Reply
Thu 13 Oct, 2005 12:30 pm
My wife has asked me to reformat her hard drive (we can't afford for someone else to do it). My wife has already saved all the files she wants to keep. I have been following directions I found at the Microsoft website. I started by creating a start-up disk. I then re-booted her computer with the disk in drive A:. The computer should have recognized that the floppy was in the drive, but it didn't, and instead continued on with the boot-up as normal. During the start-up, the LED under the A: drive flashes, indicating that the computer is checking the drive. I have tried different disks, but they all yield the same results.
How do I fix it so that the computer will notice the disk and bring up the A: prompt?
It sounds like the floppy isn't set as the first boot device.
Go to bios set up. When you first turn on the computer the screen should tell you which key will take you there. It is usually the Del key or F1, varies by bios. (Some computers hide the startup screen so you may have to do a little trial and error or look up the bios for you computer online. I have also had slow monitors that don't show screen until after the time to hit the key.) Once the setup screen comes up you need to find the boot order and make sure that floppy drive is the first device on the list.
Common keys to change order are Enter will sometimes bring up a window that you can select in. If you need to change the order in a list try pageup or the up/down arrows.
Make sure you save the changes when you exit.
Keep track of any changes so you can change it back later. Often the floppy is moved down in boot order to speed up boot time.
Great, that fixed the problem! Thanks for the help.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace