Lost Boot

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mal
  • Start date Start date
M

Mal

I`ve been playing with Vista for six to eight weeks now adding programs
one at a time. All has been going well until two days ago when I added
"Talking Caller ID". I first had to install a new voice modem. The
program installed OK and the modem was accepted as working properly.
When the first call arrived the computer screen went blank and some
barely audible gibberish came from the speakers. I shut the computer
down and tried to restart. It wouldn`t boot up saying there was no hard
drive. I put in the Vista CD and tried to use the repair. It says if the
OS isn`t shown (which it wasn`t) to put in the disc for the hard drive
driver. Since I didn`t have one I checked to see if I could get one
online. (It`s a IBM DeskStar, now Hitachi.) They say the drivers are
included with the hard drive. So now I`m stuck with not being able to
reboot. I`ve removed the modem but can`t remove the program until I can
boot up. Any help as how to proceed or even if I can? TIA
 
Hard drives themselves do not need drivers. However, if they are on a SATA
or RAID controller, then you will need the controller drivers for install,
either on a floppy disk or USB flashdrive, or a CD.
 
Jane said:
Hard drives themselves do not need drivers. However, if they are on a
SATA or RAID controller, then you will need the controller drivers for
install, either on a floppy disk or USB flashdrive, or a CD.
Click to expand...
Thank you, I probably shouldn`t even be playing with this as I am not
that computer knowledgible but I`ll expose my ignorance and ask anyway.
I don`t know what SATA or RAID controller is on my computer (It`s one I
was given by a friend who replaced his with a new laptop.) I wanted one
just to play with Vista. So - how do I find out what I have? Can I put a
new one on the computer and if so would I be able to boot up with all
that I previously downloaded intact? TIA
 
Your first port of call should be to your friend. As you can't boot up, it
would be rather difficult to get to Device Manager!! Ask him/her for as
much detail about the pc as they can remember. Is it a branded pc, ie Dell,
HP etc? Or was it one that your friend built? If it's a branded one, then
if you can ascertain the model number, it would be easier to track it down
via the manufacturers website. They will have the full system specs
available there. If your friend built the pc, they should know what they
put inside it ;)

One thing to bear in mind with Vista, apart from the fact that it is Beta,
is that device drivers/hardware that previously worked in XP will not
necessarily work in Vista. You would need Vista-compatible drivers for most
hardware. A lot of software will have problems with Vista too. Some will
work perfectly, some will not.
 
Jane C wrote:
I`m kind of out of luck there. The computer was built for my friend by a
small business that no longer exists. Is it just possible to buy and
install components that are Vista compatible (maintaining the data on
the hard drive)?
 
Check your BIOS, the HDD should show there, they may be turned off.

Ride safe

Barry
 
ie. You may have to turn off the splash screen to see or go thru the BIOS
hard drive section to get the info on the drives.
 
After the previous post I tried to get into the bios. Not sure what I
did but after that attempt Vista came up just like normal. So I guess
I`ll just thank everyone and end this thread. Thanks again
 
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