MSDOS is all thats left please help

  i have a compaq desktop 5000 that has been emptied out it seems.. i have no operating system in at at present... i can boot up with a MSDOS boot disk but thats as far as i get.. i tried adding 95BOOT to the disc, and if i run dir, it shows up, but i cant get it to do anything....how can i reinstall an operating system with only a msdos system, and no cdrom drive...i can make any boot disk it seems but cant get them to work.. please help

[Moderator]

More info is needed to proceed further...
What OS are you trying to install ? ?
Are you saying there is no CDRom drive in that machine or that it's not showing up when you use a bootdisk ? ?
What is 95Boot ? ?

patio.  8-)

i put a new CDROM in a few weeks ago, and the computor doesnt see it.. i get DEVICE DRIVER NOT FOUND

[Moderator]

There were a few other questions...

the cdrom driver is not being recognized.. i have making several boot disk install systems that contain a cd driver, however my computor will not read the disk.. it says "remove disk or other media".... when i boot with the original start up disk (windowsME) it no longer lets me begin the installation,...when i get the A: prompt it, it will let me get to C:>, however at that point if i enter CD:windows\options\cabs, as i was instructed, it says "invalid media type reading C"....im sorry to be so stupid i am ready to give up... i have had expert advice but i am missing a beat somewhere... i also have an Active Partition that is C: MSDOS it does list system 32, usage 100%, one more thing it has done is say "diagnostic tools sucessfully loaded to D"...im sorry about not understanding how to use quote on here....

[Moderator]

It sounds like your bootdisks aren't working correctly...
Travel to bootdisk.com and DLoad a winME bootdisk with CDRom support and boot to that...
At the A: prompt type D: and hit Enter...
At the D: prompt type dir /p and hit Enter...
If it shows the contents of the Win CD you are using just type setup and hit Enter...
If it doesn't just keep doing th same thing for each letter of the alphabet.

"diagnostic tools sucessfully loaded to D"

This indicates that you successfully booted from a floppy. Did you select the option on boot up to boot with CDrom support? If you did, the CDrom is probably drive E:. Insert your installation CD and, at the A:> prompt, type e:\setup.

i will try that, (again)... when you say "boot to that", do you mean boot with the DOS disk or the old startup disk, and then put in the new disc? because those 2 discs are the only ones i can boot with, i have made several boot disks from boot disk.com including the one you mention, but i will try it again.. thank you

"diagnostic tools sucessfully loaded to D"

This indicates that you successfully booted from a floppy. Did you select the option on boot up to boot with CDrom support? If you did, the CDrom is probably drive E:. Insert your installation CD and, at the A:> prompt, type e:\setup.

this doesnt work.. i did try it again but it said invalid path.. the computor does not see the cdrom.

[Moderator]

Pitch the old floppy and use the one i suggested along with the good advice given above.

It sounds like your bootdisks aren't working correctly...
Travel to bootdisk.com and DLoad a winME bootdisk with CDRom support and boot to that...
At the A: prompt type D: and hit Enter...
At the D: prompt type dir /p and hit Enter...
If it shows the contents of the Win CD you are using just type setup and hit Enter...
If it doesn't just keep doing th same thing for each letter of the alphabet.

i did exactly as you said, and it did show me a list.. at the top it says "Volume in drive D is MS-RAMDRIVE, then directory of D:\....then the list starting with ATTRIB and ending with SYS... however, at the D:\> when i type setup it says Bad command or filename.....    

[Moderator]

Good. Then type E: at the A: prompt and type in setup and hit Enter...this should start the install process providing this is a good Win install CD...

Good. Then type E: at the A: prompt and type in setup and hit Enter...this should start the install process providing this is a good Win install CD...

i appreciate your help sooo much, however this doesnt work.. it still says Invalid path .... also, i had to boot up with the old startup disk and then put in the winME disk... when starting up it did say "No cdrom driver selected"... is there any hope for this ?  

i appreciate your help sooo much, however this doesnt work.. it still says Invalid path .... also, i had to boot up with the old startup disk

Had to?  ?      why?

and then put in the winME disk... when starting up it did say "No cdrom driver selected"... is there any hope for this ?  

The probable reason that patio said above, "Pitch the old floppy and use the one i suggested along with the good advice given above."
is because whatever you are booting with - you call it "old startup disk" -  is an unknown.    
We don't know if it has the driver and proper set up for that driver on it.
That's the reason these folks are telling you to go to bootdisk.com and download what you need there.     That way, they know what you are working with.    For example : See above...  you were asked if you selected the option to boot with CD-ROM support.....  you haven't addressed that question yet.    If you don't understand something like that when asked -   quote it and ask for some more explanation.


If you don't know, or cannot find, what you need at bootdisk.com,  to make a proper boot floppy disk, with CD rom support -    then describe your problem with doing that,  and we will try to guide you.

If you keep using some old disk that nobody knows just what is on it,  it is frustrating not only to you, but to those advising you here.

And,  I'm glad to see you started a thread here, instead of the PMs to me.   This way you don't have to wait for just me to reply.

Hang in there.... don't get frustrated.    The key is to understand and do exactly what you are told.   Else.... it is wheel spinning and non-productive.

Review this thread, carefully.   If there is some part of it you don't understand,  that's ok.   Just specifically say so, and we'll try to explain.

i appreciate your help sooo much, however this doesnt work.. it still says Invalid path .... also, i had to boot up with the old startup disk

Had to?  ?      why?

and then put in the winME disk... when starting up it did say "No cdrom driver selected"... is there any hope for this ?  

The probable reason that patio said above, "Pitch the old floppy and use the one i suggested along with the good advice given above."
is because whatever you are booting with - you call it "old startup disk" -  is an unknown.    
We don't know if it has the driver and proper set up for that driver on it.
That's the reason these folks are telling you to go to bootdisk.com and download what you need there.     That way, they know what you are working with.    For example : See above...  you were asked if you selected the option to boot with CD-ROM support.....  you haven't addressed that question yet.    If you don't understand something like that when asked -   quote it and ask for some more explanation.


If you don't know, or cannot find, what you need there,  to make a proper boot floppy disk, with CD rom support -    then describe your problem with doing that,  and we will try to guide you.

If you keep using some old disk that nobody knows just what is on it,  it is frustrating not only to you, but to those advising you here.

And,  I'm glad to see you started a thread here, instead of the PMs to me.   This way you don't have to wait for just me to reply.

Hang in there.... don't get frustrated.    The key is to understand and do exactly what you are told.   Else.... it is wheel spinning and non-productive.

Review this thread, carefully.   If there is some part of it you don't understand,  that's ok.   Just specifically say so, and we'll try to explain.

the "old" boot disk i refer to is one that was made from the computor i am trying to fix BEFORE i lost the operating system.. it is windowsME...it doesnt work to the point where it will install but it will boot me up to the A: prompt... as will another disc i made from my acer windowxp.. a MSDOS startup disk... these are the only boot disks that will get me anywhere at all and then i get stuck at the A: prompt... the boot disks i have been told to download from bootdisk so far none have worked. i am downloading them to C drive first (on a working computor) and then sending them to a floppy.. when i try to boot with these, i get "remove disk and press any key"...if i boot with the "old" startup disk i can then put in another floppy and A: dir /p and it will list the files on the floppy but dont know where to go from there... if at A:> i type E:setup, it tells me invalid path. it seems hopeless. .... thank you so much for trying to help, i dont want to give up, but nothing is working