My gateway xp died and I get the following error:

press F11 to start recovery
mbr error

Gateway wasn't able to help at all because I purchased it almost 4 years ago. I tried to reload the OS cd, but nothing happens. I'm not sure if maybe the cd is bad or if I'm just out of luck, but figured I'd see if anyone has any advice. Someone suggested going to bios and setting it up so it reads the cd first, but I'm not sure how to do that. Guess I also need things explained in super simple kindergarten like terms.

Thanks for your time!






Well at least you have a wau to get on the internet. Find yyour MODEL number and an more information about what kind of Gateway you have. Somebody here will try to help you with the BIOS settings.

For most Gateways I think it is the F1 key that puts you into the setup.

But my first guess is that just the data cable on the drive needs to be re seated. You just kind of wiggle it a bit and make sure both ends are all the way in. They get a little bit of rust on them after awhile. Of course, you UNPLUG the thing before you do that. And watch out of static electricity. Touch the metal cas with your fingers and avoid touching the exposed things inside.
What's the data cable...more importantly where is it?

Sorry, I'm really clueless on all this.

I have a couple of model numbers on the back:

Gateway
Windows XP
A sticker says MX6128
A gateway label says MA2A

Not sure if any of this helps at all.

Thanks for you time and help!Thinks, i kwill try to look that up.
Some older computers use ide cable. it is often a flat grey cable with 40 wires .
The poser cable has yellow black and red wires.
If either of these comes loose from the back of the Hard Disk Drive, you can get a boot failure. But I an not sure in your case.
Jere a picture of the main board of an old Dell outside of the case with the hard drive for illustration purpose. (It won't work that way!)
http://geek9pm.com/pix/ide-cable.jpg
(Sometimes the server is not working. Sorry. But it is a picture of the motherboard, my had with yellow flat cable and a hard drive in the background.)
Quote from: Geek-9pm on January 12, 2010, 11:27:45 AM

Some older computers use ide cable. it is often a flat grey cable with 40 wires .

My new computer I purchased last week uses ide cable.

I just thought that your "some older computer use ide" was like you were saying ide is from the Stone Age.