Depending on the card-drive interface, you might be able to boot from that. You can get a PCMCIA interface card (now called simply PC interface) for an external CD. IIRC, that PC has no USB2 and even if it did, it wouldn't boot from a USB CD. For either type of drive, there is always the small chance that the IDE controller channel on the motherboard has died - I have seen this happen in rare cases. If they look OK then you probably have to suspect the drive itself.

If it's an external drive then the advice is very similar - check out the connectors first. It may also be that the drive has simply given up the ghost - so back to eBay:) If the connectors on the laptop have got damaged then you're looking at dismantling the laptop to repair/replace them, if that's possible. If it's the drive connector then it may be repairable or you might pick up another drive, perhaps on eBay. It's removable) then it may be the connectors are worn/damaged. 117 Answers SOURCE: Simple things first: Assuming the CD drive is removable, remove it from the laptop then re-iinsert it making sure it's pushed home properly so that the connectors seat properly.The necessary drivers and enhancements available for the Compaq Armada E, M, and V Series of computers are summarized in Table 1 “SoftPaqs for Microsoft Windows 98.” The list is current at the date of this publication.

Installing the Compaq Drivers and Support Software Note: Install all the drivers to allow the system complete functionality. Compaq Armada e500 Notebook PC Windows 98 drivers BIOSRemote ROM Flash (BIOS) 686N_2002.0315 ASystem ROMPaq (BIOS) 686N_2002.0315 ADriver - AudioESS M2E Audio Driver for Windows 95/98 4.04 ODriver - Display /.

Compaq armada e500 drivers win98 boot