My HDD failed, destroying the OS, but not all my music files. I have purchased a brand-new HDD (Toshiba), but it has not been initiated, and has no drives ready for a new OS. The PC has a functioning BIOS, but all attempts to boot from an XP Pro CD ROM have only produced unhelpful statements on screen from the BIOS. I imagine the BIOS plus CD ROM need partitions, or at least a section of the HDD with a drive letter (or number), in order to install an OS. If the XP Pro could only run until formatting had completed, I would cancel and replace the XP CD ROM with a Vista version; and then upgrade via Win 8 to Win 8.1 (as I had with the old HDD before it died.)
I shall be grateful for any suggestions and advice.
Old Ken.
I shall be grateful for any suggestions and advice.
Old Ken.