Installing an OS on a scrubbed disk

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

jefft wrote:
> I have acquired a Tecra 8002 which had Win 2000 installed - but the
> disk must have been scrubbed clean to remove any info on it.
> I have a win 2000 installation disk and the laptop has a product key -
> but I cannot get beyond the initial BIOS pages.
> I have changed the boot sequence so that CD-rom precedes LAN and HDD
> but the first message I see is always the Intel Boot Agent:
>
> PXE 61 : media test failure, check cable
> PXE M0F : Existing Intel PXE ROM
> Insert system disk in drive
> Press any key when ready
>
> Inserting the Win 2000 setup CD or even a bootable CD-rom created
> from a downloaded BIOS gets no response other than a repeat of
> the above message. I cannot disable the Intel Boot Agent since there
> is no response to the Control+S input.
>
> Is there any way I can get info on the hard disk ?
> Would a LAN link to my desktop make any difference ?
> How do I get the CD drive to respond (It spins up as if being read)?
>
> How do new installations normally proceed on an OEM disk ?
>
> As you can see I am baffled.

Does BIOS Setup show anything of the HD? I wonder if the HD was more
than "scrubbed" and a low level format is required or it has failed.
Here is an interesting series of references to PXE 61which seems to be a
catchall for boot failure: http://www.nocrash.com/ncbbs/msgs/3247.shtml
Here is another with a more definitive response:
http://xforums.net/ib/index.php?&act=ST&f=4&t=13052

In the case of your laptop it might be a failed HD since you know it was
"scrubbed". Have you looked at it to make sure that "scrubbed" was not
done with a hammer? You might remove the HD and connect to a desktop to
confirm that it will at least be recognized.

Q

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

jefft <jefft38@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> I have acquired a Tecra 8002 which had Win 2000 installed - but the
> disk must have been scrubbed clean to remove any info on it.
> I have a win 2000 installation disk and the laptop has a product key -
> but I cannot get beyond the initial BIOS pages.
> I have changed the boot sequence so that CD-rom precedes LAN and HDD
> but the first message I see is always the Intel Boot Agent:
>
> PXE 61 : media test failure, check cable
> PXE M0F : Existing Intel PXE ROM
> Insert system disk in drive
> Press any key when ready
>
> Inserting the Win 2000 setup CD or even a bootable CD-rom created
> from a downloaded BIOS gets no response other than a repeat of
> the above message. I cannot disable the Intel Boot Agent since there is
> no response to the Control+S input.

The PXE error is saying it's trying to boot off the network but no
network cable is attached.

If you have the BIOS set to boot from CD first, then either your boot CD
is bad, or the CD drive itself is bad.

> Is there any way I can get info on the hard disk ?

Should be shown in the BIOS. Are you certain that there's one
installed?

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA

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

jefft <jefft38@yahoo.co.uk> wrote:
> The only hard disk info in the BIOS is :
>
> Built-in HDD = Primary IDE(1FOH/IRQ14)

This still doesn't tell whether there is a drive actually in there,
though.

> This is the identical information shown in my wife's laptop, a Tecra
> 8000, which is working normally with Win2000 installed.
>
> Since the HDD has supposedly been cleaned, it may be that the CD ROM is
> not working.

CD booting should work even without a hard drive. Have you tried a
different bootable CD?

--
Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota * USA