Computer Won't Boot

I have this Toshiba laptop that all I know about it is that it has XP with service pack 3 on it. It has Earthlink dialup for the internet. There is no XP disk just a Toshiba recovery disk that I assume came with the computer. When I turn it on I get this:
Intel UNDI, PXE-2.0 (build 082)
Copyright (c) 1997-200 Intel Corp

For Realtek RTL8139(x)/8130/810x PCI Fast Ethernet Controller v2.13 (020326) PXE-E61:Media test failure, check cable PXE-MOF: Exiting PXE ROM.

A disk error occurred
Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart.

If I do that I get a Toshiba Screen that says "Press F2 for setup F12 for boot device selection menu.

If I do that it just goes back to the "For Realtek" message and repeats that message every 15 seconds or so. Is there any hope for this situation? It would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Press F2 to enter BIOS. Make sure, that the boot order reads: floppy, CD, HD
Disable Boot from Network (wording is different on every machine, may say Integrated NIC, Network, PXE-xxxxxxx)

Thanks for replying!

I didn't mention that the computer doesn't have a floppy, sorry. Bootup says "cd/dvd" and nothing about disable boot from network or NIC, network or PXE onless those are in a different part of the BIOS

This message is also a good indicator of a bad harddrive.

Hard Drive Diagnostic Tools

Hard drive diagnostic utilities are used primarily for determining the physical condition of your hard drive, (drive integrity and read/write verification). If you are having computer problems which you suspect are hard drive related, you can test your drive with the following:

• Fujitsu "Diagnostic Tool"
  http://www.fcpa.com/support/hard-dri...utilities.html
  
  
• IBM/Hitachi "Drive Fitness Test"
  http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/download.htm
  
  
• Maxtor "PowerMax"
  http://www.maxtor.com/portal/site/ma...&downloadID=22
  
  
• Seagate "SeaTools Desktop"
  http://www.seagate.com/support/seatools/
  
  
• Western Digital "Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for DOS (Floppy or CD)"
  http://support.wdc.com/download/inde...pid=999&swid=2
  
  
• Fujitsu "Diagnostic Tools"
  http://www.fujitsu.com/us/services/c...utilities.html

Note: In most instances you download the file to your hard drive then (extract)/execute it to create a bootable diskette or ISO CD-ROM image.

When you get to this screen:

Press F2 for setup F12 for boot device selection menu

do nothing and see what happens. This is what the computer usually shows when it's booting normally; it's not mandatory to press anything.

Thanks for all the replies!

This is not my computer but a dear 83 year old lady and I talked with her again asking her if there were any unusual messages and one of the things she said was there was something about a disk failure. In order to run one of those hardware diagnostic tools wouldn't I have to be able to boot up the computer first? I will also try just waiting and see what happens.

All of those diagnostic tools create bootable CDs.

Quote:

---

there was something about a disk failure

---

Not good...

How can I write (burn) ISO files to CD?
http://www.petri.co.il/how_to_write_iso_files_to_cd.htm

Once you make the cd, put it in and reboot the computer.
Just make sure the cd device is before the hdd in the boot order.

New hard drive and problem solved!! (And I don't have to pay for it)

Thanks for all the help!

Good news :)
Who paid for the drive?

The son of the mother who thinks I know a lot about computers. Have a great day!