[leslier3]

Please help! Our HP laptop had its hard drive replaced about 3 months ago. It was working fine, but now just gives us an error message on a black screen that says "operating system not found." We tried to use the recovery disks, but after a coulple of screens the first disk automatically ejected. I know it wasn't finished with the first disk. Any ideas? Thanks.

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do u want anything on your computer if not try reinstalling windows

[bobthemailman]

do u want anything on your computer if not try reinstalling windows

[leslier3]

Nothing is essential, but we didn't get a windows install disk when we bought the computer. It is incorporated into the system recovery disk, which won't run. Will it work to buy windows and just install it?

[bobthemailman]

ok first off why wont your recovery disk work and don’t go out and buy a windows cd i don’t want u wasting 100$ i will try and help you and then if i cant hopefully some one with MORE experience can

[leslier3]

I don't know why it won't work. There is a set of 5-6 CD's for recovery. I put in the first disk. It starts to run, goes through a couple of screens where I can click on things. Then, just when it should start to run, the screen says "eject!" and the disk ejects.

[bobthemailman]

make sure disk is clean and have you tried inserting the 2cnd disk when this happens?

[leslier3]

It looks clean. I didn't install the 2nd disk. I can try that. Could it be a virus or something?

[blsimpson]

Try booting off the recovery CD.

Also, make sure that your BIOS is set to boot from CD.

Hit F1, F2 or Del on system start up to enter BIOS, and look for bootup options, and make sure CD-ROM is the first device...

[bobthemailman]

dont think its virus and blsimpson i think that if he was able to boot from the 1st cd his bios is set propely- but i could be wrong

[blsimpson]

Your right. I should have read the post better. Sorry. I thought it was running under windows.

Ok then. When it says eject! and ejects the disk, what happens after that? does the computer restart? or just hang there?

[leslier3]

I will try all of that, since I am getting desperate! Someone mentioned the motherboard. Could that be the problem?

[leslier3]

It's been a few days since I messed with it, but I believe it just "hangs there."

[blsimpson]

Hmm. it might be a bad disk..

What do the disks have written on them? does one say something like:
Used to restore the Opertaing system?

If it is not Disk one, try booting off that disk, as it is the one that has Windows on it..

[leslier3]

I didn't notice (and I'm not at home now) what each disk said other than being numbered. I will check into that and see what they say, and see if any mention the operating system. The actual computer turns on. I get the hp logo, then it "thinks" for a couple minutes and that's when we get the "operating system not found" error message.

[Murray S.]

Howdy:

HP places a hidden partition on the hard-drive the Recovery cd's require to reload.. Die to the fact you changed the hard-drive, that partition is no longer there thus, the Recovery cd's probably won't work.

Contact HP to see if they have a workaround for this!!

Murray