Can't boot from CD

[npoe1]

Ok, I am really desperate with this problem, I have a Dell Optiplex 170L, from an aunt and it seems that my little cousin pressed the power button in a very bad moment, because the computer didn?t boot since that time, and I tried to use the safe mode and anything in the ?F8? menu to boot but nothing worked every time it appeared a the blue screen and a complaint of a disk mount problem, so I tried to use the Dell CD with Windows XP Home edition with SP1 to try to boot, but guess what? I couldn?t boot and the computer send a message of something like: ?incorrect media press F1 to continue or F2 to utility screen?, or something like that, so I remove the disk from that PC and attach it to my PC and run chkdsk ?x?: /x /f /r from my computer, and did it another 2 times, I manage after that to get in windows but it send me a message that explorer.exe fail to launch because an error, so I boot from safe mode just the console and launch the windows XP setup and reinstall it, after that everything was going fine and when I get to the welcome screen appear a message saying that an API call was not called successfully and the computer restart itself, so I tried to boot but with luck, so I took again the HD and went to my PC and boot from the CD and start to install XP but when the computer restarted I shut it down and took the HD and put it in the Dell PC again, but this time I get and error that the WinXP cd is not in the drive, but it is. So I don?t remember what I did after, but try to reinstall XP from my PC, because the Dell machine won?t boot from any bootable CD that I have and get, while any other PC can do it. After another try to start the installation in my PC and move the drive to Optiplex, this time what I get is a Blue Screen and cannot get the setup of Windows XP. I change an option in the bios of Optiplex that right now I can?t remember what the name was but it was something like: ?Allow OS Installation.?, but it didn?t work, so ANY SUGGESTION IS WELCOME, I?M REALLY DESPERATE.


I will upgrade the bios tomorrow, but I want to have another options, like to boot from a CD or about how to solve this problem, I will hate Dell if necesary.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Is the cd drive first in the "boot order" in the bios? Is there more than one optical drive in the machine? Some mbs will only boot from the optical drive with the lowest drive letter, usually secondary master.

 

[npoe1]

Yes, I have the cd-rom drive the first boot device and even I tried with the cd-rom drive as the only boot device and the computer have two cd-rom drives and I disconnect one of them the secondary slave and nothing I can?t boot from a CD.

 

[npoe1]

Jajajajaja, it gets worse, I tried to update the BIOS but I can't even boot from a Floppy drive, any suggestions?

 

[jackschmittusa]

Did you change the boot order on the bios to "floppy" first? Did you test the boot floppy to make sure it is good? Try disconnecting the hd and booting from the floppy.

 

[npoe1]

I already change the boot order, I test the HD in another computer and the floppy and they work fine, I think that it have more to do with the MB than anything else. but I will try with only the Floppy and nothing more, if you happen to remember something or think in something else, well, I'll be more than happy if you let me know it.

 

[D1chatR]

:disgust:I am having the same sort of problem. I have a Dell Dimension 8400 and the HD appeared to have crashed after several attempts to recover drive, I decided to install windows again. I have had no luck getting the system to boot from the cd and I have purchased a new HD and a new version of windows xp with the same results. It appears it is the computer or MB. Is there a way to get a dell to boot from the cd first? I too have changed the boot sequence in BIOS. Have you had any luck npoe1?

 

[Harvey]

I don't know that it will help, but you could try clearing the CMOS using the jumper (if Dell was nice enough to include one). Then, try resetting your preferences.