hi ,Ive just got a second hand computer,but no recovery disc,to boot it up dont know how to find the motherboard make or number ,any way around it!,I can get into the bios,but Im stuck there,Im a novice.birdman2

Is the machine a laptop or a desktop machine?

Is there a name on it? (Compaq, IBM, Lenovo, Dell, Gateway, etc)

Is there a hard disk identified by the bios when you start it up?

If there is a hard disk, is there any data (Operating System) on it? ie; Does the machine boot at all?

hi again,the machine is a desktop, not a labtop,it has a harddrive in it,not sure if it has any info on it,after the first screen,if I press del,a blue screen opens up,bios and cpu fetures setup,from there Im lost,no make or modle on the machine,no hard disc identified ,hope you can give me some help if any,also I have a hard disc from my old computer with windows 98 on,if I swap that over will it be of any help,I can do that task ok if helps,birdman

it has a harddrive in it........no hard disc identified

The hard disk has to be properly identified/recognized in the bios before you can do anything with the machine. (Click on the blue "bios" text for help with the bios.)

Is the time and date on the machine correct? (This will be displayed/set in the MAIN screen of the bios (along with drives - Floppy, hard disks). If not, the cmos battery (which "powers" the cmos chip to "hold" bios settings) may be dead or dying. This is easily replaced for a couple of dollars.

Is there a "Hard disk" or "IDE" AUTO-DETECT setting in the bios? If so, enable it. (However if the cmos battery is dead it won't hold the setting once you power off the machine.)

I have a hard disc from my old computer with windows 98 on,if I swap that over will it be of any help

Yes, as long as the disk type (IDE/SATA etc) is compatable, and the hard disk jumpers* are set correctly (on IDE disks). Again though, the 98 disk must be recognized by the bios.

If successful, the drive should boot, but it will sense all the "new" hardware (motherboard, CPU, video, etc) and want to install the appropriate drivers for the new found hardware. You may need a 98 CD to complete this process. Do you have one?

*Two guides to hard disk jumper settings;
http://www.easeus.com/disk-copy/Sing...-Jumpering.htm (Two pages)

http://www.pcguide.com/ref/hdd/if/id...mpering-c.html (This guide is fairly "outdated" but it still applies.)

hi again,thankyou for all your help,its all sorted ,I opend the back to check the motherboard,and hey presto,one of the ied cables was not on right,I pushed it home and the computer is working fine,thankyou for all the info anyway,I will keep it for future ref,birdman

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