Deleted Partition

[BudCar]

Hello... i just received an older IBM Thinkpad from a guy i work with. he gave it to me for my son. i can't seem to get this computer to do much. he told me that he used a program called "delpart" to delete the partions and logical drives and now the computer doesn't boot up using startup disks or anything. any info would be great. Thanks, Bob

[Bovon]

If the partitions have been deleted, it has no bootable OS..the hard drive will need to be re set up and formatted, Windows will have to be re loaded.

He was doing it correctly because the OS was paid for by someone else, and is not transferable unless the setup CD comes with the deal.

You will need a diskette with fdisk and format on it..you can get one by going to www.bootdisk.com and downloading the Windows 98 Se boot disk (can't remember the actual version..if needed, I will get the info for you...only a couple of those boot diskettes have fdisk and format, etc included.

Then, hopefully you have a CD drive and a legal copy of an OS to reinstall.

Welcome to TECHimo!

[Smidley]

You're going to need to install a new operating system. I would recommend Win XP Pro, others may recommend Linux but if your son isn't very tech savvy, I'd go with XP.

When you turn on the computer, it will start the POST (Power On Self Test). At this point, hit the Delete key or whatever the key is to get into your BIOS. Once in your BIOS, go to "Advanced BIOS Settings" and change the first boot device to CD-ROM and the second boot device to the hard drive ("HDD-0" normally).

Then put in the Windows XP Pro CD, hit the Escape key until you get back to the main menu and select "Save and Exit". The computer will reboot and when it says "Boot from CD-ROM...", quickly hit Enter or the Space Bar.

Once setup has finished loading, select "Install Windows XP Professional" or whatever it is. Create a new partition if need be, and format it with the NTFS file system. After it reboots, you should go into the BIOS and change the boot order again back to HDD-0 first and then CD-ROM. Save and exit and Windows should continue to install. From there, everything should be self explanitory.

[BudCar]

I just tried to the boot disk and it still would work, the crazy thing is i seen this computer work before the partitions were deleted. when i started the computer with the boot disk i seen the drive working so it seems as though that part is working. there is a number that comes up and the IBM web site says this. I9990301 Hard disk drive. Reseat the boot device
Check the startup sequence for the correct boot device
Check that the operating system has no failure and is installed correctly

[LeftCoast]

Yo Bud,

You may need to go into the bios to direct it to boot from the floppy. If it is being told to boot from the HDD only, this might happen. Also, you can set the boot order temporarily for Floppy,CD-rom,HDD 0, then change it back to boot from the HDD 0 after the install is complete. XP is the way to go. if possible. At least get a copy of Win 2000 Pro.

I'd also suggest you wipe the HDD with Killdisk (or another zero-writing utility) to bring the HDD back to "like new" condition. Formatting alone doesn't eliminate files (just the file system, so viruses/corrupt win files may be reinstalled).

www.killdisk.com

Welcome to Techimo!

[Bovon]

BudCar has not indicated the age or speed of that ThinkPad..nor how much RAM is installed...wouldn't that make a difference on which OS to install?

If the partitions have been deleted, that would royally screw up the FAT (File Allocation Table)..if that has happened, it probably will never boot properly.