MSI nForce 420 boot problem

[HendrixFan]

I helped to build a system for someone:

MSI nForce 420
512MB DDR
Athlon XP 2000+
Cnet Pro200A NIC
Maxtor 40GB
Sony 32X CDRom

I installed Win2k, and everything seemed to go smoothly. All the drivers went up, etc. But whenever the computer boots up, it wont load Windows correctly. I have the boot sequence to HDD-0 then CDROM, and when it tries to boot off the hard drive it tells me something about loading a series of letters and numbers and "DHCP....". I can only assume that is for the onboard NIC, but I dont know for sure. Then it tells me there is a system disk error. But then if I have the Win2k CD in the drive, it will ask to boot off the CD, I dont press "any key", and then it loads Windows perfectly. Now, he is getting into Windows just fine, but it would be nice if he didnt have the hassle of having to have the CD in the drive each time during boot up.

 

[jfunk]

Try clearing your BIOS out and resetting to defaults (of course adjust what needs it after that, like bus speed).

Make sure your HD is actually HD0 (primary master) and you don't have it on IDE2 or something.

Out of curiousity, why the NIC? Onboard has been excellent for me.



j

 

[HendrixFan]

The NIC is being used because the onboard LAN is covered by the ATX case plate. I suppose he can dremel it out, but its his computer so it was his call.

Thanks for your help, I hope it works.