i can't get my boot disk to work

[nokiadragun]

i'm trying to reformat my computer cuz of problems with it, the problem is that when i start the computer it goes to the windows 98 screen and just stays there. nothing else happens, and when i put the boot disk in it say invald disk and to push any key. but when i do that it just goes back to the same windows 98 screen. i can't get it to start in safe mode either. what can i do??? my computer is a dell latitude cp...thanks for the help

[Jarhed7276]

Sometimes the floppies just go bad. If you have access to another computer go to Bootdisk.com. You can get a new boot disk there. (You will need another floppy to copy it to).

[nokiadragun]

yeah, i try that already, and the same thing happened

[Jarhed7276]

Do you have a full version of Win98 SE? If so, go into your bios and change it to boot from cd-rom first. Then boot directly from your cd.

[jmichna]

Originally posted by Jarhed7276
Sometimes the floppies just go bad. If you have access to another computer go to Bootdisk.com. You can get a new boot disk there. (You will need another floppy to copy it to).

Besides the floppies themselves, I've had 3.5" drives go bad a few times, too. Especially when they are used so infrequently, they get cluttered with dust/lint (we have dogs and cats at home). Try a boot disk that is known to be good (works on another PC)... see if the drive is okay.

If it is the drive, they aren't very expensive to replace... maybe $10 or so.

[nokiadragun]

how do i change it to read cd first? i went into the bios and the only thing it would let me change is from disk to HD. is there anyway i can get it to cd? cuz i have a full copy of 98

[Brangwen]

Hmm ...

Can you boot from a Win98se CD?

I'm don't recall ......... if so, I know nothing about BIOS sw in Dells.

I'm trying to think of a workaround ...

Can't think of one. I think you're going to have to replace the floppy disk drive.

Brangwen

[Jarhed7276]

Yes, you can boot from the Win98se cd. I tried it before I posted.
Unfortunately, I checked the manual and you cannot boot from cd on this laptop. Sorry Nokiadragun I should have checked that out before I posted.

If you cannot get a known good copy of boot disk to work then I have to agree with jmichna and Brangwen that you need a new floppy drive.

[nokiadragun]

ok, i guess thats what i'll have to do, thanks for all the help=)

[ragtop]

Unfortunately, replacing a floppy drive on a laptop isn't as cheap as on a desktop. Before you spend money on a new floppy drive, be sure you try your boot disk on another computer to make sure its not the problem. Bad floppy's are much more common than bad drives - and I've had problems with downloading the stuff from bootdisk.com as well.