So I've been having some difficulties with my Laptop computer. Not the least significant of them was this problem of not being able to find the O/S.

What to do about it? How does the computer not find the Operating System? I know that it is in there someplace, I had just re-installed it, but the BIOS was not able to locate it.

On the phone to the Manufacturer's Help Centre. Explain the problem. Real nice guy. Had the answer right handy. Send me an email right away. Good thing I had another machine available,huh?

On startup, the powering on of the machine triggers a process whereby the very beginnings of your operating system are read from a small chip. These instructions are required to find the operating system and your hardware and link up all the pieces and parts, like drivers, to assist with all the inner workings and carrying ons that happen deep inside.

Seems when this process is disturbed, all the linking pieces aren't found and connecting properly, and the system won't startup because the computer is not smart enough without all of this information. So, how do you reset the process back to the 'default' settings and continue on your way with a fully operational machine? Well I never knew this before, but on my particular machine (Compaq) , tapping the F10 function key resets the BIOS and the computer will then be able to find its way and gather all the things it deems neccesary for operation as per your configuration. Wow, that simple. Tap a button until it either works or it doesn't. That is how to reset the Bios to its default setting. Once the Bios screen appears, though, you have to reset the clock and calendar before you proceed. Use the arrow keys and the numeric keypad. Because the system isn't set to recognize the mouse, the keyboard is the only input device you will have.

Sorry this article isn't more technical, but I am not a technical kind of guy. And like most users I know, all that techy stuff gets real confusing when the alphabet soup language that pervades the Computer industry are tossed around. (acronyms - that's the word I needed).

Two lessons come out of this posting. First, this is how to reset your BIOS, and second, just a reminder to all the techy types, that you don't need to use all those acronyms when you are talking about computers. I only used one -- BIOS -- Binary Input Output System. Or something near like that. I might have been sleeping by the time it got explained in class.

I would like to add to the post with this information.

Compaq does not have an actual BIOS chip. Compaq's innovative, then it was thought, ways of storing the entire flashable BIOS information on the hard drive sometimes can lead to the entire computer crash--face it hard drives are not that reliable.

To access the BIOS in Compaq, until this date either desktop or laptop, boot up your computer and watch for flashing white cursor block on upper right hand corner and press F10, just as COMPAQ's red flash screen appears. It may not reset itself by tapping but you can surely access the BIOS information and set/reset settings if you need.

Majority of BIOS for PC hardware have agreed on either DEL or F1 key during the POST (Power-On Self Test).

reall i wish i know that about 2 years ago then maybe i wouldn't have had to get a new hard drive everytime my compaq laptop crash, but yeah i do notice it sometimes when i do boot it up. make sure to put that in my notes of stuff to do before calling to order a new hard drive.

Did you solve your problem yet? I had a lot of troubles with my operating systems in the last days so I just did a quick clean install of the operating system.

You should know some dos commands in order to delete your old installation so it should be a really clean installation.

If you need advice about this don't hesitate to write down;

Thanks for the info Buffalohelp. I didn't realize my machine was unique in that it doesn't actually have that chip. The way I described it up there was wrong then. Are Compaq's the only machine that use the Master Boot Record on the Hard drive?

St Mike - How many Drives have you been through?

Neliminat - I remember some DOS from a way back. Like 20 some years ago. It actually does come in handy once in a while. With all the emphasis on GUI's in the last 20 or so years it is not very often required. It was nice to have the background, though.

i dont understand how bios info can be stored on the hard drive. the bios ... basic input output system ... is the software that enables all the basic components of a computer to operate. it tests the ram for errors , it looks for an 8259 chip which controls interrups , it loads software into ram to initialiase what happens when input from the keyboard or mouse is received ... ie it loads interrupt vectors , software to be run when a certain interrupt is received. it looks for ide channels .... what your hdd are connected to ... if it finds ide channels it loads interrupt vectors 14 and 15 with software to run when it gets a request from the primary or slave hdd. how can bios info be stored on the hdd when it is the bios that initially sets up the hdd to operate??

The problem has mainly three causes. One is that the System Bios is not detecting the hard driver, or the Master Boot Record (MBR) is currupted, or finally to say honesly the Hard Disk has gone west! Check in the Bios, on main menu, under Primry Master if the HDD is detected or it looks 'None' there, if it's the case either your Bios has not detected the HDD or the HDD is failed. If you can see the HDD under Primary Master (make sure your seeing not the CD/DVD Drive), go for MBR repair. Insert the Windows XP (or relevant) CD to your PC and boot from CD, after pressing enter to continue, press 'R' to run the Recovery Console and type hte command 'fixmbr'..later estart your PC ans see if the problem solved! Hope it'll help you! Insaf Muhammed KSA

I have a problem with a Compaq with Win98SE that will not boot from any disc, and gives the message "operating system not found". Also, when accesing the Bios, I get a flaah message to run phdisk, partition too small.

I removed the hard drive, put it into an enclosure, and hooked it up to an identical laptop with same operating system, formated the disk, ran scan disk, and loaded all the C: and D:restore programs from that computer.

All seemed normal with that process, and the hard drived behaved properly as an F: and G:restore mass storage device. Upon reinstalling the hard drive, and using a freshly maded boot disc from the identical computer,

I still got "operating system not found" and in the Bios, the same flash message about the partion being too small. I'm convinced the hard drive is all OK, but can't put my finger on why neither the A drive or CD won't boot a boot floppy or Compaq recovery CD. Anyone able to help?

-Bob Huntington

Try fdisk on your compueter.This can be done with DOS command fdisk.It is needed if your Main boot record hase been deleted.Or FAT (File allocation Table )is missing.But before this backup your data as it will cause data loss.Other wise try booting from XP cd and delete all existing partion and recreate it.Maximum chances are that you will get every thing working after that.As i have tried