Please help. I have been working on a new computer this spring & I recently upgraded the hard drive in the computer that I am building. So I went to put the old HDD in the computer that it came from, an old compaq, with the intent of putting Win 98 SP2 on it after reformatting it and the computer won't boot up. It will remain on the manfacturer's logo anywhere from 15 sec to 1 min or so and then I will get the message "Remove disks or other media. Press any key to restart." I cleared CMOS, restarted the computer to get a dialogue basically starting that the boot had failed and that the BIOS settings had been reset. I gave me the option of entering BIOS so I did so, I really didn't see anything I thought that i should change as I don't really know how they should be set, so I exited & I got the same error message. Once I actually disconnected the HDD & the dvd-rom & turned on the computer only to a messeage stating that there was no OS found but when I plugged them back in I got the same remove disks message. If anyone know how I can get rid of this message & get my comp to boot up so that I can run the 98 disk then please reply.

Just a note: If a second (or more) person has something to add to this, it would probably be helpful if you would read all of the other entries first so that you know what has been discussed. Thanks.

Are you trying to boot a 98 CD or floppy?

Is your BIOS boot order set to: (1) Floppy (2) CD (3) Hard Drive ?

That error message is indicating that no boot.ini files are accessable.

I am trying to boot from a CD. I did check the order when I was in Bios & it is set for cd 1st.

Have you tried a boot floppy?

http://www.bootdisk.com/bootdisk.htm

I don't have a floopy drive, but I can probably borrow one. It currently doesn't have windows on it & I don't know what dos version it has. I don't know if the computer is recognizing anything because it doens't list the cd drive or the hard drive so I don't know if it will read a floopy drive, but its worth a shot. The computer doesn't display anything but the logo & that error message so I don't know the dos version. Would I need the one for 98, or is that only useful if you have 98 on it?

ok ... sorry I was missing the drive point.
Just to clarify the BIOS is not recognising your drives?

Just to check: are the jumpers set right?
The hard drive is primary master?
The dvd is secondary master?
Are the cables ok?

the thing is that I don't know if bios is recognizing the drives, but it doesn't list them. The HD is on the primary IDE & the dvd drive is on the secondary with both being set as master. I had swaped out the HD's cable with one that I know works & got the same thing. Should the dvd be the primary drive since I will be booting from it? I think I'll try it. I'll let you know.

What about the floppy thing...which of those files would I download & what then would I do with it? Well that doesn't matter if it won't recognize anything.

In Bios, have you run Autodetech HDs to see if you will even try to find it? Another question, is the HDD making any spin up noises? As far as the DVD vs HDD as Pri master, your HDD needs to be Primary Master, as long as the DVD is Sec. Master you are fine.

Well I figured out that BIOS wasn't recognizing the DVD drive, although nothing is wrong with (it works in another comp). I replaced it with another one which it recognized the first time although I was using a different cable. I replaced the cable (which works, i found out in another comp) & everything went downhill from there. The keyboard & the monitor took turns not working for awhile but after I got them to work BIOS no longer recognized the other cd drive. And, to answer AphJN's question, nothing is wrong with the HD. Between BIOS in general not recognizing the disk drives (except for once) & the wierd problem with the monitor & keyboard, I have concluded that the MB is malfuctioning & since it is really old I have decided that it really isn't worth anymore of my time so I am not to worry about it any longer. Thats right I'm giving up since it is not mine, nor my family's primary computer. So, to all of you, thanks for your help.

Yepp, sounds much like the mobo went belly up