Missing Operating system

[AMD]

Hi all,

I have a serius problem,
I just switched on my pc in siggy and got this message...

Missing Operating system Press a Key

And when i do press a key i get this message after...

DISK BOOT FAILIURE,INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

The only problem is i dont have the windows disk because my computer is a Hp and had windows pre-instaled

All i have is a system recovery disk but when i try using that the only options i get are these...

*Instructions *Create a new partion *run Microsoft recovery console

Well i tryed run Microsoft recovery console and got the following options but dont know what to do

1; C:\MiniNT 2: C:\I386 3: F:\Windows

Please what do i do next?

[glc]

Pull the drive, slave it into another computer, rescue your data, then wipe the drive and start fresh with the recovery kit. Actually, you may want to test the drive with manufacturer's diagnostics, I'm betting it's failing.

[AMD]

Hi Glc,

Well i have no experience whatsoever in removing hard drives & such nor do i have a spare computer to put the drive into

Is there an alternative?

[AMD]

Please people,

I need help

[kilgoretrout]

There are alternatives but they all require a fair level of technical expertise. The unpleasant fact is that your hard drive is very likely going if not already gone. If it is gone, the only way to get data off it is to send it to a data recovery company and those are expensive - we're talking thousands of dollars, not hundreds.
If you don't care about recovering the data, you will still have to buy a new hard drive, install it and then install your operating system and software.
Once the hard drive goes, there are no magic bullets to fix it. You are going to have to get your hands dirty or take the box into a repair shop.
If you don't want to go into your box right now, you can download a live linux cd iso and burn it. Then boot off the cd. A popular one is knoppix. Knoppix will boot into a graphical linux desktop and runs entirely from the cd drive; nothing is written to the hard drive. If your hard drive is functioning, knoppix will allow you to browse it and copy data off it to a flash drive or burn it to a cd-r if you have one.

[glc]

Test the hard drive with diagnostics first.

[AMD]

Where can i get diagnostics for it because i searched on google but all it finds is new 320Gb seagate barracuda drives
Also how do i get it on disk?

I have no spare computer.

If i borrow me friends Windows Xp home cd can i install it on my computer than enter my Genuine key from the side of my case?

Will a retail version of Xp home work with my genuine xp home OEM key?

[glc]

If it's a Seagate drive, you download SeaTools from the Seagate website. You WILL need another computer to do this and make the floppies or CD.

No, you cannot use your friend's or a purchased version of XP with your HP key - that key is only for the preinstalled version. This means that you have to use the HP recovery disks or buy a copy of XP and use it and ITS key. There is NO point in even trying to do this until you run diagnostics - if the hard drive fails, the recovery will also fail.

[rwest]

Buy a cheap hard drive and replace it with the existing one. Recover using your disks. after recovery add your old HDD to the same cable. Pick an empty power cable and turn it on. Xp will do the rest. If your HDD is still good (or starting to fail) you can access the files and easily move them.

It is not hard to replace a HDD.