Notebooks External Floppy

[GoLdFiNgeR]

Hi guys i have a slight problem:

We have an old toshiba satellite pro 430cdt notebook with enough files missing that it wont boot the os, it will only boot to a c:

it wont boot from floppy or cd rom,

the floppy is external, it gets power and will seek the floppy in it, but i get a <general failure reading drive a> abort, retry, fail.

it does that for any floppy i insert into it.

and also when it boots to the c: i cannot access the cd rom (internal) it seems like it is not even there,

im beginning to think the floppy has a problem, and that the cd rom driver isnt loading for somereason, that reason being that c:\windows has been deleted

any suggestions are greatly appreciated,

thank you

 

[crisc]

I would agree on both counts.
If c:\windows has been deleted, then no drivers (for CD, disk, or ANYTHING) are going to be loaded. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, you can load CD-ROM drivers from a startup disk, and reload Windows or whatever you want. But, if you can't get any startup floppy to boot the PC, then the external drive may be damaged.

 

[dinosnake]

(1) Purchase and use a floppy drive head cleaning kit.

(2) Try formatting a blank disk in the floppy drive, copying a file to it with 'COPY /V' and then reading it back. This will test the floppy's head alignment - the unit could be working but the head alignment is too far off to read pre-recorded floppies. If this works try using the floppy that you just formatted in another computer to copy files to - many times other drives can write to the floppy so that the out-of-alignment floppy can read from it.

(3) It is booting and OS, just not Windows. What version? Type VER and hit <Enter>. If it is DOS 6.2 / 6.22 and the /DOS directory is still intact you may have INTERLNK in there - this is a program to hook 2 computers together via COM ports. INTERLNK is the client - all you'll need is INTERSRV on another computer and a 'Laplink' cable to start transfering files (like the CDROM drivers)

(4) Look for CDROM drivers in other directories - IBM, Toshiba and other laptop manufacturers commonly put DOS CD drivers in alternate locations.

(5) Are the DOS drivers set up in CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT?

(6) It should be possible (last ditch) to remove the HD & install it into another computer. Old Toshibas don't make getting to the HD easy, however.

Your mileage may vary...

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

after i type ver is say windows 98 [version 4.10.1998]

i dont know about autoexec and config.sys because they cannont be viewed

there are no cd rom drives anywhere else i checked that before (i forgot to mention that but thanks)

using the copy /v command gave me the smae general error

we have no other comp to put the floppy on , it uses the dongle port (whatever the technical name is) and it can be swapped out to become and internal, which i did and it still doesnt work

the cleaning kit sound like a good idea

 

[dinosnake]

To view the files enter in the following, each line finished with and <Enter> when in the root (C:\):

TYPE CONFIG.SYS
TYPE AUOEXEC.BAT

The TYPE command outputs a file, normally to the screen.

So \windows - the entire directory - is gone? Remember the files we are looking for is OAKCDROM.SYS and MSCDEX.EXE (if the Windows DOS mode CD drivers) - the Toshiba DOS CD driver is TOSCDROM.SYS and was usually in the C:\CDROM.DOS directory.

Did you FORMAT the floppy before trying the COPY? Your mileage may vary...

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

yes the whole windows dir is gone, that is what i said

i do the autoexec and config sys but nothing happens

when i try to format a: it says command not found for obvious reasons

and there is no c:\cdrom dir either

acutally when i do autoexec.bat it gives me this:

@if exist c:\wininst0.400\suwarn.bat call c:\wininst0.400\suwarn.bat

@if exist c:\wininst0.400\suwarn.bat del c:\wininst0.400\suwarn.bat

am i screwed

 

[dinosnake]

Maybe - maybe not. The first thing I would try is a DOS unerase program, like Norton UnErase. If no significant writes have been commited to the drive then most of the FAT directory structure should still be intact - only the directory table entries need to be undeleted by having their leading hex byte changed.

If not clean the floppy / replace the floppy / pull the hard drive and connect it to another computer.

Please don't give up - when there's a will there is always a way!!

P.S. - if you don't have UnErase I can supply it. Let me know. Your mileage may vary...

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

no i dont have unerase, that would be awesome if you could supply it, im going to get cleaning stuff later today, and i dont really have another laptop to put this floppy on,

thank and i wont give up

 

[ceh4702]

Sounds like a virus has rewritten your autoexec.bat file, or someone has sabotaged your system somehow. If this thing is under warranty try calling someone up about it, if not just take it to a local shop that works on laptops. It can save you a lot of time and fustration if you just pay someone to fix it. If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

if you have read the rest of the posts there is prob no virus, the c:\windows got deleted by a dumb end user, and its not under warrenty since it is about 6 years old, if we were to pay to fix it we would just buy a new one

 

[dinosnake]

At the worst, you don't have to pay to fix it. Just take the laptop apart, pull the HD and connect it up to a desktop to gain access. Then copy the install iles on to the drive. Not really terrible. Your mileage may vary...

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

how will i connect it to a pc, is there a special cable i can get

 

[dinosnake]

Yes, it's an adapter circuit board with the mini laptop IDE on one side and the full size IDE on the other, along with the power connection. I have 2 personally - work great. See places like Dirt Cheap Drives to get it - they come with the rails to fit 3 1/2 inch drive bays. Cost about $10.

In Dirt Cheap Drives website see Webstore / Mounting / Generic Desktop Mounting Kits / 2.5&quot; Hard Drive Adapter Your mileage may vary...

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

great thanks, ill look into it for sure

 

[WETFOX]

I think the best thing you can do here is:

1. Try cleaning your floppy drive many times. You can't have external source (aside from floppy drive) to get some utilities like UnErase since your windows is deleted.

2. Pulling-out your drive and connecting it to other machine will do the trick (we hope so) but it requires you much patience and time....just go ahead.

 

[vlitzer]

well... i have a solution: first of all try to access the laptop setup... if you could do this, then get an win98 bootable cd, then change the setup boot to d: , put the w98 cd, restart your pc, and select start OS whith cd compatibility ...., ive personally done this stuff before

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

ok guys, thanks for all your help i greatly appreciate it

 

[dinosnake]

Sorry I didn't get information from you yesterday regarding where to email Unerase to. Let me know if you still want to try it. Your mileage may vary...

 

[GoLdFiNgeR]

yeah, ill try it, if you want you can email it to me at wmcgreevy@tradesmen-intl.com that would be awesome,

thanks alot to everybody

will