Disk Boot Failure

[norn iron]

Just lately i have been having trouble booting up my PC . When i switch it on it starts as usual until it reaches 'Boot from CD' then i get the message 'Disk Boot Failure' and it promps me to Boot from system Disk. I then have to insert the Windows Disk and it usually starts ok but this time i have had to boot it this way three times before it started up.

I am running Windows XP Home, Service Pack 2, AMD Athlon XP 1.14 GHz,2GB RAM.

Anyone have any idea of what could be the fault.

Thanks,
Ken

[Pops]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Just having some guesses here but you shouldn't have to use the disc at all once everything is installed.
Are you up to date with all of windows periodic updates?
Have you run a repair attempt?
this can be done by going to 'Start' > 'My Computer' > click the 'Tools' tab.
Go into 'Error Checking' .... you will see 2 options and you should request both 1. Auto fix file system errors and 2. Scan for & attempt recovery of bad sectors.
The next box will tell you that it can't be done straightaway and will ask permission to run it the next time you start up. Agree to this, close down and reboot. The repair will then start automatically. You can go off and do something else now because it will take up to an hour.

Another thing you can try is 'System Restore' Pick a date before your problems started if possible.

Hopefully you'll get lots more suggestion soon.

[lumix]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Just lately i have been having trouble booting up my PC . When i switch it on it starts as usual until it reaches 'Boot from CD' then i get the message 'Disk Boot Failure' and it promps me to Boot from system Disk. I then have to insert the Windows Disk and it usually starts ok but this time i have had to boot it this way three times before it started up.

I am running Windows XP Home, Service Pack 2, AMD Athlon XP 1.14 GHz,2GB RAM.

Anyone have any idea of what could be the fault.

Thanks,
Ken

The fact you say it gets to the Boot from CD then fails tells me you have the BIOS setup to boot from a CD. With no CD inserted it will fail. Go into your BIOS and change the boot from setting to Boot from C drive. Restart your system and all should be OK.

[Stephen]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

The fact you say it gets to the Boot from CD then fails tells me you have the BIOS setup to boot from a CD. With no CD inserted it will fail. Go into your BIOS and change the boot from setting to Boot from C drive. Restart your system and all should be OK.

I'd agree with Ron. Traditionally PC's attempted to boot from the A drive,which is why if you leave a disc in it won't boot up. When it found there was nothing to boot from in A it went straight to C drive and booted up. However in the Bios settings you can change the boot up order. Modern PC's don't have floppy (A) drives these days so they boot straight from C.

Usually you can enter the Bios setting by pressing Del or similar during the initial boot up sequence. From there, and using the Tab and cursor keys plus +/- you can move around the Dos pages to alter things.

I had exactly the same thing happen on my sons PC last night, but it was cured in a couple of mins. Doing a System Restore will not correct the problem

[norn iron]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Thanks for your replies

The trouble i'm having has just happened lately and it only happens sometimes. I haven't changed anything in the BIOS and as i say sometimes it boots ok.

Ron & Stephen,
I have had a look in the Advanced BIOS Features and have the following:;

First Boot Device == CD ROM
Second Boot Device== HDD-0
Third Boot Device == Floppy
Boot Other Device == Enabled

So what should i change if anything!!

Ken

[Stephen]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Thanks for your replies

The trouble i'm having has just happened lately and it only happens sometimes. I haven't changed anything in the BIOS and as i say sometimes it boots ok.

Ron & Stephen,
I have had a look in the Advanced BIOS Features and have the following:;

First Boot Device == CD ROM
Second Boot Device== HDD-0
Third Boot Device == Floppy
Boot Other Device == Enabled

So what should i change if anything!!

Ken

Personally I would make First Boot Device = HDD-0

However the usual protocol is First =Floppy Second HDD-0 Third = CD Rom

[norn iron]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Thanks Stephen,

if it goes wrong again i will do what you suggest and see if that fixes the problem!

Ken

[paul.r.w]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Back everything up, format and reinstall windows. It's like a breath of fresh air. Don't forget to back up silly things like favorites and passwords.

[JSR]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

Thanks for your replies

The trouble i'm having has just happened lately and it only happens sometimes. I haven't changed anything in the BIOS and as i say sometimes it boots ok.

Ron & Stephen,
I have had a look in the Advanced BIOS Features and have the following:;

First Boot Device == CD ROM
Second Boot Device== HDD-0
Third Boot Device == Floppy
Boot Other Device == Enabled

So what should i change if anything!!

Ken

That's actually the right order for computers these days (unless you see yourself with a need to boot from a floppy). Having CD-ROM as the first option allows you to boot up to anti-virus CDs, Ghost/backup CDs, Linux CDs, or any other bootable CD without having to first change the BIOS.

If no bootable CD is found, it should then move to the next boot device in the list - in your case, the HDD. The fact that yours sometimes doesn't boot indicates something's going on here.

Does it report "Disk boot failure" when it's trying to boot from the CD-ROM, or does it move to try and boot from the HDD before it shows that error?

If it reports the error when it's trying to boot from the CD-ROM (and there's no CD in the drive), then it could indicate a problem with the CD-ROM drive. Perhaps a cable has come loose, or maybe the drive is on its way out. (The "quick-fix" in this instance would be to, as suggested, set the first boot device to HDD - but that'll just hide the problem, it won't solve it.)

If the "Disk boot failure" comes when it's trying to boot from the HDD, you'd better make sure you have sufficient backups in the event of a drive failure.

[norn iron]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

JSR

"Does it report "Disk boot failure" when it's trying to boot from the CD-ROM"

Yes it goes like this :- Boot from CD
Boot from CD
then after a short pause i get the "Disk boot Failure"

I have DVD Writer and a CD writer installed. the CD writer is pretty old and could well be as you say on it's way out, I might just remove it as i don't really need it. If I do remove it, is it just a matter of unpluging it or do I have to do anything else ?

Ken

[Guest]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

I would do what Stephen first suggested, ie go into the Bios setup and set the first Boot device to HDD. When you next boot up it should go to the Hard drive first to look for the Operating System. If you get any error message then put the message on the forum and I am sure someone may know the possible solution if there is one.

[JSR]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

JSR

"Does it report "Disk boot failure" when it's trying to boot from the CD-ROM"

Yes it goes like this :- Boot from CD
Boot from CD
then after a short pause i get the "Disk boot Failure"

Hi Ken

Yes, that sounds like it's being told that there is a bootable CD in the drive but when it tries to boot from it, there's nothing there. If it looked for a bootable CD and didn't find one, it would just say "not found" and move onto the next bootable device in the sequence (the HDD). So there's some kind of miscommunication going on there. Not wanting to ask an obvious question - but there isn't a CD in the CD drive, is there? A misformatted/corrupted bootable CD in the CD drive could cause just this problem.

I have DVD Writer and a CD writer installed. the CD writer is pretty old and could well be as you say on it's way out, I might just remove it as i don't really need it. If I do remove it, is it just a matter of unpluging it or do I have to do anything else ?

Ken

It should be sufficient to just disconnect the IDE cable from the back of the CD-ROM drive while you're testing this theory out. The BIOS itself should figure out that there's no CD drive there anymore so long as you don't change around any other cables while you're there (and so long as this isn't a *really really old* computer). I would just disconnect the IDE cable and leave the CD drive in place for the time being, if it was me. That way if anything goes wrong while you're testing things out, it's a simple matter just to plug it back in and get back to where you were before you started.

The IDE connector on the CD-ROM is probably the same cable that connects to the DVD writer, so be careful not to inadvertently loosen the connector on the back of the DVD writer at the same time. When you go to disconnect the CD-ROM drive, you may find that the IDE connector has come loose - and that may well be the cause of the problem. It really could be as simple as that - the drive itself might be fine.

However, all this being said, I would probably have to recommend following Stephen's advice first because if you still get errors when the primary boot device is the HDD then there are bigger issues here than just a CD-ROM drive. If you don't get errors (and I don't think you will), then it's time to look at the CD or DVD drive(s). And, besides, Stephen's advice doesn't involve foraging around inside the computer.

JSR

[19ninety]

[joefoto]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

After attempting an AOL version 9 upgrade, and having the system hang in the middle of the process, system would not boot at all! Ended up with physical replacement of the HDD with one containing original vendor software. Lost everything I had not backed up to external disk previously.

Seriously considering putting in second HDD for my data only, and using vendor HDD for software and back-up of my data (in addition to external drive).

BTW, If back-ups aren't current, fresh install of Windows in not Heaven -- quite the opposite. Also, if using Roboform, print out all logons and passwords at least weekly to have an in-hand reference to gain access just in case digital backup is bad. Password generation is great, but memorizing those odd combinations is not possible with the number of passwords required in today''s world.

Good luck with your boot problems. Hope your ultimate solution is not too drastic.

[norn iron]

Re: Disk Boot Failure

However, all this being said, I would probably have to recommend following Stephen's advice first because if you still get errors when the primary boot device is the HDD then there are bigger issues here than just a CD-ROM drive. If you don't get errors (and I don't think you will), then it's time to look at the CD or DVD drive(s). And, besides, Stephen's advice doesn't involve foraging around inside the computer.

JSR[/QUOTE]

Did as Stephen suggested made HDD the First Boot and got no errors, so changed it back to First Boot CD-Rom . Guess what ? it is now booting up with no problems. Computers eh !!

Anyway thanks for all your help, I'll keep all your advice in mind just in case it goes pear shaped again.

Ken