Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Ive got a 2nd comp (comp #2) in the house which HD recently went out. i picked up a used HD (HD #2).
Installed HD#2 in my Good comp (Comp #1). Erased HD#2.
Put HD#2 in bad comp. Inserted Boot disk. I get "Operating System Not Found" as an error message. Well duh cause it wont let me install Windows. lol

Ive tried different jumper settings, swapped around the boot order in the Bios, even tried to install Windows on the HD while plugged into my good comp. Nothing so far has worked.

If I put the HD in my good comp it comes up fine as a 2nd HD.

Im trying to install Win 98 on the new HD, then ill Upgrade to Win XP (cause I have a full 98 install disk and an upgrade XP disk).

Im not buying a copy of Windows, and would rather not buy another HD. Its going in a 600MHz comp so I dont want to spend any more $$.

Thanks all...

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

you sure the hardrive went out? that board could be fubar, especially if it wont let you boot off of a cd.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Yeah, did you ever try the other drive in your good computer to make sure it's actually bad?

Does the boot disk work in the other computer?

You've set the bios to boot from the floppy?

If so, then it sounds like a bad mobo to me too.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

im good at frying motherboards... >:D
thats what it sounds like to me..lemme guess its a dell or a HP..

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Cant you just boot from the xp cd and since its an upgrade it'll ask you for your 98 cd to verify before installing?

Anywyas I forgot, if that doesnt work, the used hdd is probably formatted with NTFS which a windows 98 disk isnt able to read and that could be the problem. Try putting the hdd in the good computer and format it to fat32

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

The new HD is NTFS.
Ill try switching it to fat32 and ill also double check the old HD.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

The answer is under your nose. Keep searching. Better yet... Do it all again.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

600mhz? jesus christ i havent used anything that slow in years... thats not a second computer, thats a damn oversized pda. get a new board and chip they are dirt.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

No ---- Im thinking about puttin together a rig for ma dukes.
2.4 Ghz Duo core 2
light scribe DVD burner SATA
160 G HD
19 LCD
MIA MB 1066 FSB daul channel ram
2 Gigs or PC 667 Ram

800 bucks. Man I love Newegg

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

That cost 800??? I built a 2.4ghz computer (not dual core) over 3 years ago with 1gb ddr2700 ram and 20gb drive for less than that... I have a samsung lightscribe dvd burner for $30 from newegg. If you need an LCD you should talk to me :-P I can get a 19" for around $130 + shipping, a good LG one.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

yeah the monitor is Acer and I love them. had mine for about 3 years now no problems whatso ever. and yeah thats just how teh ---- adds up after you get HD, Burners Vid card blah blah blah. But that Processor is disgucting though. 2.4 is advertised for a Dual core 2 it will go to about 2.8 beofre you need more than the Aluminum heatsink they give you. It will do 3.0 all day with a fan. Trust me the Dual Core at 3.0 is worth the price tag. ;)

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

I think you need a boot floppy disk for 98 install, haven't installed 98 in awhile but if you need a 98 boot floppy disk try www.bootdisk.com.

But you should be able to boot the upgrade version of XP and during install it will ask for the full version of OS so insert 98 CD let it check and you should be good to go.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

My severely outdated 2400+ runs at 2800+ clock speeds stable with nothing more than a fan, and I bought it for $90 over 3 years ago (probably longer than that, actually).

How much was it?

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Its abotu 230 shipped but i mean damn. these guys are Overclocking this thing to like 3.5 stable with a nice fan setup. No water. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115003

Intel is the ----, they have really come around now. you can OC' them with ease just like the AMD's used to be famous for but instead of exploding when you have gone to far with an intel you can just back it down and you're good.

i dont think anyone could argue the cost effectiveness of the new Dual Core 2 chips. amazing potential

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

you need to change the bios setting to boot from whichever drive your putting the windows disk in. simple as that.

jorscher said it, and he is correct. The HDD can be unformatted, it won't matter. I've run WDclear on a HDD then immediatly run the windows install disk hundreds of times.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Yeah I'll look into those dual cores when I build the next rig. The old amd has been sufficient for the past few years but now with ripping and encoding hd stuff, it's falling on it's face. I bought the amd and asus board just because of how easy they were to overclock with. I wasn't aware that intel is good for overclocking now.

And all processors will fry with too much load, that's why you should only oc a little at a time until it starts getting unstable. There's a few programs that will put the cpu under 100% load for an amount of time you specify to test stabililty though.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Josher when you do check this out. Intel has offcialy buried AMD with ease with this utility OC'ing from the desktop duder.

http://www.intel.com/design/motherbd.../dcc/index.htm

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Nice, I like that. They are somewhat new to mobos aren't they? I don't remember seeing intel motherboards last time I went shopping for parts. My asus one came with a similar utility, except it wasn't able to overclock/test the cpu from within windows.

I don't think I'll be building another system until next year, maybe tax returns, and I'll see if intel still has the lead then.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

if it wont boot from boot disc -

go into BIOS and make sure its a)set to boot from a CD before a harddrive b)BIOS does indeed see the harddrive. Set it up as primary master (with humpers, cable)

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Humpers are awesome.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Tried your suggestions.

Reformatted new drive for FAT32. Put it back in and now get "Error loading OS" message.

Checked OLD drive. it works fine as a slave in my good comp. Its also Fat32. when I put it in my 2nd comp it says "Invalid system disk" replace the disk and press a key. The HD does show up in the Bios and I tried 3 different Win boot disks.

Sound like motherboard is kaput?

I need to find a nice 1GHz comp for cheap... :(

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

1ghz for cheap? are there expensive ones? I bought a 2ghz proc YEARS ago for under $100.

What are you using for a bootdisc? CD or floppy? Honestly I don't think the harddrive filesystem (FAT32, NTFS, etc) really matters because the bios will recognize it and OS will format it to whatever it desires.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

i had to reread your original post like 6 times, lol.

its coming up fine on your good computer because your good computer is booting off the other hard drive, i would boot with an install cd and run recovery console and run fixmbr because when you erased the hard drive you probably corrupted the master boot record and the machine doesn't know where to load the operating system from.

also make sure that the partition containing the OS is the active partition, also might try changing the cmos setting to CHS translation.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Im using a boot floppy cause i dont have a copy of bootable Windows CD.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

My nig. you need to upgrade. Its a sign from the gods.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

Do you have a CD Burner? D/L yourself a copy of windows and boot from it. Easy as pie.

Re: Installing Windows: "Operating System Not Found" Error
 

so did you do any of the ---- that i posted previously?

look 98 is a little tricky to get going, but basically what you are describing is that you erased the hard drive, are running a boot disk, and after it boots (does it beep more than once?) it says it can't find the operating system?
i assume this is because you erased it and are trying to use a different version of windows boot disk which doesn't come up to a command line and allow you to type x:\setup to run the install off the cd rom.

anyway here is how microsoft says to do it-http://support.microsoft.com/kb/221829