question

Just.some.guy wrote:
> Ok...I don't know what the operating system on this laptop was, I *think* it
> was ME. I say I think, because when you boot the laptop up...all it says is
> "no operating system". I went to the bios setup, and set it up where it
> would check the floppy, then cd rom drive...put in a windows setup disk, it
> then said "no drives found...aborting installation". Does that mean the hard
> drive is gone? It's a Compaq Presario laptop 1700.
>
>

It means either there is no hard drive or the hard drive is dead. Since
you went into the BIOS you know how to get there. Go again and see what
it says about the hard drive.

You can also run some hardware troubleshooting/system information
utilities from CD (such as the Ultimate Boot CD) to see exactly what
you've got. With laptops you frequently run into the issue of only
having drivers for the operating system that came with the machine.
Compaqs - desktops and laptops - in particular are known for having
proprietary hardware made just for them, making a driver hunt futile if
Compaq doesn't provide any.

Do some Googling for your laptop to learn about its specs, what was
originally installed on it, etc. If it originally had ME, chances are
the machine will be unsuitable for XP and there are probably no drivers.
With the addition of a working hard drive, it might be OK with a
light-weight Linux distro, though. Your Googling will show you whether
anyone has tried to do this and the results.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User