the screen with the error message.
go into the computer & disconnect the data cable to the drive than see if can get into the bios alright. if can get into bios alright than problem is with drive. reseat the data cable & try another cable to eliminate cable problem. try hd on another pc but not as c:drive to see if can be seen by that computer's bios.
