DVD drive died - l need to reinstall XP Satellite A105

Hi everyone,
My wife went on vacation to Hawaii, and while she was gone, her Satellite A105 (no longer under warranty with a dead DVD drive) started malfunctioning to the point where XP where freeze on boot.
I tried everything I could but it wouldn't boot.
So finally I took a USB DVD drive formatted the hard drive with killdisk and tried to use the recovery disc to at least get the unit operational. Problem is the unit will not complete the installation I get the following error:
Windows cannot find c:/bin/errordialog.exe
I thought it was the disc so I cleaned it, and still the same thing, since I'm a student, I had access to XP pro from the msdn network so I got a copy, and still the same error.
I don't have a large enough USB flash drive, and the laptop doesn't have a floppy so I'm stuck with no way to restore the OS... needless to say the wife is not pleased with me!
I managed to get Linux installed without problem, but my wife wants her laptop back to xp and will probably hate me until I can fix what I have done. PLEASE help!
TIA

>feilks, your grammar and sarcasm are as bad as the design of this laptop
:) you are right about my grammar but notebook design is not so bad.
Maybe my grammar is bad but you understood me very well. Thats make me happy.
So let be serious now.
You have notebook with defective optical disc drive.
You don't have floppy disc drive.
If you want to start OS installation from second partition you must somehow start notebook in DOS mode.
The question is how to do this. Usually you can do this using start disc (FDD) or you can create bootable start CD. The funny thing is: you cannot use any of them.
The whole time you are writing about USB. Ok I can understand what you want. Probably you want to use external USB connected CD/DVD drive. Right?
Idea is not bad but this drive will not be recognized for boot-up. Why? You must load DOS driver for external drive. How to do this? Using floppy? You don't have it.
Can you now understand my joke with gasoline tank?
BTW: sorry for all my intrusive unintelligent remarks. This is my last posting. I will not disturb you anymore. I just thought we can be realistic here.
I will follow this thread. Maybe someone else have better solution.
Good luck!

Similar Messages

  • Hard drive died.  Need to reinstall on new laptop with windows 7 64 bit system,  Need to get activation code for CS3 Web Premium.

    Hard drive died.  Cannot uninstall CS3 to remove copy registration. Need to reinstall on new laptop with windows 7 64 bit system,  Need to get activation code for CS3 Web Premium.

    Thank you Bob.
    Just to clarify - in terms of backing up one set of these, would that just be so I had it on disk and didn't need to re-download from Adobe if the installation got corrupted somehow?  Or do I need a backup for some other reason?
    Thanks

  • HT2447 If you reformat your hard drive do you need to reinstall the software enabler?

    If you reformat your hard drive do you need to reinstall the software enabler?

    I have no idea what the software enabler is.
    But if it is on the hard drive and you reformat then it is gone.
    Allan

  • Quicksilver G4 | no dvd drive  and I need to upgrade OS?

    Okay, I hope no one is too harsh with me - I'm not real bright. Did Panther get released on cd-rom? I can only find it online with dvd install disks???
    Should I get a dvd drive for this dinosaur and jump straight to Tiger or even waste the time trying to find panther on cd?
    Main reason is that nothing is working with with Jaguar now - I bought a harddisk video cam - needs newer OS, iPod mini needs newer OS.
    I should probably get a newer mac - but I'm trying to conserve the cash.
    thanks in advance for humoring me.
    Quick Silver G4   Mac OS X (10.2.x)  

    Hi mattbequiet! And Welcome To Discussions!
    Some additional information for you.
    Tiger is available for purchase at The Apple Store (U.S.).
    Panther, is no longer available directly from the Apple Online Store, as Tiger 10.4.x is the most up to date OS.
    A Full Retail Version, of the Panther Install CDs, or a Full Retail Version of the Tiger Install DVD, can be purchased rather inexpensively, at some online Apple retailers, Amazon, eBay, AppleRescue, etc.
    Be sure not to purchase grey, upgrade or machine specific CDs or DVDs.
    Panther is only on CDs, not DVDs.
    More info here Tip: Using OS X Install CDs/DVDs On Multiple Macs
    Once Panther 10.3.x is installed, you can use the 10.3.9 Combo Update, to upgrade to the final version.
    If your Mac meets the System Requirements for Tiger, you could also consider installing that.
    And then use the 10.4.7 Combo Update.
    You'll find System Requirements in these links:
    Panther
    Tiger
    Additionally,
    "Tiger ships on a DVD, but if your Mac doesn’t have a built-in DVD-ROM player, you’ll need CD media. When you buy Mac OS X Tiger, you qualify to purchase Tiger CDs for only $9.95."
    Download The order Form Here. Media Exchange Program
    Shop Carefully, Examine All Documention, And Good Luck!
    ali b

  • DVD Drive not detected after Vista reinstall/recover

    Hi,
    I was having various problems with my computer (dv6815nr) so I did a complete recovery using the recovery image
    on the hard drive.  Everything seems to work now except the dvd drive is not working. it is not detected in device manager.
    I have tried all the fixes and "mr. fix its" that i could find on the ms knowledge forum.  i have also checked the registry for the upper/lower filters as described on the ms website and also in this forum.  i have also removed, rebooted, shutoff and then reinstalled the drive with no results.  any help would be greatly appreciated.
    gocd1

    yes, the drive was working immediately before the recovery.  I noticed that the drive was not working when i went to install the windows ultimate upgrade disc. drive lights up, spins disc and then nothing.  Also, i have physically removed the drive from the computer, shut off computer removed power supply (cord and battery) held down power button for 30 seconds restart computer with drive not in computer and then shutoff again and physically reinstall drive.  Also have done uninstall of all IDE/ATA controllers channels in device manager and then restart as recommended on another post.  looked on another hp6700 and found "cd/dvd" on device manager list and mine does not have that. so not sure why dvd drive would be in ide/ata channel list. 
    gocd1

  • DVD drive died - replacement?

    The Superdrive in my MBP has just died. It won't accept DVDs or CD of any kind (it either makes a multipitched humming sound then ejects, or makes a worrying mechanical, knocking sound). I've tried some of the suggestions here: updating the system to the latest version, DVD lens cleaners, resetting the PRAM, but nothing will fix it.
    I bought my MacBook Pro in December 2008 - it's out of its year's warranty (and I dont have AppleCare), but surely Apple products should last longer than 18 months!
    What options do I have? Has anyone had Apple replace a DVD drive for free after the year's warranty is up?

    I had a problem of "cannot calibrate for media..." blah blah and assumed it was the drive just waring out as I had used it alot over the past 2 years (1000burns) so I took it to Apple shop in Touchwood (UK) and they replaced it (125 GBP later!!)
    Got it back seemed to work when i burned 10 Movies a few days ago , but then got calls back the following day from several people saying many of them are jumping or just stop playing halfway through..
    Is the new drive not calibrated properly ???
    I noticed today on some forums that many other people had the same ORIGINAL error as me ....and that it is thought to be a firmware update error !! so possibly nothing was wrong with the old hardware. !!!
    I will take it back this week. And get them to check the calibration .....?
    Anyone got any tips , can I do anything?

  • Upgrading hard drive - do I need to reinstall everything?

    Hi -
    As the title suggests, I'm thinking of upgrading my 40gig hard drive to something bigger and was wondering how to shift all my stuff off and back on again? I have a 250gig external firewire which I can use but had heard of "mirror imaging" the whole hard drive. Does this mean I won't have to reinstall my OS and software (InDesign, Photoshop etc) from the original disks and then upgrade via the web etc?
    Thanks

    If there is sufficient space on the external hard drive, you can make a "disk image" of your internal drive on it using Disk Utility. The disk image is stored in a single file, which can be mounted on your desktop like a hard drive. The disk image serves as a backup and duplicate of the original disk.
    Once you install the new drive, you can run Disk Utility and restore from that disk image. When complete, your new drive will have exactly the same content as your old drive. You will not need to reinstall anything.
    Does your external drive have a Tiger installed on it? In other words, is it bootable?

  • Mac Mini Server (mid 2011): after erasing both drives, do I need to reinstall OS X on both drives or just one?

    After purchasing a new mac mini, I am selling the mid 2011 server.  I am not sure if I need to reinstall Yosemite on both hard drives (I have erased both drives).  I assume I need to but I thought I read that I don't and have not been able to find that article again.  The manuals available are only for the earlier mac mini server or my year, mid 2011, the "regular" mac mini.

    You should NOT install Yosemite on your 2011 model. That model DID NOT come preinstalled with OS X Yosemite. If you do you're using YOUR Apple ID not the buyer's.
    Before you sell your 2011 Mac Mini you need to install the original OS that the Mac shipped with. If it came preinstalled with OS X Lion or Mountain Lion, you can use Internet Recovery (Command+Option+R) which will boot into Apple's servers and verify the Mac and allow it's preinstalled OS to be reinstalled. Here is a link that should help you prepare it for resale.

  • New hard drive: Do I need to reinstall OS X if using Migration Assistant?

    I have a new internal hard drive on the way, along with an enclosure to use the existing hard drive as an external drive.
    Here's my question: Do I need to install OS X on the drive in order to use Migration Assistant to move the data over? I think I do...
    And yes, I've made another backup too!
    Thanks in advance!!!

    I would use Mike Bombich's CarbonCopyCloner or Shirt Pocket software's SuperDuper (former is freeware, latter will allow a free full clone, but has a small shareware fee for full featured use). Both are excellent programs with a long and very well regarded track record of use.
    What you will want to do is put the new drive in the enclosure, and check it's partition scheme. Use Disk Utility, and, if it is not already GUID partition and HFS+ (journeled) formatted, then use Disk Utility to make it so.
    I would then run software update on your machine with the old drive (might as well be sure it is all up to date), and repair permissions. Then attach the new drive and run CCC or SD and make the clone (read the instructions for whatever program you end up using).
    Then, IMPORTANT STEP, reboot the machine with the cloned drive still plugged in, and hold down the option key while it boots. You should be presented with a choice now of which drive to boot from. Select the external drive, let it boot, login and check that all is as it should be (just to be sure it went smoothly).
    At that point, swap the drives and you should be good to go.
    http://www.shirt-pocket.com/SuperDuper/SuperDuperDescription.html
    http://www.bombich.com/software/ccc.html

  • Hd died.. need to reinstall Tiger on external

    i need to install Tiger on my Maxtor (firewire) external hard drive. obviously i can't 'archive and install' because i didnt have Tiger on my external drive to begin with. however, will i lose all the files on my external when i select the "install Tiger" on the external? thank ye

    My understanding of what they are saying is that if you use the install option ( not erase) it will just add files to your drive superimposed on what is already there. The only danger is if you have file or folder that is identical in name +and location in a folder or series of folders+ to one that would be written to as part of an install procedure. So, for example, a folder called "Users" at the very top level of your drive (appears as one of the folders when you click on the drive icon in Finder) is an example of a folder the installer would create. If you already have a folder called "Users" at that very level it would be in danger of being erased. If you have a folder called "users" inside a folder called "TheGreatPumpkin" at the top level of your drive it is safe because I have yet to see an installer that creates a TheGreatPumpkin folder. This is why BDaqua suggested you make sure you temporarily store you existing files in a folder with some name Tiger doesn't use (you could even call it TheGreatPumpkin, just make sure it isn't "users" or "applications" or something that sounds computerese) while installing Tiger.

  • My bootcamp drive crashed I need to reinstall on parallels no luck.

    How do I deactivate previous drive and reinstall on parallels?

    open parallels, open a win browser and navigate to https://creative.adobe.com/ and start downloading.
    if, and when you try to sign in to a 3rd system, you will be given the option to sign out from the other two systems.

  • My hard drive crashed and need to reinstall CS5.5 on my new drive,

    but I had downloaded CS5 from Adode and don't have a hard copy of the programs.
    Tjones

    You can download the trial version of the software thru the page linked below and then use your current serial number to activate it.
    Be sure to follow the steps outlined in the Note: Very Important Instructions section on the download pages at this site and have cookies enabled in your browser or else the download will not work properly.
    CS5: http://prodesigntools.com/all-adobe-cs5-direct-download-links.html
    CS5.5: http://prodesigntools.com/adobe-cs5-5-direct-download-links.html

  • CD/DVD drive Acoustic Silencer does not work on Satellite P100-194

    Satellite P100-194 (Win XP MCE, Bios-Version 2.20)
    Since there is excessive vibrating of the DVD-Multi-Drive with some of my DVDs and CDs, I would like to use the Acoustic Silencer, but theres no difference between Silent Mode and Normal Mode.
    I have already tried to reinstall the Acoustic Silencer Tool, without success. Since this problem is starting to get really annoying, any help would be appreciated.
    I wonder if the built-in DVD-multi-drive is that sensitive by default (sometimes the entire notebook starts vibrating combined with a very high noise level when reading a dvd) ?
    Thanks in advance !

    Hi WB,
    I believe the Acoustic Silencer simply limits the rate at which information can be obtained from the CD/DVD with the intention of preventing the very high speed rotation that can sometimes occur when ripping CDS or DVDs to the hard drive. If you are simply watching DVDs (or listening to CDs for that matter) then the drive speed will not be particularly high since once the read buffer is full then there is no need to read any more data from the disc itself. If you watch the drive LED you will see that it only lights intermittently.
    The drive speed will decrease during playback as the laser reads the information from the outside portion of the disc surface.
    The presence of noise and vibration normally indicates that the disc is 'eccentric' or is not clamped centrally in the drive, and this can indicate a possible problem with the clamping mechanism itself. However, it is always worth checking that the centre hole in the disc itself has no burrs or pieces of materila that would throw it off-centre, and it is also worth checking if the disc label (assuming it is a stick-on paper type) is properly attached and has no buckles or air bubbles in it since this can also cause noise.
    I have experience of a couple of CD-ROM game discs which cause a lot of noise and vibration in my notebook and on checkin I found that the centre hole was very slightly offset.
    regards,

  • My DVD drive reads but does not write/copy (Satellite A60)

    I need help,I use a laptop Satellite A60-106 series
    and my dvd writer has stop writing it only copies about 3% and stops. I use both nero and roxio,
    Please help me.
    You can reply to [email protected]

    Hello Alfred
    As far as I know the small control light appear just if the drive is in use. In your case it is on constantly and in my opinion there is some problem with the device. Like Ivan already said try to remove it from device manager and let the system detect it again.
    I am pretty sure that warranty is still valid and you should contact service partner in your country. Let them check the unit.
    Bye

  • DVD drive does not recognize some media on Satellite A30-514

    I own a Satellite A30-514 laptop with Microsoft xp OS. Just lately, some DVD's (not games) will not play from the drive. some do some don't. It is not a region problem - they are all region 2. Windows does not read the disc when it is inserted and does not register a disc in the drive when I show 'my computer'. CD's all play normally. Could this be a driver (internal) issue or is my DVD CD combo just too old now?
    Thanks Marie.

    Hi
    To give you some precise answer it will be interesting to know which DVDs are not readable. Meaning of word 'some media' is to general and not helpful to understand the problem.
    Satellite A30 is pretty old notebook model and it is possible that ODD functionality is not good anymore. You can try to clean the lens.

Maybe you are looking for