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help - computer wont boot

E

enwar3

Golden Member
so yea.. comp wont boot. itll post, but then when i try to load windows from the hdd it says DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER. i even tried booting from the windows cd and it wont do anything, same message. help anyone?
 
yup, i can see my hdd in bios.

boot order:
1. harddisks (c drive, then e drive)
2. cd-rom (dvd drive)
3. removable disk (floppy)

i tried disabling the last two, tried switching em around, but nothing seems to work.
 
yea, i can see that too. im guessing maybe the hdd isnt getting power? but it shows up in bios, so i dunno.
 
unplug it from the wall, let it sit for a minute, make sure all the internal plugs are on and tight, make sure any jumpers are set correctly, clear the cmos, set the 1st boot drive to the optical drive and put in the windows cd. sometimes the machine will fly through the bios stuff really quick and you will not have time to put in the cd first, if that happens, just keep the cd in the drive and hit ctr-alt-del which will reboot the machine, then it should see the bootable cd in the optical drive.

what flavor of windows is it?
 
XP pro..

yea, so now i can boot from the cd, but still not booting from the hdd. i took some time to make sure all the connections were ok, and i can get to windows setup. problem is, i dont wanna reinstall windows cuz then i hafta reinstall drivers, apps, everything lol. is there any other way?
 
is this a complete new build with a fresh install or a new build with a hdd that already had the o/s installed?
 
its a new build, i built it a couple days ago, installed xp and it worked just fine. installed drivers and apps, still worked. then i left for vacation, and i come back a few days later and it wont boot.. grr.. not ocing or anything either. shoudl i just reinstall windows?
 
did you run memtest to make sure your ram is not f*cked and corrupting stuff? i would do that first to make sure your hardware isn't causing a software problem. if the memtest is ok, then i would reinstall windows. also, d/l the utility disk or run the one you received from your hdd and run the smart test to make sure the hdd is also good. do the long test on the hdd.
 
no i didnt run any tests.. should i take out the cpu before i run memtest?

EDIT: and which tests shoudl i be running?
 
ok, so im running it now...

X2 3800+
Epox 9NPA+ Ultra
OCZ Platinum Rev. 2
Gigabyte X800
Audigy 2 ZS
Hitachi t7K250 (primary hdd)
Seagate 7200.7 (secondary, unplugged right now)
etc. anything else?
 
Originally posted by: enwar3
ok, so im running it now...

X2 3800+
Epox 9NPA+ Ultra
OCZ Platinum Rev. 2
Gigabyte X800
Audigy 2 ZS
Hitachi t7K250 (primary hdd)
Seagate 7200.7 (secondary, unplugged right now)
etc. anything else?
Click to expand...

that is good, run the memtest for ~24hrs and if you get no errors then run the hdd disk. if you get error with either, then return/rma the items. if you don't get any errors, then i would re-install xp. good luck 😀
 
thanks for ur help bob its greatly appreciated =) lol

i bought the hdd disk oem off newegg, so it didnt come with a disk. after memtest runs, im gonna try a bootable floppy to see if theres a partition on the drive. if i cant get it, then ill rma it.

is there any other way to see if the hdd is working? ive never tried to boot off a floppy before.

EDIT: 24 errors, all on test 8.. now what?

EDIT: just ran a bootable floppy, it sees the ntfs partition, says its ##.3 Gb.. maybe thats cuz its old.

ok so now am i screwed or what??
 
Originally posted by: enwar3
thanks for ur help bob its greatly appreciated =) lol

i bought the hdd disk oem off newegg, so it didnt come with a disk. after memtest runs, im gonna try a bootable floppy to see if theres a partition on the drive. if i cant get it, then ill rma it.

is there any other way to see if the hdd is working? ive never tried to boot off a floppy before.

EDIT: 24 errors, all on test 8.. now what?

EDIT: just ran a bootable floppy, it sees the ntfs partition, says its ##.3 Gb.. maybe thats cuz its old.

ok so now am i screwed or what??
Click to expand...

no, not screwed at all. on monday or tuesday(in case they are closed due to the holiday) call ocz and tell them about the memtest errors and they will rma it for you. when you get the new ram i would wipe the hdd clean with the low level format option on the disk, then install xp. hope this helps 😀
 
edit: I see you have memory errors too. Got plenty of voltage on those modules, like 2.8 volts?


The Hitachi, is it ATA/100 or is it SATA? If it's SATA, then...

1) unplug the data cable from the Seagate for the duration of Windows Setup. Also unplug any memory-card readers or USB drives.

2) in the EPoX BIOS, go to... lessee here... Advanced BIOS Features > Integrated Peripherals > IDE Function Setup.

3) in there, ensure that RAID Enable is set to Disabled


Now try Windows Setup with just the Hitachi hooked up. If that works, then afterwards add the Seagate. If the Seagate is ATA/100 then you can probably expect the mobo to be a 'tard and start trying to boot from the Seagate, at which point you will have to come back to Advanced BIOS Features > Hard Disk Boot Priority and put the Hitachi back at the top of the HDD priority list.

Any good? 😕
 
ok i will give that a try.. i already tried bootinf with only the hitachi (yea, its sata) but no luck, so ill try reinstalling.

do i hafta wipe the drive clean first (and if so how) or can i just reinstall xp?

and also, ive heard athlons fail test 8 on memtest a lot.. is this serious? as in do i need an rma..
 
You could proceed like this...

1) boot from Windows CD, delete all partitions on the HDD when Windows Setup shows them to you, press F3 key twice to exit Windows Setup (I assume you got your stuff backed up)

2) begin Windows Setup a second time and follow through, being careful not to get worms from the network in the process

That would be one way, or you could try an in-place upgrade (repair install). If it's WinXP OEM then you should technically buy a new license at this point to be legal, btw 😉

 
sry i didnt see ur edit.. vdimm is at like 2.75, changes a little bit.. so what does failing test 8 mean? scaring me, cuz im running at stock and all should be fine..
 
Originally posted by: enwar3
sry i didnt see ur edit.. vdimm is at like 2.75, changes a little bit.. so what does failing test 8 mean? scaring me, cuz im running at stock and all should be fine..
Click to expand...

imo if you get an error and you are running at stock speeds there problems with the memory. you should not need to add more than default V in a stock setup. like i said earlier, call ocz and they will take care of you 😀
 
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