Compaq Presario

[kcrunchone]

I have a compaq presario F700 running vista, the problem is that it says no operating system found on the laptop.

it also has a password on the bios that should not be as well.
I want to reformat the machine install XP or windows 7 both of which I have legit copies of.
Is there a simple fix to this problem or is it a major issue.
I was also told to remove te password I have to change the chip that holds the retains the password, any input on that as well. I am abuot to get into some homework now. Please any info to help will be highly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

http/www.tomshardware.com/forum/64241-35-locked-laptop

 

[kcrunchone]

Yeah thanks been there and I guess the option is to order a new bios chip. I thought maybe someone might have had luck without having to do that.

 

[kcrunchone]

Another quick question if u might know.
once I get the new bios chip can I install windows 7 on the laptop w/o any issues, I dont have recovery disks for the lap top I dont believe it ever had any. the machine is 2 years old at best.
???

 

[Guest]

I doubt if the BIOS has any relevance to installing Windows 7 -- that depends upon disk size (it's much bigger than XP) and performance wise on having a reasonable processor and memory size.

 

[kcrunchone]

I was not concerned with the BIOS allowing me to install XP but the fact it is a compaq and many others have spoke on how without the original restoration disks it was a task to change the machines configuration.

 

[kcrunchone]

Well this should help some that are having the same issue and get you closer to solving some issues.
I pulled the internal MOBO battery and left it out for a few hours while I was out to see if it would allow me to enter the BIOS and yes it did. I am not sure the amount of time needed since I was not clocking the minutes but I was out of the house for at least 4 hours. I then put the battery back in the laptop and booted it up. I was able to run the diagnostic HDD test and it says there is NO IDE device present, ultimately letting me know the HDD crapped out. I will be replacing the drive after I order one and post the results.

I will be installing either W7 or XP Pro or XP Home all of which I have original official product. The machine had Vista, but its not as good as any of the others to me that is.

Thanks for the help and tips.