Computer Cannot Load Operating System

[Jalabala]

hi there

I am at mess right now. Last night i was working on my laptop and suddenly main power went off. the computer directly got shut. After few hours the power came and i switched on the computer and windows started loading; but suddenly a message appeared saying that computer cannot load OS. I was shocked and tried resatrt but no use.
Please provide some suggestion regarding this

Your views will be appreciated

[Calvin K]

Follow these steps carefully:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
2. Start the computer to an Command Prompt with CD-ROM support. If your computer does not have MS-DOS already installed, or you otherwise cannot start to an Command Prompt in the Boot menu, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
   
3. How to create a Windows 98 startup disk that supports FAT32
   
4. Start SMARTDrive if it is not already started. To do this, change to the folder that contains the Smartdrv.exe file, type smartdrv, and then press ENTER. If you do not use SMARTDrive, the Windows XP Setup program may copy files to the hard disk slowly.
5. At the command prompt, type drive:, and then press ENTER (where drive is the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM).
6. Type cd i386, and then press ENTER.
7. Type winnt, and then press ENTER. The Windows XP Setup program starts.
8. Type the path of the Windows XP installation files, and then press ENTER. For example, type d:\i386.
   
9. The Windows Setup program copies files to the hard disk. When the files are copied, you receive the following message:
10. The MS-DOS based part of The Setup Program Is complete.
11. The Setup program will now restart your computer. After your computer restarts,
12. the Windows XP Setup program will continue.
    
13. If there is a floppy disk in drive A:, remove it now.
    
14. Press ENTER to restart your computer and continue Windows XP Setup.
15. Remove any floppy disks from the computer, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts, and the Windows XP Setup program resumes. Press ENTER to continue.
16. Follow the steps to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP. If your hard disk contains only one partition, do not delete it from the list of existing partitions. The Windows XP Setup program has copied the installation files to this partition.
    
17. You can convert a FAT32-formatted partition to the NTFS file system later.
    
18. Setup copies the files that the Windows XP Setup program requires, and then the computer restarts. If you chose to format the drive by using the NTFS file system, Windows checks the drive for errors, and then it restarts. Windows XP Setup resumes in Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode.
19. Follow the steps in the Windows Setup Wizard to complete the installation of Windows XP

[Lillebror]

Remove the disk from your floopy and boot.
Your BIOS is set to boot from floppy first, and since that is not a bootable disk it is failing.

[jesse]

Have you verified that your jumpers are set correctly? Can you move the CD to a different IDE port? If neither of these solutions help, you could consider a controller card. I don't know how you can get alternate Win 98 drivers-- will the computer boot to DOS OK? If not, I suspect hardware or possibly a bios setting.

[SalVatore]

As far as loading the driver, one thing you could do is copy it to the hard drive while in DOS. If you have determined that it was the hard drive controller software (which comes with Win98), then you probably know what file is the one you need. You may have to use some sort of extract program(or get the file from a friend), I'm not sure. It really seems very strange that you could get files loaded onto the hard drive from the CD but could not complete Win 98 setup. If the jumpers are set correctly, and if you are using fully functional ribbon cable(s), then Win 98 should be able to provide the right driver. Of course, your m/b CD may have updated via drivers such as 4 in 1 but those come AFTER win 98 loads.
I suppose there is the possibility that the CDRom requires unique drivers to run in Win 98 but that's just a guess.
You may also need to replace the CDrom either by borrowing one from someone just to see if that's the solution or by buying one. I sort of hate to see someone buy a new drive only to find out that wasn't the right solution.
Just one more question if moving the CDrom to its own ide port didn't help: Your configuration currently consists of two devices (hard drive and CDrom) on one 80 wire, 40 pin connector ribbon cable does it not? If each device is on its own cable, then make sure that the device is on the end of the cable that has two connectors (I'm presuming you have a cable that has three connectors, one for the m/b and the other two for devices).
I have seen a few posts where people claim to get a nonfunctioning device working by changing the jumpers to cable select rather than master/slave but that's just another shot in the dark. Hope something here helps. Post back with results.