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OS Missing--help

690 views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  mack1 
#1 ·
Hey, I came over to my brothers house to look at his wifes computer, which I was told was having "problems"

I turn it on, and I'm told it's missing the operating system. Since there's a chance of losing files on the computer with doing a recovery, what's the best choice of action from there?

(have all their pictures of their newborn child on there, and haven't backed them up yet)
 
#2 ·
Hi Hegemon1990,
I turn it on, and I'm told it's missing the operating system.
What said that the operating system was missing?
Look in the BIOS and see if the harddrive is listed there.
Is it a desktop and do you have the Windows Install CD?
If the harddrive shows in the BIOS, then it is very possible that the data can be retrieved.

Tell what you have.

Best regards
Mack1
 
#4 ·
Most of the time the bios is accessed by hitting DEL right after turning on the computer. Make sure they don't have a CD in the drive because often, with older computers, the system will read the CD or Floppy drive and will not find the OS on the disk and give that message. Of course it's also possible that the drive could have failed. I usually try listening to the drive and see if there's a consistently repeating clicking sound which often indicates that the drive is trying to read, but can't.
 
#7 ·
Hi Hegemon1990,
Is there none of the normal black screens with data written on it before the missing OS message. Usually on about the first screen with writing, the "hit xx to enter setup" is displayed on the bottom of that screen, where xx is the key. Depending on your BIOS, it could be DEL, ESC, F1, F2, and on rare occasion, a key combination. It is also listed in the user's manual that comes with the computer, or motherboard.
If nothing else works, tell us if it is a desktop. If it is, you will be asked to open it up and reseat the cables on the harddrive and the motherboard.
If you have the Windows Install CD, you will be asked to use it to get to the Recovery Console where a DOS looking prompt will let you try some repairs. If you have another computer available, you could move the harddrive to it and retrieve your data from there.
What is the manufacturer of the computer?
Is it a desktop?

Help us help you.
Best regards,
Mack1
 
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