operating system not found

[fiery]

need advice
i have a computer (pentium 3) and whenever it starts it tells me "operating system was not found" and just stays on that screen until i turn it off.
PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!

[Deodar]

What o/s are you expecting,when was it installed,what previously happened,and when
did this error /message begin to occur??What do you know of the contents of the
hard drive eg. system,installed programms,history,favourites,URL's stored etc.Also++
what do you know of the history of the computer&hoe familliar are you with it?Do you
have any installation disks if you need one?Do you have a boot disk ,if it's not XP? Gvn
all this we might have a few clues.

[PrntRhd]

fiery,
First be certain the floppy drive has no disk in it.

[Sylvander]

See this http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterr.htm and click "Operating System Not found", then "Troubleshoot this here", which should take you here http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/comp/hdd/file_BadCorruption.htm.

Which OS is installed?

[fiery]

the computer was brocken when some one gave it to me.
ive also tried to install windows from a floppy disk but it wont let me because theres no cd rom but there is and im positive that its hooked up prperly

[Sylvander]

1. Which OS is installed?
2. Which OS are you trying to install?
3. Do you want to clear the HDD and begin afresh?
4. Do you have driver disks for this hardware?
5. What is your level of expertise?

[Greeps]

My friend had the same problem "operating system not found ", by any reason the hdd access mode was changed to CHS, he change to LBA and no problem.