I was having trouble with my four year old Compaq Presario 5WV285 and some friends suggested I probably needed a new Hard Drive. Installed a new Seagate HD and formatted it using the CD that came with the HD.
I tried starting up the machine with the "Recovery CD" that came with the computer but all I get is a black screen with white text that says the following:


Starting Windows 98

Microsoft RAM Drive version 3.06 virtual disk D:
Disk Size: 5,072K
Sector Size: 512 bytes
Allocation Unit: 2 sectors
Directory Entries: 64

ATAPI IDE CD-ROM device driver version V 1.23A
2 drives detected
unit 1, master, IRQ 15, I/O address 0x0170
unit 2, slave, IRQ 15, I/O address 0x0170
MODE prepare code page function completed
MODE select code page function completed
MSCDEX version 2.25
Copyright© Microsoft Corp. 198601995. All rights reserved
Drive N: driver 1DECD001 unit 0
Drive O: driver 1DECD001 unit 1
A:\>

I want to restore the computer to its factory state like the manual says the recovery CD should do but I don't know what to do at the "A:\>" prompt.
I tried putting the "Emergency Diskette" that I made with the recovery CD a while back but that doesn't seem to do anything either.
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Do as you did before

Then at the A prompt type N and press enter
You should have N:\>
Then type DIR press enter a list of files should appear, if nothing happens
Change to O drive press enter
You should have O:\>
Then type DIR press enter a list of files should appear

You need to find which drive is reading the CDRom

Depending on the recovery disk you will need to find the file to start you off,
On a Win98/ME disk its setup at the command prompt

Ie N:\>setup press enter, it my be different on your recovery disk try install if setup does not work. Or take your cdrom on another computer and look for a readme file with instructions on how to use the recovery disk.


or change your boot order to CDRom first in the Bios you might be able to boot from the recovery cdrom.

Thanks, I think that helped find the problem. I did the N:DIR and found that the only two files on the CD were called BOOTCAT and BOOTSECT. Both had BIN after the name, which I’m assuming means they are binary files. The thing is BOOTCAT is only 608 bytes and BOOTSECT is 1.5 Mb. If that is all that is on the CD, obviously Windows, Works, Money and all the other hundreds of pieces of software that were originally on my computer when I bought it can’t fit into a 1.5 Meg file. So, where the hell are they? Then I started thinking that my computer came with about 7-8 Gb already on the HD. Even if I had the two CD Quick Restore set that had been mentioned by someone else, it couldn’t have 7Gig of data on it.

Newly empowered by the vast knowledge of one DOS command, I type A:DIR to see what was on the Emergency Diskette. There were 26 files on there, so I just started trying to open them one by one. Some did nothing. Some did something but I’m not sure what. But one opened up the screen that I was supposed to get when I loaded the Recovery CD. This is a blue screen that looks like this:

Compaq recovery CD

Choose on of the following options:
1. Create Emergency Diskette
2. User Backup (Saves current configuration)
3. Restore (Restores computer to last saved configuration)
4. Factory refresh (Restores computer to the way it came from the factory)
5. Exit
That’s it. I can type a 1,2,3,4 or 5. There are no tool bars, icons or anything else you can do except type one of those 5 choices. There was a message under option 3 that said, “No user image found” . That makes sense since I obviously had never saved a configuration on this hard drive. Under option 4 it said, “No factory Image found”. In light of what I found on the Recovery CD, that makes sense, too.
Next I did a C:DIR to see what was there and there was nothing. Then a D:DIR and there were the same 26 files that were on my Emergency diskette.
So, I think I now know that all of my drives are working properly. And I think that I know that Compaq backs up everything into the D partition on the hard drive. So, the factory refresh just erases the C partition and pulls the data from the D partition. Hence, if your HD craps out, you are sunk. Even if I get the 2 CD Quick Restore CD set from Compaq, it seems like there can’t be enough data on two CDs to reload everything on to my machine that was originally there unless there is some kind on compaction going on.
So, it seems that I need a multiple CD set that copntains all the software that was originally on my machine but as far as I know, that is not available from Compaq.

Compaq recovery CD does not contain the complete restore image.
Normally Compaq hides the complete image on a hidden partition (normally Drive) E on the original hard drive.
Compaq recovery CD uses the hidden image to restore the complete software package.
"""4. Factory refresh (Restores computer to the way it came from the factory)""""

If the original hard drive is on longer working Compaq might sell you the complete restore CDs if still available.
The the drive is still working reinstall it and try to use the "CD creator software that can create a recovery disc set or DVD"

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&docname=bph07143&product=89327&dlc=en&lang=en
""""Some HP and Compaq computers have recovery CD creator software that can create a recovery disc set or DVD. To see if your computer has Recovery Creator software, click Start, All Programs, Hewlett-Packard or Compaq, and then HP Pavilion PC Tools or Compaq Presario PC Tools. Open the software and follow the on-screen directions to create the recovery discs. For more information, read the HP support document is available Creating Recovery CDs Using HP's Recovery CD Creator Software (in English).""""

"""To order CDs on the Web, perform the following steps. Costs are minimal and only cover the cost of manufacturing and shipping.
NOTE: A credit card number is required for ordering recovery discs.
1. Go to the HP Partsurfer Web site (in English). The Parts Direct Ordering Web site uses a secure connection to protect your privacy.
2. Select your country from the drop-down menu in the top-right corner of the page.
3. Enter the model name (for example, 533w, 5002US, or XE735). The model name is located on a sticker that is stuck to the case of the PC.
4. Click the appropriate model name from the list that appears. If more than one model name appears, refer to the product number or part number on
the identification sticker on the back of the PC.
NOTE: The recovery CD set or DVD is matched to specific PC models. It is important to select the correct model name or an error can occur when using
them. """
http://partsurfer.hp.com/cgi-bin/spi/main