so i have a windows xp cd which i burned with imaging etc
i have a compaq nc8430
i formatted using dos
format C:

i havent formatted in a while and i forgot this is a very bad way, so the partition itself is gone

when i boot up the cd everything goes fine until it says something like this

Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. Make sure any hard disk drives are powered on and properly connected to your computer, and that any disk-related hardware configuration is correct. This may involve running a manufacturer-supplied diagnostic or setup program. Setup cannot continue. To quit Setup, press F3.

so i tried this thing called PE-builder but not quite sure what it does so that failed
im also trying this thing called ultimate boot atm but its still downloading so havent tried it yet
i also looked it up, it tells me to go into bios and change it to sata not raid etc but my bios doesnt have those settings it has some cookie cut bios and ive seen/know what bios is

just some extra info:
its a laptop with no floppy drive
has a cd/dvd drive
it was windows 7 ( but i wanted to have wins xp)
i have legit key of win vista business
i dont think compaq nc8430 has a restore factory push key (i wish it did -__-)

if u need any other info plz lmk thx

You formated your C:\ drive while using it? - In Win XP installation options, there should allways be a alternative where you choose if you want to format the disk before starting, or not. Choose the right partition there, format it to NTFS file system, and install Win XP onto it. Make sure you choose the right partition before starting a format.

yea i remember that but thats not helping my current situation
need help to fix my problem not how to format thank you

so i just tried the ultimate boot thingy and that failed need options ppl
any help appreciated

probably u have a SATA HDD and need to run its driver from usb pendrive or usb floppy during xp install. watch for a message like 'press whatever to install manufacturer provided driver' or something similar, when booting from cd.

There is a cheap way to connect any hard drive to the computer through USB. It's a adapter, not expensive at all and very useful. Look it up in your local hardware store.

When you have this, you just connect the hard drive through the USB (Remember to set the jumpers right so it's not on master boot) - And it will show up in your windows as a regular USB drive. From there you can easily format it.

If this still does not cover your problem, please message me here on JSP, and I will look more into it for you.

all laptops have either a restore partition or restore disks, of course, if you formatted this partition, its gone


now, you should be able to get on compaq support and get restore disks for like $15-30

plz more info not sure how to approach this


is there any other way i would like to avoid spending anything, i have an external hdd i can use or a usb flash drive




anywhere i can download the disk and make a cd on my own?

This post was edited by exstoges on Jul 15 2010 07:19am

so i used customer support and using active chat atm and i have been able to successfully start setup
i will leave this open til computer is fully running

well customer services provided all the help i needed i didnt try them first cause i thought they would charge me service fees and shit but no cost at all
thanks all
closed

no, trust me, they are hard as shit to find and then when you do, they wont properly burn to cd