I recently returned from a 10 day trip in Orlando to find that my computer can't locate my operating system when it boots up. It was working perfectly find before I left on my trip. Before leaving I shutdown the computer and then unplugged everything. Now the damn thing is totally ****ed. I can't find my Windows XP Install disc but it's not like that would do me any good, because I tried a Windows 98 Install disc and it wouldn't recognize it at all. Here are my specs and the message I recieve on bootup, word for word.

"Operating System not found on any devices. Press any key to try again."

Compaq Presario 7000T series
Pentium 3, 866 MHZ
Had Windows XP
1024 RAM

The OS was originally installed on the C drive. I do have recovery discs to wipe the drive clean and back to what it was like when I bought it, but if I can avoid doing that that would be great. Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

Hi there , sonicblue.


Maybe it is time to replace youre motherboards battery , it could be that youre bios has reset it self to default settings and doesn't regoqnize the HD anymore.
Have a look in youre bios to see if youre bios still sees the drive and also look at the boot order , i.e. 1,floppy 2,cd/dvdrom 3,harddisk to see if that still is in order.

How exactly would I check my BIOS?

By the way, I've discovered a really big problem. I tried loading my recovery discs and got this message.

Run-time error R6003
-integer divide by 0
A:\>

On a Compaq i think you have to tap f2 when booting up , it probebly will say what key you need to press to get in youre bios while booting up incase it isn't f2.

Tried F2 and didn't get anything, just the same black screen with the message about not being able to locate my OS. And it doesn't offer any information as to what button I should be pressing. My screen actually starts with the Compaq logo and no other text on that screen and then straight to the black screen with the error message.

Try delete , f10 or f12.


PS: keep tapping them while booting up to make sure you hit it on the right time.

F10 worked like charm! I've got this menu up now but I can't find anything called "BIOS". I did find the boot order and it's set for CD-ROM first, then floppy and then the C drive.