Help Monkspider fix his computer crisis or else he will face doom

[monkspider]

it is a gateway, so I suppose ya.

[Urban Ranger]

Ah. So that explains why <del> doesn't work. Try those other keys then.

[Promethus]

Monk

Look at your screen when the puter boots, it will tell you what key to press to enter the BIOS.

In BIOS on the top of the screen there should be a menu item called "Boot" use the + key to move the CD to the 1st place and then re-boot from CD.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Promethus
Look at your screen when the puter boots, it will tell you what key to press to enter the BIOS.

Not when you have an OEM machine. Well not the ones I have seen.

[CerberusIV]

My PC asks me to press Enter to get into the BIOS. You may just have to keep restarting it and pressing likely keys.

[SpencerH]

Plus if you have a fast machine the bios screens can be by so fast that you dont see anything.

[SpencerH]

I was gonna ask what you mean by you get nothing but thats not what you get. I guess you dont get what you'd see without an OS either.

My advice is to use your win98se boot disk. Use the DOS commands to move your important docs to another HD and then format the HD with the OS. I wouldnt try to install anything on top of a pirated copy of XP.

[Urban Ranger]

He said he didn't have a boot diskette. Even if he has one, the BIOS setting may still be HDD first.

[monkspider]

one question, i have a usb external drive,is there anyway i could temporairly set it up to be the master drive? BTW, i have hit every key under the sun, and I still can't seem to get into bios. I don't think i have tried enter, i will try that tommorrow.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by monkspider
one question, i have a usb external drive,is there anyway i could temporairly set it up to be the master drive?

Maybe, but only if you have access to the BIOS.

P.S. Call Gateway to find out if push comes to shove.

[SpencerH]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
He said he didn't have a boot diskette. Even if he has one, the BIOS setting may still be HDD first.

Lots of boot disks available on the web, but you're right he needs to get into his BIOS anyway. The USB external drive is gonna be tough though isnt it? You need more than just a driver on a diskette to make it work dont you?

[Q Classic]

it's a windows computer, right?

there's also the wonderful be-all-end-all solution at www.linuxiso.org ....

[reds4ever]

Originally posted by Q Cubed
it's a windows computer, right?

there's also the wonderful be-all-end-all solution at www.linuxiso.org ....

personally, i'd rather try fixing a broken Windows system than go through a Linux setup!

[Urban Ranger]

You don't know what you are talking about

[monkspider]

Good news, I have had a breakthrough. I called Gateway and figured out how to get into BIOS, I changed the CD Rom to main boot priority, and I am installing Windows ME as we speak. God bless all of you.