invalid partition table xp?

[quadcore64]

Good afternoone Everyone! this is my first post im a noob on this site, so a BIG hello! Ive read the forum rules and observed them!

Ok i would like to ask some help if i may? ive got an old laptop here its a IBM Thinkpad T40 running on XP Pro, it booted upto the desktop a few days ago and the OS was totaly corrupted so i looked at updating the BIOS cause the clock on the desktop was also totally out and wouldn't update, Anyway i updated the BIOS and its gone from 1.73 to 2.63 a bit of a difference, anyway now when i boot the laptop i get the main boot screen saying IBM thinkpad then a black screen with the text "invalid partition table" it sont boot the OS at all?
Would anyone be kind enough to share any views or help please?

Thanks

QC64

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/sys/booterrGBER31-c.html

Being an XP laptop, I assume it should boot to a CD. Check the BIOS for the boot order and verify that you can set the optical drive to the first boot device. Most systems will let you.

That being said, you can boot to the XP installation CD and access the recovery console. You have to go through the setup for a little bit, but just pay attention to the prompts. There will be an option 2 or 3 screens in that give you the option for Repair via Recovery Console.

You will have to know the admin password for the machine. If you don't know it, try enter first. Once you log into the installation, you can run the fixmbr and fix boot. I would try that first. There is a possibility that it may not work, depending on which part of your partition table is damaged. If it doesn't, I would proceed with a reformat of the machine.