Everything but the OS (issues with boot from CD)

[FitzGerald]

Hello everyone,
I've lurked around here for awhile figuring out what to build for a new machine, budget. This is also my first build (it was easier than I thought).

Ended up with this:
Case: In-Win T589 w/350 W PSU (Powerman)
Motherboard: Biostar TForce4 Ultra (nForce4, Socket 939)
CPU: Athlon 64 3500+ (Retail)
RAM: 1GB Patriot DDR
Video: 7300GT 256 MB
HD: Seagate 7200.10 250 SATA GB
DVD/CD: Lite-On

I'm having trouble booting from CD on my motherboard. I'm 99% sure it's related to the motherboard. Using a separate drive gives me the same issue. I've boot the CDs (Ultimate Boot CD / Windows XP) off of my current system.

Symptoms:
1) CD Drive connected to Primary Master and jumped to master
2) BIOS boot sequence set
3) CD Drive set up to right channel cable
4) BIOS sees the drive
5) After BIOS, device is seen as "ZIP PIO4"
6) Not able to select boot from CD or "Hit any key to boot from ATAPI"

Caveats:
1) Case is a bit tight for the CD/DVD Drives. Both kind've scrape against the inside.
2) BIOS version date is 3/24/06. Latest from Biostar website is 1/24/06. Looks like BIOS was made for CPU/Chipset.

I know I'll eventually end up booting from a floppy (if it works?).

Two questions:
1) Any insight?
2) Any floppy program I can use to force-boot from a CD-Drive?

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: FitzGerald
After BIOS, device is seen as "ZIP PIO4"

Wierd. I on't know why it would be seen as a zip drive, maybe a BIOS problem? Or a dud drive? And it shouldn't be in PIO mode either assuming that's what PIO4 means.

Try different CDs, try the other IDE header, another IDE cable, try jumping the drive to something different like cable-select, try flashing the BIOS from a floppy.

350 W PSU (Powerman)

Ouch. Never use the PSU that comes with your case. You should replace this as soon as you can afford to. Forton (AKA Sparkle) are a good budget brand which have served me well. I doubt this is why you can't boot but it can be the cause of all sorts of other problems including fire.

 

[FitzGerald]

Wierd. I on't know why it would be seen as a zip drive, maybe a BIOS problem? Or a dud drive? And it shouldn't be in PIO mode either assuming that's what PIO4 means.

I'm beginning to think I need to manually set it up in the BIOS. Everything is set up for Auto-detect... so maybe there is some type of problem. Anyone know what settings for a DVD drive in the BIOS?

Try different CDs, try the other IDE header, another IDE cable, try jumping the drive to something different like cable-select, try flashing the BIOS from a floppy.

I did all of this. I've also got a USB-100 drive that I could try to boot off of. I'm not sure how to format a Zip Boot Disk.

Ouch. Never use the PSU that comes with your case. You should replace this as soon as you can afford to. Forton (AKA Sparkle) are a good budget brand which have served me well. I doubt this is why you can't boot but it can be the cause of all sorts of other problems including fire.

Are you saying 350 W is not enough power for my specifications? Everything I have seen seemed to indicate it would be enough power, and the PSU is a good budget brand. I'd be more concerned about it when I get a stable OS on there.

Thanks for the reply

 

[Atheus]

You shouldn't have to manually set it up. What does the BIOS see it as? ATAPI CDROM?

Do you have another computer around? If so I would try the new CD drive in there, and then try the old CD drive in the new box.

Originally posted by: FitzGerald
Latest from Biostar website is 1/24/06

You have this BIOS version now right?

Are you saying 350 W is not enough power for my specifications? Everything I have seen seemed to indicate it would be enough power, and the PSU is a good budget brand.

Oh no, 350 is fine, as I said the PSU is probably not the reason you can't boot. I recommend against people using budget brands for a couple of reasons - stability and reliability. Basically the cheaply made units use parts with wide tolerance and may not produce stable voltages, and also these parts may fail with nasty results. I'm not saying the thing will explode in your face, but I have seen that happen...

If it really is a 'good budget' brand (I have no idea) then I'm sure it's fine for now, but it's the first thing I'd upgrade if I were you. To like a 350 or 400 watt Fortron.

 

[FitzGerald]

Update:
Problem is fixed, and I'm installing XP Professional SP 2 (slipstreamed with new drivers) as I type. I would've responded about 1.5 hours earlier but I'd been fiddling around with the Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD).

After last night I was intent on installing floppy drive and also changing out IDE cables (you never know). I didn't want to install the floppy drive. My son started napping 2 hours ago and I scrummaged around for parts. I found the new DVD drive, but not a floppy drive. I also found new cables, the flat kind. Biostar had given rounded IDE cables with the board. Having heard that the flat are recommended, I installed those, and swapped DVD drives.

I placed UBCD in the drive and to my surprise upon boot-up came the prompt "Boot from CD".

Everything was set-up correctly, it was those damn rounded cables. Not sure what I'm gonna do with the 800 Mhz machine I have now. I'll probably make it a home network at first and test the Linux waters (because I found a spare 15 GB when looking for parts).

If it really is a 'good budget' brand (I have no idea) then I'm sure it's fine for now, but it's the first thing I'd upgrade if I were you. To like a 350 or 400 watt Fortron.

I had heard that "Power Man" was a re-branded Sparkle/Fortron... so if that is the case I've got what you would upgrade to. Although in my search to ensure that is correct, it seems In-Win may have changed PSU suppliers. I guess that's a bummer for me.