[ngarazpack]

Cpu type-Pentium MMX Base Memory 640k
Co-Processor-Installed Extended Memory 15360k
Cpu Clock 133MHz Cache Memory 256k

Diskette Drive A: 1.44m, 3.5in Display Type EGA/VGA
Diskette Drive B: None Serial Port(s) 3F8 2F8
Hard Disk Drive C:None Parallel Port(s) 378
Hard Disk Drive D:CDRom Mode4 L2 Cache SCRAM Type:Pipeline

Error Message shows this underneath all this information

DISK BOOT FAILURE,INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
-------------------------------------------------------------
Ok this laptop had windows 95 on it ...it was working perfectly till i renamed the (D Drive-back too) D: the previous owner had named this drive with her name example KayD: Since doing this i am unable too get past the above,there is kind of a place on this laptop that looks like you maybe able too insert a floppy...but the floppy disk thing looks way smaller then the normal floppy disk we use today.I must admit that i have tampered with the CMOS SETUP UTILITY as this is the only thing i can get in too once pressing DELETE...this does not have any safe mode or restore point on this laptop so im stuck just trying too figure out what too do in the CMOS SETUP page.I also brought this of trademe and like ive stated above it was in working order till i renamed the D Drive...now im stuck and cant get windows loading on here,as stated above is all i see now when starting up laptop.Please help As i don't have heaps of money too get this repaired or rebooted...any advise would be greatly appreciated And i also didn't receive any cds/floppy too reboot this...however i have recently brought windows 95 and it does have a boot floppy with it...but this cant fit in the laptop floppy...what too do here?
Regards Stressed out "ngarazpack" Help

[TheOutcaste]

Originally Posted by ngarazpack

Hard Disk Drive C:None

This says the system doesn't see a hard drive.

Either it has a bad connection, it died, or you disabled it in the BIOS.

Check in the BIOS and set the hard drive mode for the Primary Master to Auto. (Wording may vary).
You can also try resetting the BIOS to Factory Default/System Default.

Also try removing and reinstalling the drive. That might fix any bad connection problem.

[ngarazpack]

Thanks for the fast response...i have gone in too Bios too check if it is set on Auto" And yes it was already on it.For Defaults on this Laptop it is F7...and yes i have clicked everything i may have changed or touched by pressing F7 too Load Setup Defaults....when i save and exit out of CMOS Setup Utility screen....it still comes up with the same message

DISK BOOT FAILURE,INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I will describe what i see on my laptop while in CMOS SETUP UTILITY SCREEN...

ROM PCI/ISA (2A5IEACB) CMOS SETUP UTILITY AWARD SOFTWARE,INC

Titles
Standard CMOS Setup
Intergrated Peripherals
Bios Feature Setup
Password Setting
Power Management Setup
IDE HDD Auto Detection
PCI Configuration Setup
HDD Low Level Format
Save & Exit Setup
Exit Without Saving

Esc:Quit
F10:Save & Exit Setup
Up,Down,Left,Right Arrow:Select Item
Shift F2:Change color

Suggestion:
Maybe another way for me too solve this problem with your help of course is what ever title you want me too go too,and for me too describe what i see in there (Title)...at least i guess this is one way you can view what i see on my laptop...where you of course you may pick up my error


These are questions from your first response for me too do
1.Is how do i reinstall drive if it wont by pass the problem im having
2.And how do we get laptop too see the C: sorry for all the questions etc...
3.Remember it says i have a floppy disk drive...but this is useless too me as it wont fit the normal size floppy...well i think the part on here is for the floppy

Regards ngarazpack

[TheOutcaste]

The hard drive should be listed on the Standard CMOS Setup screen.
The BIOS version you have should be similar to the pictures from this site:
http://www.elhvb.com/mboards/superpo.../SP-P2LXB.html

Scroll down about half way to the Chapter 3. BIOS Setup section.
When you select Standard CMOS Setup, it should show a line for each controller, and each should be set to Auto as shown in Figure 3.2 on the above page.

The IDE HDD Auto Detection section should scan the IDE controller and try to identify settings for whatever is connected. It will list all zeros for the ports that it can't detect a drive on. I wouldn't change anything in this screen just yet (ESC should skip without changing anything), but try it to see if it detects the hard drive, which should be on the Primary Master.
If it doesn't, then I'd suspect the connection to the drive or the drive just died.

By re-installing the drive I mean to physically remove it from the laptop then put it back. This can "cleanup" the connector and can sometimes fix bad connections to the drive.

The slots you see are likely for PCMCIA cards. Laptops this old usually used an external Floppy drive that plugs into a connector on the laptop, or on some models could be swapped with the CD-ROM drive.
Don't know if there is any Model numbers you can still see, but this site is about the only one that has info on the Oris laptops. Perhaps you can identify your model from some of the pictures they have.

Orphaned Laptops - Oris Minuet

Renaming the D: drive shouldn't have affected the hard drive, but it's possible that the drive just decided to die at the same time.

You could try running some hard drive diagnostics on the drive, but if the BIOS doesn't list the drive, they might not see it either. Be sure to get the DOS version and make sure it's an image for a CD-ROM and not for a floppy. You'd have to burn the image to a CD on another system to use it.

Hard Drive Diagnostics:

Seagate/Maxtor
Western Digital
IBM/Hitachi
Fujitsu/Seimens

Free Hard Drive Testing Applications:
HD Tune
HDAT2 (Diagnostics and bad sector recovery)
MHDD Low-level Diagnostics
Bootable Hitachi Drive Fitness Test Floppy or CD Image (works on most drives)

[Squashman]

You are looking at a computer that is 13 years old at the minimum. Did you expect it to live forever.

[ngarazpack]

Thanks TheOutcaste for the awesome information of all the websites that i should check...im still slowly going through some of these sites comparing each one too my own laptop...have found one with alot of simular set up features and have set them and checked info too match my laptop.Still slowly trying too fix my laptop...well if i can i will give it ago thats for sure

Your Quote:
The slots you see are likely for PCMCIA cards. Laptops this old usually used an external Floppy drive that plugs into a connector on the laptop, or on some models could be swapped with the CD-ROM drive.
Don't know if there is any Model numbers you can still see, but this site is about the only one that has info on the Oris laptops. Perhaps you can identify your model from some of the pictures they have.

My Answer too this is:
The Model Number is DSOA_21080
Rated 5v 500mA
Made For 1BM U.K LTD
Made in United Kingdom
Warranty void if any label/Screw is removed or brokem
P/N 39H0689 1080MB
MLC E15783
(2100CYL,16HEADS, 63SEC/T)

It has on the very top of this thing IBM OEM ...Don't know if these numbers mean anything but here they are...R9250061 LR86169 E33252H But like i said i really appreciate your help and if you have anymore info or sites that you can think of please let me know

[ngarazpack]

Originally Posted by Squashman

You are looking at a computer that is 13 years old at the minimum. Did you expect it to live forever.

well no.....but if there is someone out there with the wisedom too help others fix there old/new computers or laptops ...then i say up too them

[Squashman]

My philosophy is time is money. I wouldn't waste my time fixing something that old when I could probably pick up something 10 times better and 8 years newer for $50 on the web.

[TheOutcaste]

Actually I was thinking of a model number for the Laptop itself instead of the hard drive, but the hard drive info is useful as well.
The DSOA_21080 is a TravelStar 2LP drive manufactured by Hitachi for IBM.
You can find info on it at this page: TravelStar 2LP
It's a standard 2.5" IDE drive, so the laptop is not one of the ones that use the odd sized 3.0" drives (which is the main reason i was wanting a laptop model number).
The Hitachi drive fitness test would be a good choice to run to test this drive. (Last link in post 4)
There are adapters available to connect the laptop drive to a desktop, which would help determine if it's a drive problem, or a problem with the laptop.
Here's just a couple of links to adapters:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...310&CatId=3770
http://www.1topstore.com/product_info.php?products_id=1
You could also get an external USB Enclosure that supports 2.5" IDE (or ATA/PATA) drives.

If the drive is bad it would have to be replaced obviously. And if you didn't get the OS disks with the system, you'd be looking at buying a new copy of Windows as well. Win95 CDs were not bootable, so a Floppy would be needed to install, or the drive would have to be formatted and made bootable to DOS on another system, and have the Win95 files copied to it so you can boot to the hard drive and then install Win95.

Problem is with a system that old, there may be limits to the size of hard drive that you can use, mainly BIOS limitations. 4 or 8 GB were common limits from the Win95 era. You can probably install a larger drive and still use part of it, or use Drive Overlay software that would let you use all of a larger drive, but on some systems it just won't work if the drive is too large.

Finding a new drive smaller than 40 GB would be difficult and if you can only use 8 GB of it that's a lot of wasted space. 40 GB drives run $40-$60 new.

You can find used drives on Ebay, lot's of 10 GB or smaller drives for under $25. I've had good luck with used drives, but you never can tell.

Though a look through Ebay's completed listings shows a lot of PII laptops have sold for less than $50, so if your goal is to have a working laptop, it's probably not worth spending money on this one.

Nothing wrong with fixing it just for the fun of doing so though.