Need help ASAP

Hey guys. I am new to this forum. I have a HP Pavilion here hoping I can fix it up. I have Windows XP and Windows Vista discs here just incase. My problem came after I erased the hard drive with Seagate DOS Tools and now whenever I boot I get a black screen with a blinking white cursor. It won't let me load any of these XP / Vista discs I have for some reason. Any help?

Edit: I don't have a "Recovery Disk". Is this necessary to try? I don't have the $20 to shell out for it right now unless someone can up a disc to a file place online. :\

Edit 2: Laptop is a HP Pavilion dv5000.

 

go into your BIOS, make sure the boot sequence allows you to boot from your DVD drive first.

reboot with Vista disk.

 

I tried that.

When I am in the Vista install, I get an error message:

"Windows cannot open the required file D:\Sources\Install.wim"

 

oh then there is something wrong with the DVD disk. try the XP disk.

 

I tried the XP disc. It doesn't do anything. I don't even get the "Press any key to load..." message.

 

If you have another computer you might want to test the XP and Vista disks on them to see if it is the disks that are bad or maybe the hardware on the laptop, such as the CD-ROM drive.

 

I have a Dell DVD-ROM drive that fits in the HP, but won't power on? Any way to get this to work? It works fine in the Dell obviously lol. If I can get this to work, I might be able to install Vista because I personally think the HP drive is bad. (the laptop was dropped)

 

So if the disks work inside another computer then you know it has to be the DVD-ROM inside your HP. I would note down the model number of the DVD-ROM inside your HP and search around to purchase another one. Ebay would be a good choice to find one cheap, google it and see what comes up, or you could call HP and see how much a new one would cost you. If you have a USB CD-ROM or DVD-ROM you could always connect that and at least install the OS back on your laptop.

 

What about booting off a USB drive? Can I do this instead. I don't have the money right now to purchase a new drive. I was hoping that can be my LAST resort. If there is anything else we can try, I would appreciate it. But if there isn't nothing else, I guess I will just have to wait and save up money for this.

Edit: I wish someone could shed some light as to why this Dell drive won't work? It looks exactly like the same thing, just different specs. (no burning capabilities, just CD/DVD-ROM)

 

OK, for the USB Drive, my suggestion is just try it and see.

I will try to shed some light on why the dell drive won't work. My guess is that well since it's dell, ma by it just does not have the exact same connections as the HP. (I also though that HP drives were fixed drives [or there not able to be removed])

 

I GOT IT TO WORK.

I took off a bracket or 2 on the DELL DVD-ROM, put it in, Vista booted! Thanks guys for your help.

I guess it was a bad CD-ROM drive.

 

if u still have warranty, send it back