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O/s install problem

dragon64

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Posted November 24, 2012 at 6:54PM

Recently had to wipe my HDD on an old pc due to nasty infection somebody suggested using copy wipe did this but now I can't intall my o/s tried using the reload disc that came with the pc.When I put the disk in it comes up in dos as drive A: so type DIR and get contents of disk then type reload to start intallation.After a couple of clicks and peeps this message come up

This software is licenced to yourcomputer manufacturer Unable to determine BIOS lock,please contact your system manufacturer

Unfortunatley Tiny Pc's went belly up years ago. I have tried installing other o/s but anything else wont boot from cd no matter what drive letter I try using to find the disk contents. Can anyone help please. Thanks Mick

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csqwared

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Posted November 24, 2012 at 7:10PM

I think this has something to do with the oem licence of Windows. Tiny probably put a hidden partition at the back of the HDD which allowed the the reload disc to put the computer back to it's original state(i.e.) as it was when you bought it. Wiping your HDD will have destroyed that partition and I would think render your Windows useless as it was 'tied' to that machine.

If you don't really need a Windows system why not try installing a version of Linux. Does everything Windows will do, and using Wine ( a Linux app) you can run most Windows based games. Have a look here:-

Live Mint

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rdave13

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Posted November 24, 2012 at 7:15PM

Check in bios if the hdd is seen. I think copy wipe has done just that and the drive will need to be formatted again. Do you have a caddy you can place it in and connect to another PC so you can format it. Hopefully a PC with a disc manager as the MBR needs to be set up again.

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dragon64

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Posted November 24, 2012 at 9:29PM

Many thanks to both replies will try these ideas tommorow. Mick

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