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My desktop computer at startup asks for A:\ drive?

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  • Windows 98
  • Desktops
  • Computers
  • Linux
Last response: in Windows 95/98/ME
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November 18, 2013 8:31:05 AM

My desktop computer at startup shows the "Starting Windows 98" message then it goes through a checklist of stuff that completes successfully. Then the very last thing looks like this: A:\>
And I am able to type something next to it but I don't know what it is asking for. It asks me to do this when I try to run in safe mode, safe + command prompt, etc. This only happens when I have the recovery disk in, if I don't have it in, it gives me "reboot and select proper boot device or insert boot media in selected boot device & press a key."

PC specs:
Compaq Presario CQ2009F mini desktop
Processor Intel Atom 230 / 1.6 GHz .
Memory 1.0 GB .
Hard Drive 160.0 GB - 7200.0 rpm .
Operating System Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition .
Optical Drive DVD±RW (±R DL) / DVD-RAM - Serial ATA .
Graphics Processor Intel GMA 950 Dynamic Video Memory Technology 3.0 .
Graphics Controller Integrated

More about : desktop computer startup asks drive

November 18, 2013 8:48:39 AM

The A:\ drive is the old floppy drive - do you have one of these in your machine? It does not look like it from the specs I could find on the web. The message you get used to happen if you were using a Win 98 boot floppy to preload some software onto the machine to eg format it.Yet you say it only happens when you have the recovery disk in - which is Win XP. Did this disk come with the machine and is the original? - ie not copied by someone else, in which case they may have copied on older software from a floppy, which would then also boot an look for the A:\ drive, but can go no further.
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a b 5 Linux
November 18, 2013 8:50:13 AM

It sounds like your hard drive is either dead or corrupted and your system is looking for something to boot from. You mention Windows 98, but have XP in your specs list. In either case I would try to boot from an optical disk and get to a command prompt and run chkdsk on the disk. You could also use a Knoppix Live Linux disk (they are free for download) to boot and look at the HDD.
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November 20, 2013 8:16:52 AM

EonW said:
The A:\ drive is the old floppy drive - do you have one of these in your machine? It does not look like it from the specs I could find on the web. The message you get used to happen if you were using a Win 98 boot floppy to preload some software onto the machine to eg format it.Yet you say it only happens when you have the recovery disk in - which is Win XP. Did this disk come with the machine and is the original? - ie not copied by someone else, in which case they may have copied on older software from a floppy, which would then also boot an look for the A:\ drive, but can go no further.


I believe the disk was for one of the older pc's in my house that has win 98 because my pc is XP. I believe I used the win 98 recovery disk thinking it was xp.

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November 20, 2013 8:19:30 AM

I found an XP recovery disk but when I put it in, it says "this disk is not compatible with this computer". I think this is because my pc now has win 98 when I used the win 98 recovery disk
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November 20, 2013 8:22:05 AM

RealBeast said:
It sounds like your hard drive is either dead or corrupted and your system is looking for something to boot from. You mention Windows 98, but have XP in your specs list. In either case I would try to boot from an optical disk and get to a command prompt and run chkdsk on the disk. You could also use a Knoppix Live Linux disk (they are free for download) to boot and look at the HDD.


where can I get that
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a b 5 Linux
November 21, 2013 6:26:17 AM

rcceltic20 said:
RealBeast said:
It sounds like your hard drive is either dead or corrupted and your system is looking for something to boot from. You mention Windows 98, but have XP in your specs list. In either case I would try to boot from an optical disk and get to a command prompt and run chkdsk on the disk. You could also use a Knoppix Live Linux disk (they are free for download) to boot and look at the HDD.


where can I get that


HERE, and use the DVD version as it has more tools that just the PC version and you have a DVD capable drive.

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