I need to restore an operating system to a thinkpad T42 I purchased at an auction. What winxp disc should I buy, universal or a IBM ?

The memory was wiped before the sale. I checked the BIOS and the hard drive is not shown in the BIOS when I did a check. I had a problem with another laptop when I installed the OS and it would not load. It kept saying NTLDR error. That meant a new motherboard. Also can I install win 7 on it instead of winxp. Thank you in advance for any help.

sergiovalmendea2015-04-14T12:01:48Z

The hard drive is present in both laptops, the BIOS report does not show the hard drive. I see the ram memory but no hard drive info. The first laptop loaded the OS and when it booted up I got the NTLDR message. I bought a new hard drive, loaded the OS and I still got the NTLDR message. It was a Gateway E265M. The second laptop has no info on the hard drive in the BIOS. I pulled it out and put it back in and still not on the BIOS. Some forums say its a motherboard problem. There are no loose connections. When the DOS comes up I put in "dir" and it says the C drive is unnamed and lists the hard drive capacity yet I check BIOS and nothing about the hard drive shows.

Tom and Anna Marie2015-04-13T15:04:41Z

1. Memory does not permanently store and does not need to be wiped. 2. The T421 has had the hard drive removed according to the BIOS report .3. The NTDR error merely means no operating system was found on any bootable device---It has NOTHING to do with the motherboard and obviously without a hard drive, it should produce the NTDR error.4. You cannot install any OS until you get a hard drive.