Bootup: stuck on blinking cursor?

[Videodrome]

Someone gave me an old laptop that I thought might be good for a Linux or BSD machine. For a while, it seemed to basically work okay with Linux, but after I installed FreeBSD, it doesn't want to boot anything. I set the BIOS to boot CD and it doesn't even want to load a Live Linux CD or my HIRENS repair CD. If I press F9 during boot, it says "Loading Boot Menu" but instead still hangs up with just a blinking cursor in the upper left of an otherwise black screen.


After Googling, I'm thinking this is related to the motherboard. Possibly the BIOS chip. Just thought I'd get a second opinion here.

This isn't a serious data recovery issue, just thought this old laptop could be handy for some projects.

 

[IdleHands]

Sorry, I've no experience with any OS other than Windows. I know, useless response but I didn't want you to see the thread had been viewed but have no response at all.

Good luck with your issues!

 

[Viktor]

Not sure about laptops but do they have a CMOS battery? Might try removing RAM and the battery for a while and see if that helps.

 

[Videodrome]

I think there is a panel where I can access the RAM, but I'm not sure about the CMOS battery. I wonder if I'll have to open the whole case.