Operating System Not Found

Q: My computer was running just fine yesterday. When I power it up today, BIOS says something like "Operating System Not Found".

A: Windows is very good at messing up the partition table and the like for any number of reasons. Power could have been turned off in standby mode, during Windows booting, etc, etc. That is exactly why you need to follow my advice in the previous FAQ about keeping your data separate from Windows partition. That way, you would not be worrying about your data right now. If the hard drive problem is not mechanical in nature, insert the Windows installation CD, enter repair mode (Administrator password is usually blank), and try commands such as chkdsk /p, fixmbr, fixboot, or the like. If this does not restore it, try connecting the hard drive to another computer and seeing if you can view the files. If not, then you will need to use special software or ask someone else. Unfortunately, there really is no single best free software package, and even more unfortunately, very many paid software that is worthless.



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Page last modified 11-Dec-12 06:56:50 EST
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