Disk Error

[Nerwin]

A computer that i was trying to fix and i could not fix it becasue there was and error saying "Invalid system disk Replace the disk, and then press any key. I tried everything i took out the hard drive and plug it back in change the bios back to default, Still dont work!

TRIGEM America Corporation

Intel 150MHZ Pentium Processor

16MB EDO RAM

256KB PB Cache Memory

1.2GB HDD

1MB 64bit VGA

33.6 Data/Fax Modem W/Voice

8X Speed Cd-rom Drive

1FDD-3.5" Diskette Drive

MS Windows 95/OSR2

I really Need Help!!!!!!!!!!1

Edited June 18, 2005 by computerMan

[dman]

Hmm, you sure there is not a non-boot floppy in the A: drive, or the door is stuck and it thinks there is?. Either that or you OS is gone from HD. In that case boot from recovery floppy and see if you can access drive c. If you can, run "sys c:"

Edited June 18, 2005 by dman

[Nerwin]

well there is no floppy in the A drive but i'm thinking to buy another hard drive and intall windows 95

[dman]

Did you try booting from floppy to see if you can access c drive?

[wizardofwindows]

check the pinning on the hardrive make sure its set to master.hope this helps

[Nerwin]

I tried That and it still dose that. thats the first thing that comes up saying "Invalid system disk Replace the disk, and then press any key"

[Tarun]

Check your hard drive's manufacturer website to acquire proper documentation. You didn't say what model you have so I'll offer some generic information.

Make sure you have set the jumper to either Cable Select or Master.

Another reason you might be having this issue is because you don't have Pin-1 lined up properly with your IDE cable. Pin-1 is generally located at the very left of the IDE cable. In most scenarios you will have to plug the IDE cable into the 40/80 pin IDE hard drive where Pin-1 is usually set so it's right beside the jumper and power connector.

[MDGx]

Another cause for this might be that the HD boot sector has been erased/damaged/replaced with an invalid one, or at least if your HD still has a boot sector [MBR (Master Boot Record)], it might not be recognized by the OS that is installed on your HD.

This sometimes happens in dual(multi)-boot environments using for example a 9x OS and an NTx OS, and if u try to reinstall/upgrade 1 OS or the other, and if there are any defective clusters on disk, and if u have not scandisk-ed your entire HD prior to (re)installing any OS.

What u can do:

- get a DOS mode boot floppy, like the ones made by MS Windows 95/98/ME.

- boot from the floppy, and then switch to the C:\ root prompt, to see if your HD drive letter is valid.

- if it is, run from the boot floppy:

FDISK /MBR

to try to fix the MBR. Reboot.

Or if using same OS build on your HD as the 1 on the boot floppy, run:

SYS A: C:

to copy system files [iO.SYS, COMMAND.COM, MSDOS.SYS] back to C:\ root if they were deleted/damaged + refresh the MBR. Reboot.

- if your HD letter is not available:

a. HD contains too many defective clusters and/or hardware defects beyond scandisk capacity of repair = may need HD replacement

b. hardware error. Hardware errors can be related to [examples]:

- BIOS being wiped out by a power surge or by extreme overclocking = in this case open computer case, reset default BIOS/CMOS settings jumper = look it up in your mobo manufacturer documents or online

- HD Master/Slave pins = see posts above

- HD power cable = make sure it's properly plugged in or replace if possible

- HD data cable = make sure it's properly plugged in or replace if possible

- worst case scenario: HD went "kaput" = need replacement.

More info + links:

http://www.mdgx.com/secrets.htm#FDPT

http://www.mdgx.com/drv.htm#CDR

http://www.mdgx.com/drv.htm#DRV

You can also ask or PM Petr, who is active in this Forum, and seems to know a lot about HDs:

http://www.msfn.org/board/?showuser=52191

Hope this helps.

[Nerwin]

Well i'm thinking to buy a 20 gig hard drive for it and atleast 128 of ram and i will install windows xp pro on it.

[RJARRRPCGP]

A computer that i was trying to fix and i could not fix it becasue there was and error saying "Invalid system disk Replace the disk, and then press any key.  I tried everything i took out the hard drive and plug it back in change the bios back to default, Still dont work!

TRIGEM America Corporation

Intel 150MHZ Pentium Processor

16MB EDO RAM

256KB PB Cache Memory

1.2GB HDD

1MB 64bit VGA

33.6 Data/Fax Modem W/Voice

8X Speed Cd-rom Drive

1FDD-3.5" Diskette Drive

MS Windows 95/OSR2

I really Need Help!!!!!!!!!!1  

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Believe it or not, that message isn't generated by the BIOS. It's generated by the boot sector! Unless a disk a explicitly made to be bootable, that message text is written to the boot sector and thus is displayed when attempting to boot off of such disk. Thus that message means that the boot sector isn't bootable!

The fix is simple:

With Windows 9x:

Use a DOS boot floppy that was made under the exact version of Windows you want to install then type

sys c: