Old laptop problems

[nomisharris]

So I have a very old laptop, a Patriot 800, according to the label on the bottom. It ran Windows 95 up until several years ago, when I started getting a "missing operating system" prompt after the bios loaded. No big deal right? Installing an operating system is no work at all? Well after trying to install countless operating systems on it, I came to the conclusion that it cannot boot from CD. Ok, I can slot in the floppy drive. On and off I have worked on this for year, and it has not gotten nowhere. When I boot it now, it just says
PheonixBIOS Version 4.04 1.14
Copyright 1985-1995 Pheonix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved.

_
The underscore is blinking. It used to pass this and go on to give me the prompt to press f5 or something. Now it is stuck here. What does this mean, and what can I do about it?
Thanks!

 

[MindoverMaster]

Can you see the cd-rom in BIOS? Do you have Boot priority set up correctly, with the cd-rom first? Could be just that the CD-rom is bad.

 

[nomisharris]

I can't even get there. It doesn't let me configure boot order anymore. All I can see is the 1 screen.

 

[MindoverMaster]

You mean the POST screen? You should be able to get into BIOS by pressing DEL, F1 or F2. Even a laptop as old as that, has a BIOS in it.

 

[nomisharris]

Yeah sort of a post screen I guess, but it only says the first few lines.
PheonixBIOS Version 4.04 1.14
Copyright 1985-1995 Pheonix Technologies Ltd., All Rights Reserved.

_
It hangs at this, but it used to do some basic hardware tests, prompt to enter setup, and then display the hardware in the machine.

 

[MindoverMaster]

Can you locate the battery on it? Might need to reset the BIOS. Should be under the keyboard, I think.

 

[nomisharris]

The BIOS battery or main system battery?

 

[MindoverMaster]

BIOS battery.

 

[nomisharris]

So I have taken off the keyboard and the metal sheet that I assume was a heatsink of some sort. I don't see the Battery anywhere, just the audio card, the top of my fax modem card, the floppy drive, my audio card, and the top of my Pentium. They really crammed it in there. Where would it be?

 

[MindoverMaster]

It might be on the bottom of the laptop. Open up those compartments