[phicolcomm]

wiped HD clean on laptop. OS will not load ( Win 98, NT, or 2000) PC boots and stops at command prompt screen with blinking cursor. HD shows MBR files. Partions created and made active. Still no OS load.
Stumped?

[ekim68]

How did you wipe it clean and did you format it?

[phicolcomm]

wipe clean will killdisk. I did format the drive( so the results show) but I get nothing onscreen after boot. Still blinking cursor.

[Squashman]

If you did a low level wipe with Killdisk then you would need to boot up with an external media like a Floppy, CD or USB and partition the HD first, then format the HD, then make the drive bootable as a system disk. When you formatted the HD you should have used the /S switch. That makes the HD bootable.

Of course doing what you did was trivial if you are trying to install NT or 2000 because you can boot from the install media and Partition and Format during the setup of those two operating systems.

[phicolcomm]

Great. I will try that. I too thought the cd would load and ask me to format and partition. I did that but the OS did not load. Great advice! Thanks!

[Squashman]

You still need to set your BIOS to boot from the CD drive first.

[phicolcomm]

Does it make a difference if after F12, boot from cd or go into bios settings and change the boot device order?

[Squashman]

Originally Posted by phicolcomm

Does it make a difference if after F12, boot from cd or go into bios settings and change the boot device order?

Whatever makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

[phicolcomm]

I want to create a VM machine that will run server 20003/ linux and windows xp.
any idea which OS I should load first to create my VM environment? Oh also Win 2000 also.
Thanks

[DoubleHelix]

You need a host operating system installed first. What do you plan to use, and what is your computer licensed for? You have full retail licenses for Windows Server, Windows XP, and Windows 2000?

[DoubleHelix]

All support stays in the forums, not in private messages.

From your PM:
"Thanks for the reply. MY machine is xp preloaded. I other OS I want to run in VM mode. DoI need to partition the HD to load VM and other OS?"

If this thread is not solved, it shouldn't be marked as such.

You do not create partitions when using virtualization software. What application are you using? You will need full retail licenses for all operating systems you intend to virtualize. You cannot use OEM licenses or licenses that came with other computers.