Operating system NOT found! Help!!!

**MstrViolinist** · October 8th, 2005, 10:28 PM

I am experiencing the same problem, but nothing seems to work. When I turn on the computer, it displays "Operating system not found." When I ran Norton on it, it did not even display the HD. Even when I replaced the HD with a new one that I used as a backup that had XP on it it still said "operating system not found." PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

**Platypus** · October 9th, 2005, 04:39 AM

Welcome to WinDrivers, MstrViolinist.

It can be a bit confusing to add your query to the end of an old topic - when you say "the same problem", do you have a laptop giving a PXE-61 error?

If not, it might be best to begin your own topic, giving us some further information like details of your system, which "Norton" it was you ran, if either hard drive shows up in the POST startup screen, and if the system can boot to the A: prompt from a bootable floppy disk.

**vkelly** · March 27th, 2007, 08:53 AM

I'm running an Acer TravelMate 8100, and I recently had the exact same error.

I was playing a video on my laptop when it crashed, blue screened and told me that there was an error in one of my kernel files. It then proceded to do a memory dump (on the same blue screen) and restarted. Now, it's trying to boot from the network.

My issue is that I'm trying to find a good Windows XP CD to do a recovery from. Is this worth my time? I'm currently in China and finding an English version of Windows can be difficult, so if a recovery won't work on the boot sector and I need to do a complete re-install, it would be nice to know beforehand.

Secondly, my bios was passworded by my father who owned the computer before I did. I don't know anyway off the top of my head to bypass a bios password without disconnecting the CMOS battery, and that can be tricky, if not impossible, on a laptop. Any suggestions?

**BOB IROC** · March 27th, 2007, 08:57 AM

Judging from your symptoms I am thinking your Hard Drive failed. It it is trying to boot from the network I am thinking the BIOS does not even recognize the drive. YOu can try reseating the harddrive but if you can somehow get into the BIOS you can see if the drive even shows up in there. On most systems you can at least see the BIOS options, but you cannot change them without a password.

**Archer** · March 27th, 2007, 10:45 AM

Erm the threads over two years old give it a rest guys

**BOB IROC** · March 27th, 2007, 10:48 AM

Originally Posted by Archer

Erm the threads over two years old give it a rest guys

Yes but VKelly was looking for support on a similar problem and came across this old thread and decided to expand on it. So this is a new person with a similar problem.

**Archer** · March 27th, 2007, 10:53 AM

Then the new member should avoid confusion by making a new post

**BOB IROC** · March 27th, 2007, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by Archer

Then the new member should avoid confusion by making a new post

Thats why there is a time and date stamp on the post. But adding onto an existing post with a similar problem can be better than making a new one because it can be more helpful to people searching these forums for assistance. Less forum posts to sort through. Searching and using old forum posts for a source of information is one of the primary functions of a forum after all.

**NooNoo** · March 27th, 2007, 11:17 AM

At least vkelly has used the search....

Archer, while members should do alot of things, they don't always....

Acer comes with cds, ask your father for them. If the hard drive fried, they become useless unless you get a proper replacement from Acer.

Sourcing an XP cd is your biggest problem. Since you have a COA on the bottom of the notebook, you can in theory use any that matches your original type.

**vkelly** · March 27th, 2007, 11:42 AM

Thanks for the quick replies.

I ended up pulling apart my laptop to reset the bios, so it's been a fun night :P

If it ends up not reading the hard drive, I guess I should buy a new one?

**NooNoo** · March 27th, 2007, 01:06 PM

Yes... but check with Acer first.

**sarcasticsweed** · May 8th, 2008, 08:26 AM

Ok. well from the looks of these forums around the same topic as mine
"operating system not found" Ican tell im not the only one who has had or is having this problem. However my problem seems to be just slightly different.

So I reformated my Dell inspiron 1501 the other day.(which I'll admitt I might have done something very wrong, but I dont recall doing anything odd more then pressing enter on something in BOOT inside BIOS)well the pc started doing everything as it should.And when it was finished I removed the Vista reinstallation DVD and as it re-started it came up :

pxe.e e61 media (something) failure. check cable (which cable) PXE.m0f:exiting broadcom PXE Rom ,and then those lovely words Operating system not found.

so I turned the pc off (guess I was hoping it would go away by its self.welll wrong BUT instead)I placed the same cd back in and I came in to the normal screen and everything is or seems fine.
Computer works great AS LONG AS THE CD IS IN. so I checked in Computer Management thinking I by mistake put att the info on just the D drive instead of C, or something.but everthing is where it should be or well nothing looks out-of-place to me. I'm scared of removing the disc while pc is in use, and from reading other peoples problems well now im frightend. they are going threw horriable things at least my pc was embty when it happened. I have tried to reinstall vista again but the problem re-occurs.
Please help me I have NO idea what to do, and I have absolutelt no one to turn to but you guys. please help!!!!!

**CCT** · May 8th, 2008, 09:10 AM

The Manual covers all this:

http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...f/HN926A00.pdf

If you have been playing around in the bios you may have set something wrong, particularly if you didn't know what you were doing.

If the latter is the case, paying a shop is safer than really messing it up.

**BOB IROC** · May 8th, 2008, 10:13 AM

Sounds like maybe the boot order is incorrect too. Usually when you get a PXE error message it is trying to boot from a network and if that is set to be checked before other items such as the hard drive it may cause similar errors. To check this you have to go into the BIOS and it is under the network card settings. Check your boot order to make sure the hard drive is before the network boot. I usually set boot orders to be like this

CD/DVD-ROM
Floppy
Hard Drive
USB Device
Network

or something similar.

**syrianboy22** · September 24th, 2009, 10:40 PM

Hi there,

I had my laptop on last night, and when I woke up this morning, it was off. And when I turned it on, this message appears at start up:

PXE-E61:Media test failure,check cable.
PXE-M0F:Exiting Intel PXE ROM

Operating System not found
Please, I really need to save and get the data a.s.a.p., and fix my laptop as well!!

I went to BIOS settings, and it seems that the computer detects the hard drive, The HDD Model Name: Hitachi HT--------------
By the way, I changed the HDD last January because the original one got damaged.

I have another problem in my laptop, it gets heated and hot so much, and it gets shut off almost every time it gets hot, even though the fans are on!

Thank you so much!