Drive not valid

I recently purchased an IBM Thinkpad that previously had Windows 98 on it. The drive was erades (so they say) and I am trying to reload windows on it. I have tried both Windows 98 and Windows ME (Edition for PC's without windows) from the CD.

I keep getting the same message, "Invalad drive". I even get this message when I try the start up disc in the A: drive.

I have 2 hard drives and they both give me the same message and I have put a hard drive from my kids computer (Identical one) in this machine and all works well.

Any suggestions?

 

Welcome to TSG,


Tap f1 or delete when you power on to enter the bios setup,,scan through the menus and look for boot options,,you need to make drive A boot first.

Have you got a boot diskette for windows 98?? Insert the floppy and boot without cdrom support and type in fdisk,,enable large disk support if asked and see if there is a partition there. The number 4 choice to view a partition.

What is the information in that screen?

 

When I try to change from C:> to A:> with the WinME disc in the A: drive I get a "General failure reading drive A".

When I try to boot up with the Win98 start up disc I get a "Disk I/O error".

 

Try This
A:\>dir
Then hit enter,,,what happens?

 

That gives me the general failure with both discs.

I do see the Windows 98 background briefly when it starts up but then the screen goes black and just has the microsoft copyright info followed by C:\>

 

If you did'nt go into the bios and set A drive to load first than the data on the floppy will not load the ram drive,,,you need to load that in order to be able to use any of the tools that are on that floppy,,which windows bootdisk is it??

You might try

A:\>autoexec.bat
and hit enter it might load then. But I'm pretty sure A will have to boot first,,then start without cdrom support.

Do you have a removeable floppy that you swap out with the cdrom,,or is it all in the computer at once?

 

Yes, I did check the bios and verified that it is booting from the A: drive first.

It is a removable A: drive and that is currently installed. I have not tried to use the CD rom today.

I tried A:\>autoexec.bat and still gst the general failure.

 

Does the light come on the floppy drive?? If yes Make another diskette, do you need to know how?? And which windows bootdisk will you be using,,which windows will you be installing??

 

There is a 7 digit model number somwhere on that computer,,can you find it?

Sometimes laptops require a special bootdisk,,I need those numbers to see if it does.

 

Yes the light comes on and I can hear the A: operating (I even swapped it into the kids computer and verifier the A: drive works).

I would like to go with Windows ME and I have the CD and the boot disc that came with the CD.

It is possible that it is not working perhaps but then neither is the Windows 98 disc?

I have Windows ME on my laptop, its a Toshiba Satellite 2615DVD (Nice machine and working perfictly) and the kids thinkpad 760 (identical machine to this one). I think I can make a boot disc from one of them but I don't remember how.

Will it automaticlly update the win98 from start up?

 

I was hoping you had a 98 computer,,watch for me to post again soon as I will now look to see what yours requires... If you had a 98 bootdisk that would be great,,or a 98 computer thats working, you could make a bootdisk and it will Work with ME.
Be right back.

 

It says "type 9547-U4G S/N 78-YYL48 97/05

 

Great let me see what I can find.

 

I have a '98 boot disc but it didn't work so I had my brother-in-law make me a new one but it doesn't work either. (I just get the disc I/O failure with it)

 

Here is a link for win98,ME should be the same, the drivers are all there,,let me know what you think.


http://www.pc.ibm.com/qtechinfo/MIG...brand&brand=IBM+ThinkPad&doctype=&subtype=Cat