Computer Hope
Microsoft => Microsoft DOS => Topic started by: hancock85 on May 21, 2008, 10:44:03 AM
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PLEASE someone help me. I am stuck in DOS and it isn't recognizing my disk drive or loading it first. What do I do?
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More information please. What does "stuck in DOS" mean? Are you trying to run Windows? What version? Did it work before?
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ok, i am trying to reformat my father's computer he wants me to take out all the crap he has had stored up in it and he wants me to upgrade it to windows 2000. (he has 98 in it now). I started the program in dos did a format c: s/ and now can't get out of dos
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can't get out of dos
Well, of course you can't. You just wiped the disk of everything (format) and then made it a DOS bootable disk (/s).
Next, you need to enter the BIOS and set the machine to boot off the CD drive, place the Windows 2000 installer disk in the CD drive, and restart the computer.
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well crap! i have to go to work in 5 min. How do i get to the bios screen
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sorry for double posting. I thought this was fixed
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How do i get to the bios screen
usually you press a key as the machine starts up, often it is the Delete key. Without knowing what kind of machine you have, I can't say what key it is. Sometimes you see a message such as "Press <key> to enter setup" at the bottom of the bootup screen.
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ok i'm on a gateway. I did all that and said to boot from cd rom first but it is still going straight to dos. what do I do now
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If the disk a genuine Windows 2000 install disk in good condition and you have properly set boot from CD in the BIOS, then something is wrong with the computer. Are you watching the screen closely, there may be a message saying press a key now to boot from cd
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usually it does but since I messed it up its not saying anything
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There will only be such a message if the actual disk is set up that way. Some disks don't give you the choice, they just boot straight up. Windows install disks do usually give you a message and wait about 30 seconds.
What do you mean "messed it up"?
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"messed up" like I said with the 1st explaination I gave you. I have waited and it stays in dos with the C:\ > that's all it shows.
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Well, what the computer is doing is perfectly normal. Like i said before, you have formatted (blanked) the hard drive and installed DOS system files. What did you expect to happen if you waited?
have you actually set the boot disk to CD in the BIOS?
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i didn't wait to do anything. Now i just want to know how to put the microsoft 2000 in the computer. I put the disc in told it to boot the disc first in the bios section and it still does nothing but goes straight to dos when turned on.
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In that case the Windows 2000 disk must be bad.
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no i know it's not it was used earlier and it is the original disk Do you have any other suggestions
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no i know it's not it was used earlier and it is the original disk Do you have any other suggestions
Sorry you don't like my answers. How do you know the disk isn't faulty?
If...
1. You have set the BIOS up to boot from the CD-ROM drive
2. The disk is a good bootable Windows install disk
3. The CD drive is working properly
4. The computer motherboard etc is working OK
then it should boot up.
You will find that one of these 4 things is the problem.
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i will work on it later and let you know but as of now everything is the way you say. I know that the disk is good. I just can't get anything to boot in dos and i can't get the computer out of dos mode. I do appreciate all you help and if you think of anything else please let me know and i will try it.
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Ok try this:
1) turn off your computer
2) unplug it from the wall
3) remove the battery from the motherboard (should be a silver disk looking thing about the size of a nickel assuming you are American)
4) keep the battery out for a few min and put it back in
5) plug in computer and turn it on
6) On the very first screen you should see a message somewhere on the screen that says "Hit (something) to enter setup" it might be at the top or bottom, if you do not see it, reboot your computer and try again.
7) Assuming you saw the message and hit the correct button you should see some sort of bios screen. It could be blue or grey.
8) Find the option for Boot order, this could be under a menu that says advanced options...I am not sure so you may have to look around.
9) Make note of the current order, and change it so the CD rom is the first and if possible the ONLY thing to boot from.
10) usually it says somewhere on the bios screen to press a button (usually F10) to save changes and exit. In either case SAVE CHANGES and let the computer reboot.
11) If the CD is in the CD-rom drive you should hear it "spin up" and the drive light should come on and the computer should boot from the CD-rom.
12) let us know what happens.
If it still goes to dos, there is something wrong with the disk, or your CD rom drive, or possibly your motherboard. It is possible your mother board (depending on how old it is) cannot boot from a CD and requires a floppy drive to boot from.
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thank you so much for not giving up on me. I am home now but i will stop by my parents house again hopefully tomorrow but on Friday at the latest and i will try again. I don't see why it wouldn't be able to boot from cd when it has run cd's before and came with a cd player in it. I will be sure to keep you up-to-date. thanks again for all your help.
Heather
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the size of a nickel assuming you are America
Is everyone on here American except me?
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No.