Anyone know how to kick start a PC thats had a boot error?

Its an older XP PC but i'd quite like to get it going again. I boot it up and it wont kick into windows, I just get a boot disk failure...

Trouble is I bought it 'as seen' and no manuals,software etc.

Anybody recommend some free software that might get it going? I'm completely IT illiterate.

What does it say when you switch it on?

blank screen, boot disk failure... won't kick on to windows.

Got a windows disc from another computer?

eowyn wrote:Got a windows disc from another computer?

Will that boot it then?

God i'm such a doofus when it comes to PC stuff.

You need to make your computer boot from the disc if you have one

When you start your computer hit delete to enter the start up menu.

From there scroll down to BIOS features, hit enter, in the menu make first boot devise [CDROM], press F10 to save, save all changes when asked. Restart with disc in comp, won't hurt, might make it work.

Cheers, worth a go when I get round to it.

Well I burnt my hard disc out, I've yet to meet anyone else who's done that!

Bah, I'm a computer killer. The one I need to get working was chugging along 6 months ago until one day the hard drive wouldn't stop chuntering.

Had to go to bed so just pulled the plugs in a fit of pique...... bad move.

bloody hell, everyone knows you just leave them to chunter........and chunter..................and chunter...............

I thought that was men.

I was told to switch mine on and straight away repeatedly press one of the F keys, but I can't remember which one they said now.

Demelza wrote:I was told to switch mine on and straight away repeatedly press one of the F keys, but I can't remember which one they said now.

F11?

That's rings a bell.
Are you very computer literate then?

Demelza wrote:That's rings a bell.
Are you very computer literate then?

No. But I once had to boot from disk and F11 (or is it F5) rings a bell.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm

repair installation of xp might help.

You need a xp cd to boot from though.

Demelza wrote:I was told to switch mine on and straight away repeatedly press one of the F keys, but I can't remember which one they said now.

That's how to start in safe mode...........

I'm pretty sure it was F5.

Don't think it was safe mode.

please don't yell wrote:http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm

repair installation of xp might help.

You need a xp cd to boot from though.

Cheers. I'll just have to find a legal copy of xp to work from.
Can you use the same copy with the same product key on 2 pcs?

Should work fine on 2 puters.

JKLever wrote:

please don't yell wrote:http://pcsupport.about.com/od/operatingsystems/ss/instxprepair1.htm

repair installation of xp might help.

You need a xp cd to boot from though.

Cheers. I'll just have to find a legal copy of xp to work from.
Can you use the same copy with the same product key on 2 pcs?

I'm pretty sure you can't legally.

Oh and tac and Dem are you talking about F8?

I try a lot of Fs. And if that doesn't work, I press those keys along the top of the keyboard that say F1, F2, etc...

mynah wrote:I try a lot of Fs. And if that doesn't work, I press those keys along the top of the keyboard that say F1, F2, etc...

And then thump the keyboard/PC as hard as you can whilst shouting 'work you bastard' ?

Maybe there's problems with your RAM.