dell inspiron 2500: operating system not found

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Dan Hicks wrote:
> I've tried starting my laptop a few times, but I keep getting the
> message: operating system not found
> after a few seconds. There is no floppy disk in the floppy drive, so
> it shouldn't be reading from there. I did get this message a few
> weeks ago, but it skipped the message after I restarted it a few
> times. I do hear it checking for a disk in the floppy drive a moment
> before the message appears.
>
> I have a Dell Inspiron 2500
>
> Is it the hard drive?

Most likely the drive. Remove and reseat the drive(s) and RAM chips.
Boot into BIOS setup and see if the drive type is Auto. Save changes
and try another boot. If the problem has been intermittent, it could be
a tenuous physical connection. You might blow out the drive socket with
compressed gas dust cleaner. When you remove the drive, check that the
drive caddy screws are tight. There are usually two on each side of the
caddy.

Q