harddrive not being detected

[marybeth]

ok heres my new problem,I had to format computer and reinstall windows, everything was going good except the puter would not detect mouse, so opened puer and checked to make sure there was a good connection and attempted to start computer again,but i accidently pushed f8. then the computer said something like fdd not conf. or something like that then it said put in bootdisk and press any button to continue, well it would read it so i shut down the computer and put in back on and now i just have a black screen. can anyone help. thanks in advance    marybeth

[Raptor]

Why did you open your computer case to see if your mouse is properly connected? That does not make sense.

Can you boot and press F8 again to see what the computer says?

[marybeth]

opened case on computer cause the connection in back seemed kind of loose so i thought i would look at it to see if connection was ok. stupid me couldnt leave well enought alone.
I tried starting computer again and pushing f8 again but nothing. its still black. does that mean my harddrive is shot? any help is greatly appreciated
                  marybeth

[Raptor]

What did you touch inside the computer case?

I suggest you check the cables.

If that is done, and everything turns out alright, you could perhaps try to reset your BIOS.

[Noblecon]

check the jumper settings on the hard drive

[marybeth]

i didnt touch anything in computer except where mouse plugs into back to see if loose connection, all cables seem to be fine, can you tell me how to reset bios, and how to check jummper starter on dard drive. thanks again.

[Raptor]

If you did not touch the hard drive, and you have not installed new ones there is no need to see if the jumper is still in the correct position.

Loading Failsafe or standard defaults is what you can try without opening your case. Press delete at startup to enter the BIOS.

If this does not work, you can reset your BIOS by forcing it. (Be sure to degmagnetize your hands first and ALWAYS turn the power off)

However, unless someone else has a better suggestion I suggest you keep with loading failsafe and/or standard defaults.

Open the case take out the CMOS battery for 10 seconds and then place it back in. However, most mainboards also have a jumper that you can short circuit. I suggest you search the computer database before proceeding.

Here are some articles that you should considering reading before you take actions that are BIOS/CMOS related.

http://www.computerhope.com/help/cmos.htm

http://www.computerhope.com/help/bios.htm

[marybeth]

i tried to delete at begining but no luck and also after i left the blank screen on for about 2 or 3 minutes i get 2 very quick beeps and a very short pause then 2 more quick beats. all this takes place in less than 5 seconds. could this be a clue. i was reading other post and went to site about beeps but it doesnt have my symptoms or and remedy on it. i am now afraid to do anything like taking off the back to unplug cmos battery as i havent a clue what or where to find them.  thanks again
marybeth

[Raptor]

When you power on your computer, immediatly press the DELete button. Keep it pressed and you should eventually enter the BIOS (A blue screen)

[marybeth]

tried delete when powered up for long time but it still does nothing, but did realize there is 2very quick beeps a very short pause then 2 very quick beeps again. then nothing. i read about the beeps in other forums but nothing seems to tell me about these.

[Raptor]

You may want to try as I suggested. If you cannot even enter the BIOS, something is definitely wrong.

Either shortcircuit the jumper near the CMOS battery (I have never tried this, my mainboard does not have a jumper)

Or lift up (or remove) the CMOS battery for 10 seconds.

Articles that may be of use:

Definition of CMOS

How to replace the CMOS battery

I strongly suggest you first refer to this article: Perhaps it is not the delete button you have to press

How to enter the BIOS or CMOS setup

[merlin_2]

no mouse no hard drive no keyboard? is your graphics card seated properly?or is it faulty?what make is this pc?

[marybeth]

well i did have all these things but the mouse and it was working fine but no not anymore. the lights on keyboard and computer and monitor still light up just no visuals. i did and will again read and try what was in raptors suggestion, i guess i cant make things any worse. maybe a swift kick in the back would help. its a old computer one of the first ones i ever had, been handed down from kid to kid, i think its called colorado, well thanks for advice all, i really do apreciate it!
             marybeth

[Raptor]

Donot become careless. You *can* make matters worse if you damage your mainboard.

[marybeth]

ok thank you all i have gotton the computer working and showing the screen now but i think from all those pressing buttons when it wasnt working may have caused another problem. here goes when i turn on computer it starts booting upbut on first page of boot(I guess thats how id say that) it says invalid config. slot 3. is that my mouse slot?. then it says fdd control failure,(im assuming that is floppy disc drive). and then it goes to next page and that saysdrive not ready error insert boot diskette in A: then press any button to continue. i tried but its not reading the bootdisc. im assuming that is because of fdd control failure, so do you know what i would do next.  many many thanks. im glad i did not hastingly drop kick the computer. lol

[Raptor]

I suggest you set the Boot order in the BIOS to floppy first.

What is it exactly you have done in order to run into these problems?

[merlin_2]

what o/s and what pc is this >http://www.dictacomm.com/Trouble/control.htm   how is oldthis computer? and is it the same one with the audio/problems etc.......is it the win95 you were play with?

[marybeth]

first things first. the computer im having a harddrive problem is not the one with record problems. The one with hard drive problems is and old original computer. Im not even sure the make. it does say colorado on front of casing. It is sheer determination that keeps me trying on  that thing, but i am sure learning alot about what makes these computers tick. And thats a plus. (thanks to u guys). i am running win95 on it, until i encountere the black screen, while i was on black screen i was pushing buttons F1,F2,etc.. that the bios web page said to push and when i finally got screen to work(unplugged and reconnected with other monitor) it came up with this new problem on fdd. ok here goes this is exactly whats showing up now. 1st page of  bootup says:

rom bios 1990 american megatrends inc.
lasermaster corp.
invalid configuring slot 3
softwere port nmi inoperable
fail safe timer inoperable
then it says wait.  (Is this my whole bio page?)
then it goes to next screen and say:
system configuration and tells processor lm486, floppy drive 1.44 mb and so on then it says drive not ready error.please insert boot disc in A:  
but i tried putting boot disc in but in just keeps saying the same thing. ok any suggestions. back to feeling like giving up again
                                 

[marybeth]

ok hold on i think i have something here. i got to bios set up program ami bios set up and it looks like this.
standard cmos setup
advanced cmos set up
auto config with bios default
auto config with power on defaults
change password
hard disc utility
write to cmos and exit
do not write to cmos and exit

load bios setup default values for advanced cmos and advance cmos chipset set up
not sure what to do next, doess this info help? any clues? i did read all about bios but still not sure. i now realize this is probably my bio page. thank you

[Raptor]

I am not sure what you are saying, I suggest you load either the failsafe or the standard defaults in your BIOS.

[marybeth]

told you it was an oldy. im in bios setup program-advanced cmos set up now, and im trying to change floppy disc seek at boot from disabled. any clue how to on that one, as suggested previously.

[Raptor]

You are not being very clear.

What is it exactly you have done in the BIOS?

I recommend:

• Loading failsafe and/or standard defaults
  
• Setting your floppy drive as the first boot device.
  
• Check if your harddisks are set to properly
  

[marybeth]

ok im in bios now in advanced cmos setup. where it says floppy drive seek at boot: it is disabled. how do i change that to enabled? and how do i change the order of the sequence boot up from c:, A: to A:, C: as you previously suggested

[marybeth]

or what about this. Couldnt i make a boot up disc on to cd from my floppy boot disc on my good computer, then use that to boot up crappy computer?

[Raptor]

I never tried copying the contents of a boot disk onto a CD-ROM. To be honest, I barely have used any bootdisks.

If your floppy drive seek at boot is set to disabeled, you should be able to enable it by pressing enter and selecting 'enable' or whatever other option there is.

However, I am not entirely sure wheter this is the option you are looking for. You can try, you can also set it back if it doesn't work.

[merlin_2]

do has raptor has said set up defaults option hit the f6 key in the bios save and exit>http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=cache:HaCiD5k_I0wJ:www.soltek.com.tw/soltek/download_file/Manual/socket478/INTEL/85SD-CV2A/85SD-C-AMIBIOS.pdf+ami+bios+setup&hl=en

[Computer_Commando]

or what about this. Couldnt i make a boot up disc on to cd from my floppy boot disc on my good computer, then use that to boot up crappy computer?

Not necessarily.  Many of those old computers are unable to boot from CD.  Some won't even see the CD with the Win95 boot floppy and CD.  They require the original disks that came with the computer.  If it's a 486 or even a Pentium 60 or 90, it probably not worth the trouble.