- Overview of the problem
New build won't boot from DVD burner drive, either with Memtest 86 CD or original Windows Vista DVD.
- Full description of the problem and symptoms
Built this computer a day ago, installed Vista 64 Home Premium no problem. It's had some problems starting up (random freezes, though it seems to get a little farther along each time I restart it, until it seems to be working fine after about 5 restarts or so).
So I figured I would start with Memtest86+ (version 2.01) to try and start with checking the RAM. Everytime I restart it with the CD in the drive though, it skips past it and boots right into Vista. So I put in the Vista DVD, and lo-and-behold, it skips that too.
So I double-checked that it's set to boot CD-ROM in the BIOS (it is). I hit F12 for advanced boot options and selected CD-ROM (it was on Hard Drive), but it still skips the DVD drive and boots into Vista. I restarted and tried F12 again, and noted it was back on Hard Drive, tried selecting CD-ROM again, and it booted right into Vista still.
- Did it work normally at one time, or has the problem always existed?
Not sure - was able to boot from the Vista DVD to install Vista, so I suppose it worked...
- Is the problem consistent and repeatable, or entirely random, or semi-random?
The problem is consistent and repeatable. Neither a Memtest86+ copy or the original Vista OEM DVD will boot; it skips and goes straight into Vista from the hard drive.
- I already tried these steps:
Besides double-checking the BIOS, once it booted into Vista I checked to make sure it would recognize the CD and the DVD, and it does; it shows they're in the drive and I can access their files.
I also installed the mobo drivers from the DVD drive, without a problem.
I also tried the Memtest86+ CD in another computer (also running Vista) and it worked fine.
- My software:
- Vista 64 Home Premium, OEM
- No AV or IS installed yet; only chipset, video, and LAN drivers installed so far
- My hardware
- Gigabyte GA-MA78GM-S2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G MicroATX mobo
- AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0 GHz CPU (not overclocked)
- Using integrated audio and video
- G.Skill 4 GB (2x2) DDR2 800 RAM, voltage is on auto (BIOS shows it as around 1.93 or so, I believe; couldn't find any place to set timings in the BIOS options, so I guess those are on auto too)
- Rosewill case and included 350W PSU
- LiteOn DVD Burner
- Seagate 500 GB SATA drive
- Other information that might be relevant
I've used LiteOn drives before without problems (I have a total of 4 others), and the fact it reads DVDs and CDs fine otherwise makes me scratch my head. Any suggestions are much appreciated! Thank you!
EDIT: solution was that I needed to select my specific DVD burner from the BIOS menu at the bottom. I'd thought "CD-ROM" would do the trick, but evidently not. Now I know.
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