[Seven!]

I have this computer that I've installed Windows XP on but it won't boot properly unless I reset the CMOS by pulling the battery out. Every other time, it just spams, "Operating system not found." One interesting thing is that in the BIOS, when I get the 'OS not found' message, there is no hard drive listed as a primary master / slave, only the optical drive as a secondary master.

So is there anything I can do to make it keep recognizing the hard drive and keep booting from it ?

Edited by Seven!, 04 August 2007 - 09:56 PM.

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Hard drive sounds like its on the way out. Strongly suggest you look into replacing it.

[Neil Jones]

Hard drive sounds like its on the way out. Strongly suggest you look into replacing it.

[pip22]

First change the battery for new one, then go into the BIOS settings and use the 'autodetect' function there to enable the BIOS to recognise the hard drive, after which the hard drive type and it's parameters should be listed under 'primary master' on first page of the BIOS settings. That information should stay there now and the PC should boot normally every time.

[Seven!]

I swapped out batteries, and set the BIOS to defaults, and it loads just fine. And I can restart, and it boots just fine. But as soon as I turn the machine off, it fails again and the BIOS no longer sees the hard drive.

Perhaps there's a jumper somewhere on the motherboard that has been pulled and is augmenting this setting? I don't know for sure.