compaq presario 4850

[aaarw3]

Hello,
I have an old Compaq Presario 4850 it has windows 98 installed. I have alot of old info in it, so I did not want to use the restore disc. As it would take it back to the windows 95 and remove all the info I am trying to retreive.
I start it up and the Compaq shows on the sreen, it won't go any further. It comes up with a Non-System disk or disk error replace and strike any key when ready.
If I strike any key nothing happens. If I hit the F8 key when it says compaq, a box has come up that says Setup and a image of a Key.
I also get a 42-301 keyboard error. If you have any ideas, let me know.
Thanks, alan

[BipolarBill]

If there is a floppy disk in the drive, remove it. If not, your hard drive just died. Darn, it lasted more than 10 years!

[batmeat]

download PCInspector Pro......it's a freeware utility for data recovery, and is very good at it. Hook the dead hard drive up as a slave drive and install the software on your computer. Run the software and point it to search your 'dead' drive.

This is all assuming that the drive is infact no good anymore.