Operating System cannot be found! Please Help!

[bash_8]

My laptop ( about 4 years old) has thrown in the towell. On switching it on, after the usual reading of hardware it displays the message -'Operating System cannot be found'. I have played with the setup using F2 and the boot sequence. I have tried booting off a floppy or CD and it makes no difference. I can hear the floppy/CD Drive working but the message is still the same. Someone suggested that my harddrive was screwed so i replaced it and it made no difference!! Another suggestion is that the CMOS battery has failed but i can't find the battery anywhere. Please help i am going stir crazy. I am a newbie so go easy.
Thanks in advance

[Paul Komski]

Is the HDD detected in the BIOS setup?

Have you thoroughly checked for any loose ribbon cables/connections/bent or broken pins?

Have you tried detaching all the IDE/ATA connections, ensure that your BIOS is set to boot from floppy and then tried booting from a bootable floppy diskette?

[bash_8]

Yes hard disk is detected on startup by the bios.

I have checked all connections etc so i don't think it is that.

I have tried booting from floppy or CD and set the bios sequence, I can hear the disk working etc but still end up with

'Operating System cannot be found'

What next?!

[ziba-june]

HI,
You said you changed your hard drive, are you getting the message "Operating System cannot be found" on the new hard drive too?Is it before or after you installed OS on the new hard drive?
Which version of Win? Have you checked for boot files on your hard drive? Boot with a DOS disk and see if you can access your c: drive and its contents. Have you checked for virus?
Let us know.

[ziba-june]

One more thing, is your battery ok, sometimes the laptop do strange things when the bettary is dead( gone for ever not low on charge) even when it is connected to AC.

[bash_8]

Battery is fine. Less than a year old and holds charge.

[Paul Komski]

I have tried booting from floppy or CD and set the bios sequence, I can hear the disk working etc but still end up with

Was this with all the IDE/ATA devices detached - so that the floppy is the only drive that is attached to the motherboard? I am trying to confirm whether the message is from the BIOS or from the HDD itself. I realise this is a laptop and that getting inside and checking connections mightn't be so easy. Is the HDD itself easily removable?

[bash_8]

I don't know what you mean by IDE/ATA devices? I can try disconnecting the CD drive and hard drive and then see what happens if that is what you mean.
Ziba-June: I got the same message on a new hard drive. I am not sure what was installed on it as a ibought it from ebay second hand

[Marzman]

QUOTE- I don't know what you mean by IDE/ATA devices?
Correct! Ide devices= CD-ROMS, Hard drives and the like
+ If you brought a hard disk from ebay, I doubt they would leave an operating system on it so the messages might be because the first H/d had a corrupt operating system and the second has none- just an idea, I may well be wrong