Annoying Startup Problem

[Aηdy]

So, when i turn the computer on, its goes through POST ok, then says INVALID SYSTEM DISK; INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER. so i out the XP CD in then press enter then it says, BOOT CD: PRESS ANY KEY TO BOOT FROM CD.... then if you leave it for a few seconds it boots into windows, but it needs the cd to do it, and its quite annoying, ive tried reinstalling XP 3 times now, the ontly other thing i could try is XP Professional. but there are no floppy disks in the drive, so i just feel a bit :confused:

any ideas??


EDIT: i just thought, this problem started when i got the new case, but nothing was added/removed and no settings were changed

[Kiros]

Andrew... Please tell me that there isn't a disk in your floppy drive when you boot...

[Aηdy]

Im not that stupid!! :D i have tried everything... just wont do it!!

[Kiros]

Hmmm... Try going into the CMOS Setup and changing the boot order. Make the hard drive (with your active partition on it) boot first, or just try making the floppy drive boot last. In other words, either make your hard drive (with the active partition) boot first or make the floppy drive boot last. One of those two things should help.

[Aηdy]

I have tried all that, i have inplugged the CD and floppy drive...

so it says, INVALID SYSTEM DISK: INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER... so i insert the xp cd and press enter. then it says PRESS ANY KEY TO BOOT FROM CD........ but if i press nothing it just boots into windows and i can take the cd out. i have been looking around on other forums and many people have had the same problem but there are no answers

[Kiros]

Hmmm... That's very strange. If you have the hard drive to boot up first, then it shouldn't even read the CD or floppy drives. :?

How many drives do you have (including hard drives, CD/DVD drives, and floppy drives)? Also, which controller is the IDE for your hard drive hooked into? Furthermore, are you using any other devices on the IDE cable that runs to the hard drive?

[Aηdy]

IDE1- 60GB HDD, only device on cable
IDE2- DVD-RAM, only device on cable
FDD- FDD, only device on cable

im on the problem computer itself now typing this, it runs fine but i just dont want to have to put the xp cd in every time i turn it on

Edit: im just uploading pictures of the process

[Aηdy]

[/URL]
(http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/DSCF0209.jpg)


http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/th_d855da42.jpg (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/DSCF0208.jpg)
OK, so the post screen, everything ok, just a litte slow recognising IDE drives

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/th_DSCF0207.jpg (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/DSCF0207.jpg)
The annoying problem.. so i insert the XP disk...

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/th_DSCF0208.jpg (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/DSCF0208.jpg)
Then press enter... but do nothing once this screen shows..

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/th_DSCF0209.jpg (http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/DSCF0209.jpg)
then huzzah look at that, take the CD out, it runs fine
[URL="http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a102/muckingfuppet/DSCF0209.jpg"]

[JunkBondTrader]

I know this is going to sound stupid (and it probably won't work) but have you tried changing your primary boot device? Try changing it to HDD.

I'm sorry to treat you like an idiot but you never know with these things.

[Aηdy]

Yeah i have tried every combination of boot devices lol. and i have tried another cd drive. im just stumped lol

[JunkBondTrader]

OK, I think I've figured out your problem. It sounds to me like a bootloader problem. I have no idea how to fix that (in Windows) so... sorry. :P

[Aηdy]

ok, i will try and give it a google :D

edit: that only seems to be a linux related problem

[Kiros]

Actually, this is probably a problem with the MBR (Master Boot Record). You can repair it, but that could be risky - might loose data. :|

[Aηdy]

there is nothing to lose, its just a blank OS, i can do anythink without daata loss risk

[Kiros]

Ok, then you can use the FIXMBR command :) Boot to the Windows XP CD and wait for it to give you some choices. Go into the Recovery Console. If your 'Administrator' account has a password, make sure you know it because you will need it to get in the console. Now then, just simply type in FIXMBR and accept the confirmation. After it is done, soft reboot by typing exit into the console (if that does not work, try typing shutdown -r). If you hard reboot, you might damage the MBR again...

All you have to do then is make sure the disc is out of the DVD drive before it boots up. It should boot correctly after this :)

Good luck!

[Aηdy]

ok im about to do that, i will post the results in a moley mo!

[Aηdy]

no luck :(

[Kiros]

Hmmm... Try doing the same thing but typing in FIXBOOT as this will attempt to repair your boot sector instead of the MBR.

[Aηdy]

i have tried that already!

[Kiros]

Then it must be a damaged hard drive :? That's the only other thing it could be... But, for safety, try using some other spare/old hard drive from another computer before you buy a brand new one. Of course, it might not boot up the same (or at all), but if it shows the same error, then it's actually not the hard drive. However, if it gets past the "Boot from CD:" portion just fine, then it's safe to say that it is just the hard drive. That spare/old hard drive that you tried will need to be reformatted if you want it to work correctly inside your primary computer.

Again, good luck mate! :)

[Aηdy]

the only decent spare hard drive i have is about 1.2gb, but i think i have had xp on it before. i was thinking about that in the car earlier. and if its not the hard drive then its possibly the mobo. i have updated all the bios and chipset, but i will give the other hard drive a try.

[Aηdy]

Argh god its taking for ever to format, its at 89% and it was on 87% like 15 minutes ago.

update: the format is done now and insrallation is underway..

update 2: yup, its the hard drive, it works no problem with the other hard drive.

[Kiros]

Glad to hear it :D (Well, sorry about your damaged hard drive, but you know what I mean).

[Aηdy]

at least we know what the problem is now... nothing 30 cant fix!

[Aηdy]

ITS FIXED!!!:yeah: :yeah:
:woot:

Whoo!! :D Yeah so i was putting it back together just now and i oculdnt be bothered to put the video card in, so i used to onboard graphics, and it worked straight away!! Im glad i have found the real cause at last!!

Anyway thank you soo much kiros you have helped me no end :D :hug: yey!!

[Kiros]

I'm glad that you have found a fix, though I apologize for not being much help. Maybe you should look into buying a newer motherboard just in case :P

[Aηdy]

I would if i had the money but its a decent mobo:
http://msicomputer.co.uk/Products.aspx?product_id=703557&cat_id=77

the only one i can afford is worse than that, so there is no point really if its working!

You have been a huge help! I have learnt quite alot from you, about caching and stuff!

[JunkBondTrader]

Glad to hear you fixed the problem! :D Sorry for my Linux garbage but Linux/BSD is far superior. Keep that in mind ;) (obey the penguins!).

[Aηdy]

oh well, at least you tried, thats what counts the most!

[Aηdy]

Maybe you should look into buying a newer motherboard just in case :P

Sorry to bring this back up, but the mobo totally died 2 weeks ago, wouldnt power up or anything. so i posted on the msi forums: http://forum.msi.com.tw/index.php?topic=97956.0

so it came to the result that the mobo was dead so i got a new one: (Clicky!) (http://www.savastore.com/productinfo/product.aspx?catalog_name=Savastore&product_id=10275261&pid=44&rstrat=0&MSCSProfile=E88FF544888F07618470FCBD21778583F61BC7875140267B3FBAAEE17C50A393B258 CA3128E95ABAB28840135448EC3ECB1F94FE9325E991A76AD2586F18BB284D00D9237F985ED94FF1 6C7D17ABA8A20C3A6AA985C4DC3BF919EA287DB3953D6AE9BD253892BDD9DB9E76F84EB8FA567A00 AFC3EE96C2135DB7E4CEE276AF471051542A30ED9DB9)

i got it for 1/2 price. seems to be good. its arriving tomorrow. i hope it works!

and when i have earnt some money i will upgrade to SATA and maybe 2GB of decoent ram, or just the 1GB thinking about it :D

i have 2x512mb and 1x256mb ram to put in it, and my amd sempron 2600+ to put in it

[Kiros]

Nice... Well, sorry about your motherboard dying, but it lived a good life - not long, but good :D Anyway, motherboards are the source of compatibility, so that's why I suggested it :)

[Aηdy]

urgh, got the new motherboard, the bios was all fucked up, managed to sort that out, need a new hard drive aswell now. it spins down then back up again on boot and want load windows. i tried a 7gb hard drive with win98 on it and works fine. oh well, at lewast im earning money to pay for it now.

[Kiros]

Andrew, I think I already told you a problem with this O_o

All you need to do is reinstall Windows. If you already have Windows installed on that hard drive, then it's configured to some other system. It needs special drivers for your current motherboard. So... Like I've said a long time ago, reinstall Windows :D

[Aηdy]

i cant even get into it b/c the bios locks up when its plugged in... i will still give it a try tho lol

[Kiros]

Do you mean it freezes during or won't finish POST?

[Aηdy]

its fine thru post now, just freezes on booting into windows and freezes when it says 'setup is now starting windows' when reinstalling xp