Hi all. I've come to find that my laptop isn't actually dead - its gone into DOS mode, so now it's basically like the computers from 10 yrs ago.

My friend is very good with DOS and he told me I need a driver to get it all working again to normal Windows XP.

Firstly: Does anyone know if I can d/load this driver and Secondly: Can it just be done with DOs codes?

Thanx

I'm not sure what you mean by it went in dos mode? Sounds like you lost your operating system. Do you have a xp cd to reinstall? You'll have to change it to boot from cd rom first. To do this soon as the system starts up keep tapping the delete key. sometimes it's F2 as well. Once in there change the first boot device to "boot from cd rom" save the changes then put your xp cd in and restart. The cd should boot up and go through the install process.

Sounds like there's alot getting lost in the translation here. To answer your questions won't give you much help, I'm afraid. There are thousands of drivers out there, some can be loaded through dos, some cannot. When a video or similar driver is causing an issue you can at least boot windows to safe mode by tapping the F8 key when windows begins to load. Booting to DOS will take you directly to the C: prompt. I haven't seen this happen on an XP or Windows 2k machine ever unless it's booted up to a windows98 floppy or it's chosen as a startup option.

Ghostboy has a good start for you. Reinstalling Windows may do the trick, just be sure not to reformat if you have data you need saved. Often it gives you the option of repairing windows, I'd try that first, it loads all of the critical windows files and may fix your problem as long as it isn't a virus or hardware issue.

Barring that, you may need to give us more info and start from the beginning - what exactly your computer is doing on startup and we can try to help from there.

Thanx for that. I'm trying all this DOS commands when I guess all I really need to do if rapidly hit DEL. I'll go and try that now and give you the results.

It's gone into the DOS because Windows was deleted from the system when my friends dad was trying to get it fixed. I'm surprised he didn't know it was in DOS as he knows how to do a loada stuff on computers.

My mate Yan told me its in DOS, hence asking about it.

Than again,

Peter =]

I hate DOS!! and my laptop!!!

I've researched and researched but there's not one site that actually does the job. I can't boot the Windows XP from pressing F2 then selecting "boot cd rom". Nothing even happens.

I don't know what I'm gonna do now. I've already had a bad day and now its got worse.


EDIT: All that is below


Here in steps is what happens when I turn it on

1. The small Windows 98 logo appears

2. Screens goes blank

3. Text appears checking everything is normal. Message at bottom says "Press F2 to enter Setup"

4. I don't press F2 and the screen goes into DOS C: drive commanding.

5. I stare at the screen and try a few commands I learn from WWW

6. I start typing in swear words and phrases.

7. I get annoyed and nearly hit the laptop.

8. I turn it off and close the lid

You mean windows xp? I'll continue as if you do. Otherwise, I'm just confused..

So you went into your bios by hitting F2 and the computer is set to boot first from the cd rom drive. Yet with the windows XP cd in the cd drive, it doesn't give you a message saying, "Press any key to boot from cd"? (or something similar to that). Sorry to recap I just want to make sure we're on the same page, it can be easy to miss things writing it out like this.

With any data CD in the drive, try hitting D: or E: What happens then? If the drive changes letters, try hitting /dir Does the little light on the outside of the cd rom come on?

What it sounds like to me is:
A: The XP cd has gone bad
B: The cd drive has gone bad

On top of the operating system issues... ouch!

I would try to get my hands on another windows CD, any version will do, just to try to boot to it. With any luck it's just the CD.

edit - If you feel the need to hit it, aim for the keyboard. The lcd screens can get expensive to replace!! <snicker>

I'll have a go at the above.

I know for certain that the Windows XP cd isn't messed up 'cause it worked fine on the other computer. Before the computer had everything deleted the disk drives worked perfectly with no trouble. When I try opening DOS D: I just get an error message telling me that the drive has not been read and it asks me if I want to try again.

I'm starting to get mega annoyed at the computer.

Doubtful you need a driver. If the system is booting up in Dos, you need to reinstall XP. You probably got a virus.

Did you ever make an emergency boot disk? IF not, just put the XP cd into the drive and reboot. There will be a menu asking if you want to reinstall a failed or corrupted OP.

Have you tried another data CD? If there is a good CD in the drive AND the drive is working, it should take you to D: and allow you to navigate and get a directory listing (/dir). Here's why I ask... Laptops are very delicate and can get serious problems from shock. The hard drives go out on them very easily. Even though the computer is booting, it's still possible the hard drive is damaged and that could be why it's not finding windows. If this happened from shock, the same incident could have damaged the CD drive. Do you recall if you were having any problems at all before this happened, or if it was bumped or anything? If you can't get a directory listing for any CDs, you might have to tackle that problem first. If you have a major brand they usually aren't too expensive to replace and you can do it yourself, one or two screws and they just slide out. If it doesn't fix the problem you can usually return it for a small restocking fee.

There is also a very slim possibility that there is a bios setting assigning your CD drive letter as E or F or something different. I haven't seen it in years but there have been some bios versions that do that. You can try digging around in there (press F2 during startup) and see if you can find anywhere that assigns your CD rom a drive letter.