I am trying to get another computer to work that has been down for quite some time. I was able to format the hard drive and re-load Windows 98, but I was having to use a boot disk every time I turned on the computer to be able to load Win98. I used a program called Boot Manager to fix the problem, but when I restarted the computer, it won't boot past the Mouse Initialized line. The system beeps twice fast and freezes. The system is a Hewlett Packard Pentium using Phoenix Bios 4.04. I don't know what to do. I have restarted the system a thousand times and I cannot make it do anything. Is there a way to get to a dos prompt early in the boot process? I'm sure if I can get to that, I can fix the system from there. Thank you in advance for any help you can give on this...

Are you getting any errors...like CMOS checksum, defaults loaded?


Replace the CMOS battery and try again, also make sure that the drives are set to auto detect in BIOS.....

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

Thanks for replying.

I am not getting any errors at all, just 2 fast beeps. Before I was able to load Windows 98, I was getting an IRQ address conflict error but I fixed that as soon as I got into Windows. Everything was working fine except for the fact that in order to load the OS, a boot disk had to be used. It seems to me like the "Boot Manager" program must have done something. Another strange thing is that now when the system is restarted, the hard drive is detected (I see it in BIOS). However, when I have the system load the default settings, it disappears all together. I have tried everything outside of opening upm the system... The computer belongs to someone else so I'm a little apprehensive about that. I'm pretty sure the battery hasn't been changed in years. Could the battery really cause all this? The person I am fixing this computer for said that the IRQ conflicts began a year ago when a friend of hers tried to "make her system faster" by deleting a lot of files. He basically made it so she could only use her word processor...

Thanks again for your help...

Sounds like maybe replace the battery...that should take care of the BIOS problems...and after the battery is replaced, set the drives to auto-detect. And then a wipe and renistall sounds like maybe a good idea, probalby missing some drivers and and/or incorrect ones. Find out what you can about the amount of RAM, motherboard and devices...gather all the needed drivers and programs beforehand, backup her data and the proceed.

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mjc
Links list:Computer Links (http://www.dreamwater.org/tech/mjc/index.htm)

Celts are the men that heaven made mad, For all their battles are merry and their songs are all sad.

Make sure to use the 'format c:/s' command when formatting the HD.