[tabletopphoto]

I aquired an old compaq presario and it won't do anything. I keep getting a message that says the OS fails to load. I tried installing a copy I own and It wouldn't allow the installation. I swapped out the old hard drive with a working hard drive with a working OS and I'm getting the same error message. I'm wonderring if it could possibly be a bios error, and if it is possible to fix the problem

[scrfix]

Just a few notes on this one:

Without actually being able to see the computer, it is extremely difficult to pinpoint the exact error however with that said, I have a few questions and statements.

1. How old is old? Windows XP, Windows 98? What does the windows product key say?

2. Are you attempting to run Windows or Linux? This error is common when the boot loader cannot load the OS in Linux.

3. Does your BIOS see the hard drive?

4. On the working hard drive if Windows XP, attempt to run a repair (This is the second repair option available to you when you run the operating system installation CD IF it is available on your version. Some versions of Home edition do not offer this function.)

This could be a hard drive controller error, could be the MBR is damaged however if you attempted two different hard drives, I doubt this.