booting from cd-drive, but...

[L1FE]

I've been trying to install a new OS onto my primary desktop and things are just going crazy. Regardless of whether it's an XP, ubuntu, or whatever disk, my system will read the cd-drive and begin to boot up from it. However, after it finishes reading all the install files, the comp just restarts and does it over and over again! I've never encountered this looping problem before...

EDIT:
I have an DFI LanParty 4 Ultra-D paired with 2 gigs of ram and an X2 3800+.

 

[L1FE]

le bump because i'm really stumped

 

[btcomm1]

Couple of things. Try installing with just 1 stick of ram, if that doesn't work try the other. Also look at the mobo and see if any of your capacitors are bulding or leaking. Try formatting your HD, of course that will erase everything that is on it, maybe you have already tried that over and over. Other then that it sounds like it's hardware and you should try swaping things out. Ram, HD, cd drive. Maybe even try a new vid card, could even be your motherboard.

 

[L1FE]

I don't think it's hardware specific since the OS that's currently on it loads fine. No crashes when I play games, Windows runs like a champ (I just wanted to do my bi-yearly fresh install), and everything else seems to work just peachy. But the second I try to boot up from a CD it just goes crazy

 

[Navid]

Make sure that the hard drive is in the boot priority list in the BIOS (after the CD drive).
I suspect that you only have the CD drive in the boot priority list so it never gets to boot to the hard drive after copying the files.

 

[Captante]

I havn't had this problem in a long time, but you may actually need to make the HD the only bootable device and/or disable a setting called "boot from other device" or similar.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: Captante
I havn't had this problem in a long time, but you may actually need to make the HD the only bootable device and/or disable a setting called "boot from other device" or similar.

How can he install XP without first booting to the CD?!!!!!!
How can he first boot to the CD if makes the HD the only bootable device?
Are you suggesting that he copies the CD onto the hard drive first?

 

[Captante]

The problem I used to run into with early bootable CD's on certain motherboards was that after all the setup files were copied to the HD & the PC re-started, it would boot from the CD over & over again & never allow setup to continue without completely removing the CD drive from the boot options & it sounds to me like thats the problem he's having now.

Manually copying the setup files to the HD will actually work too if you have a Win98/ME boot floppy with CD drivers, however the drive will need to be formatted in FAT32 to make it work.