No hard disk recognition---HELP!!

[Joseph C. Morris]

In article <451 at ntcsd1.UUCP> dmc at ntcsd1.UUCP (David Clemens) writes:
>
> [hard disk won't boot -- system enters cassette BASIC]

Have you checked the possibility that the partition table on the fixed
disk (cylinder 0,head 0, sector 1) hasn't been changed?  If you somehow
zapped the table to mark a non-bootable partition as bootable, the BIOS
boot code would reject the disk and go to C-BASIC instead.  If you are
able to reach the files on the disk by booting from a diskette, the
other data in the partition table is probably valid.

Another possibility is that you've clobbered the boot sector for the
DOS partition (absolute cylinder 0, head 1, sector 1; this is the first
sector of the DOS partition).  If the 55AA signature is missing the disk
is nonbootable.  This doesn't sound likely, however, since you said you've
re-installed DOS on the disk.  (The c/h/s=0/1/1 is valid only if the
DOS partition is the first on the disk.)

Use Norton Utilities to inspect absolute c/h/s=0/0/1 (the partition table)
and absolute 0/1/1 (the boot record for the first partition) to see if
they're contaminated; NU allows you to edit the partition table and set
the boot flag as appropriate.

Good luck.