Lost Hard Drive at bootup

[mbrowne]

Somehow my hard drive (C:\) is getting lost when I reboot or start my computer. I have to run Norton DiskDoctor or ScanDisk for my system to recognixe it. On Norton DiskDoctor it reports that there is an error in locating the hard drive. I proceed with having it find it...which it does, then I run the DiskDoctor and it resets everything allowing me to boot my machine into Win98SE. Everything works fine until I turn my computer off or try to reboot.

I do not understand what is happening for this happening and why it is not being recognized. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif
Sincerely,
M. Browne
mbrowne@iname.com

[Randy_tx]

The only thing I can come up with is that your BIOS is losing the H D information as a result of a low or dead battery on the motherboard (cmos battery). What age is your computer? Give us more information and we can figure it out for ya.

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"As hard as a rock & dumb as a brick"...Windows CEMeNT

[mbrowne]

Thanks for your response.....

I bought this from UBid as a refurbished system. It came with AMD-K-62 533Mhz, Win98SE, 35gb hard drive, 192TotalRam, it's a Compaq 7478.
System ROM Info from DMI
Bios Vendor's Name . . Compaq
Bios Version . . . . . 686S4
Bios Release Date . . 04/12/2000
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Got this from SiSoftSandra Report which is Greek to me!
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Notice N224 - SMBIOS/DMI information may be inaccurate. This information is reported verbatim and cannot be checked by Sandra. While brand-name companies set this information most generic manufacturers use generic data which is meaningless. This issue generates more technical support queries than all other issues combined.
Fix: If the information is not correct, check for a BIOS update (clear DMI pool) or fix any errors using the DMICFG tool provided with the board. Alternatively, disable Sandra’s DMI/SMBIOS reporting from module Options.

SiSoft Sandra Help File
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How would one check for a BIOS update? From Compaq? Look for Hardware/Software ?????
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I have had it for about 6 mos. Of course it is past the warranty, being refurbished. Maybe they didn't need to change the battery at the time. I would have no way of knowing. You mention BIOS....is BIOS hardwired or softwired (I think that's the lingo???).

This is about all the info I can come up with for now....maybe too much info.

[mjc]

I'd check the battery and maybe go into BIOS setup and set the IDE devices to autodetect.

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mjc
To ME or NOT to ME....

[mbrowne]

To sound dumb....how do you go (get) into the BIOS setup? And is there a way to check the battery?

PS I really want to thank you for taking your time to help me!

[mbrowne]

I found how to edit my BIOS however there is no option I saw that allows selection of IDE devices to be able to auto detect. The only options given or Enable or Disable. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/cool.gif

[mjc]

For most computers it is accessed by hitting <f1> or <del>, frequently it will say "hit <key> to enter setup" when you first turn on the computer. If it has a company logo on the first screen that hides the start up checks that can usually be cleared by hitting <esc>, then you should be able to see what key you need to hit.

As for the battery it is like a flashlight you check by turn on the light if comes its good but in this case if you turn on your computer and the settings are still there its still good. All the BIOS settings that configure your computer (stored in CMOS: a type of low power RAM) and the clock both use this battery. So if your settings are changing and the clock doesn't keep time then it's bad, if they just seem to be a little off then its weak. To change it it requres openning the machine up and looking for a large "watch" battery on the main board. Getting the numbeers from it and buying a replacement. Then installing it. If you need more help with post back and I'm sure someone will come up with the exact technique or you can take it into a shop if you are uncomfortable poking around inside your machine.


Since it is a Compaq you may have to search through everything in the BIOS setup that is related to the drives in order to find it but there should be a section that allows you to configure the pararmeters of a hard drive, one of these will be user another will be auto (autodetect). Many time certain categories contain more than one page.......
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mjc
To ME or NOT to ME....

[This message has been edited by mjc (edited 03-05-2001).]