Solve : Computer not booting from any bootable media?

1.	Solve : Computer not booting from any bootable media?
Answer» Well my cousin got himself a broadband connection so he asked me to come over to his house and set it up. I hooked it all and it was working fine till Windows XP hung up. So I restarted it. It wont boot now. Just hangs up at'verifying DMI pool data'if I leave it long enough in that condition it says'error in loading OS'.So I got his rescue disc and tried to boot off it. It took longer than usual and then got to a screen where the cursor loads....After that nothing. I even tried the Win XP disc. It does say'press any key to boot from cd'. If I press any key, it just loads a blank screen.Since it POSTs, apparently the mobo and the ROM with bios are alright. If detects bootable disc so cd drive is ok too. Maybe the hdd has gone awry. But even then why'd it not boot off cd. Maybe I should try removing the hdd connectors?I sounds like there might be something wrong in the BIOS. Maybe it is set to boot from LAN. Have you tried entering the BIOS and resetting to defaults?How can anything be wrong with BIOS if it is entering the 'p mode'. You see the bios seeks bootable media, it does find that in CD (set as 2nd boot device) and starts loading it. As I already mentioned the rescue disc (a linux based cd of macrium reflect) boots, loads a graphic screen where I can actually move the MOUSE pointer. The bios most certainly doesn't exercise controls so far. Its role is over after handing over control to a boot sector AFAIK.It sounds like there is a problem with the cd drive or the cd's. Is the XP disc an original, retail copy? If so, and if the system sees it, it should obviously boot to it. The only other possibilities I can think of are ram or the hd. You might want to run a diagnostic on the ram.One of the two XP discs I tried was retail and other was a slipstreamed version with SP3. It has rejected linux bootable discs too. Not apparently the problem with cds. If there was a problem with the drive it would not read it at all or hang up at random points, but this hangs up exactly after an attempt to boot off the cd. I was thinking about the faulty ram too, but it cant be checked cause the pc isn't booting at all. Guess I'm gonna have to take it to a pro.A brand new optical burner is about 30 Bucks shipped and would take 5 minutes to install...Quote Since it POSTs, apparently the mobo and the ROM with bios are alright. If detects bootable disc so cd drive is ok too. Quote How can anything be wrong with BIOS if it is entering the 'p mode'. ... The bios most certainly doesn't exercise controls so far. Its role is over after handing over control to a boot sector AFAIK. Quote If there was a problem with the drive it would not read it at all or hang up at random points, but this hangs up exactly after an attempt to boot off the cd. almost all of those assumptions are incorrect, or not entirely accurate. I'm not picking on you here, I just can't figure out why you would be trying to invalidate the advice given using specious arguments. Any problems with the advice given may be due to the seemingly self-contradictory information: Quote I was thinking about the faulty ram too, but it cant be checked cause the pc isn't booting at all. And yet, at the same time, while it isn't booting it all, it boots fine: Quote As I already mentioned the rescue disc (a linux based cd of macrium reflect) boots, loads a graphic screen where I can actually move the mouse pointer. I'm with patio on this one, though. seems like a problem with the the disc drive. Although given the conflicting reports (it both boots fine, while at the same time not being bootable) I'm sort of shooting in the dark here based on the information that it appears to occasionally refuse to boot (you said it boots into some recovery environment disc). Quote If there was a problem with the drive it would not read it at all or hang up at random points Have you dealt with many failed/failing disc drives before? It could very well be a mechanical failure somewhere that affects the Drives compatibility with the El Torito specification. I've had CD-ROM drives that refuse to work at 32x but will read and burn fine at any other speed up to 52x, and other seemingly random weird things occur for other devices. Any computer problem that doesn't have an obvious cause can usually be caused by anything- in this case that includes the cd drive (in fact, given it's seemingly central role in the problem it becomes a prime suspect) Or any number of things, including RAM. RAM is possibly even a greater suspect because the original post makes it SEEM like ti failed to boot to the hard drive (that is, not involving the CD-ROM). But, even then, the computer will, as you yourself state, try booting from the CD-ROM first, so considering all your problems seem to occur during the boot phase, and you haven't yet gotten past the attempt to boot to the CD-Drive (escept in one case where you boot to a disc in the drive) It's not an unreasoned or preemptive hypothesis. What it sounds like you're trying to do is a "theoretical diagnosis" rather then applied diagnosis, by trying to "reason out" exactly what is broken. DESPITE the determinate nature of the machines themselves, sometimes what ails them is not as determinate.You are probably going to have to try replacing a few things until you find the problem component- With most problems, it's usually possible to use good judgment based on the problem to determine what to replace, but there is never a way to be 100% sure that it's the cause- you can know what it probably isn't- for example, if you cannot read floppies, your CD-ROM drive probably isn't involved. But that never rules it out if you end up trying everything else. (taken from my experience, no idea why but whenever I use that CD-RW drive my floppy drive no longer works, it took some figuring). At any rate and given the factor we dont kow the status of these bootdisks i'd say 30 bUCKS IS /WOULD BE A GOOD INVESTMENT...Lol. My bad, i messed up my words. When I said that I cant check the ram by RUNNING any diagnostics cause it doesn't boot, I meant it doesn't boot into any usable user interface. I'd have tried changing the cd drive unless my cousin had called me and told me yesterday that he tried running it again and it booted into XP and after using for sometime, hung up again and was unusable once more. So here we're, its obviously the RAM.As programmer states, theoritical analysis does fail some times, but when you're helping someone over phone or you dont carry your equipment around, thats all you can do. And in most cases the problems are so n00bish they're fixed by it. Tho remember one funny occasion. Every three months I clean up my hdd and reinstall XP (as I dont like the idea of tweaking applications or Anti virus). So at that time i did a clean format and used my recovery disc...The system wont boot. Then I tried installing XP with XP disc. It just wont detect the XP disc as bootable. I suspected the DVD drive to be the CULPRIT. So I tried other discs. And to my horror EVERYTHING else bootable, did boot. Even Windows 98SE. I still decided to replace the optical drive. I had a functional LG DVD writer and a samsung CD reader. The latter had stopped working sometime ago, but as my drive bay was missing I had just let it sit there. So I first removed this cd drive. Something popped in my mind and I tried booting again, now with only the DVD drive connected. The friggin thing booted! I connected it again, and it didn't boot xp as before. I was totally lmao at this. I thought "Hey, I could ship this masterpiece to FSF. RMS is gonna love this windows opposing drive."

Answer»

Well my cousin got himself a broadband connection so he asked me to come over to his house and set it up. I hooked it all and it was working fine till Windows XP hung up. So I restarted it. It wont boot now. Just hangs up at'verifying DMI pool data'if I leave it long enough in that condition it says'error in loading OS'.So I got his rescue disc and tried to boot off it. It took longer than usual and then got to a screen where the cursor loads....After that nothing. I even tried the Win XP disc. It does say'press any key to boot from cd'. If I press any key, it just loads a blank screen.Since it POSTs, apparently the mobo and the ROM with bios are alright. If detects bootable disc so cd drive is ok too. Maybe the hdd has gone awry. But even then why'd it not boot off cd. Maybe I should try removing the hdd connectors?I sounds like there might be something wrong in the BIOS. Maybe it is set to boot from LAN. Have you tried entering the BIOS and resetting to defaults?How can anything be wrong with BIOS if it is entering the 'p mode'. You see the bios seeks bootable media, it does find that in CD (set as 2nd boot device) and starts loading it. As I already mentioned the rescue disc (a linux based cd of macrium reflect) boots, loads a graphic screen where I can actually move the MOUSE pointer. The bios most certainly doesn't exercise controls so far. Its role is over after handing over control to a boot sector AFAIK.It sounds like there is a problem with the cd drive or the cd's. Is the XP disc an original, retail copy? If so, and if the system sees it, it should obviously boot to it. The only other possibilities I can think of are ram or the hd. You might want to run a diagnostic on the ram.One of the two XP discs I tried was retail and other was a slipstreamed version with SP3. It has rejected linux bootable discs too. Not apparently the problem with cds. If there was a problem with the drive it would not read it at all or hang up at random points, but this hangs up exactly after an attempt to boot off the cd. I was thinking about the faulty ram too, but it cant be checked cause the pc isn't booting at all. Guess I'm gonna have to take it to a pro.A brand new optical burner is about 30 Bucks shipped and would take 5 minutes to install...Quote

Since it POSTs, apparently the mobo and the ROM with bios are alright. If detects bootable disc so cd drive is ok too.

Quote

How can anything be wrong with BIOS if it is entering the 'p mode'.
...
The bios most certainly doesn't exercise controls so far. Its role is over after handing over control to a boot sector AFAIK.

Quote

If there was a problem with the drive it would not read it at all or hang up at random points, but this hangs up exactly after an attempt to boot off the cd.

almost all of those assumptions are incorrect, or not entirely accurate. I'm not picking on you here, I just can't figure out why you would be trying to invalidate the advice given using specious arguments. Any problems with the advice given may be due to the seemingly self-contradictory information:

Quote

I was thinking about the faulty ram too, but it cant be checked cause the pc isn't booting at all.

And yet, at the same time, while it isn't booting it all, it boots fine:

Quote

As I already mentioned the rescue disc (a linux based cd of macrium reflect) boots, loads a graphic screen where I can actually move the mouse pointer.

I'm with patio on this one, though. seems like a problem with the the disc drive. Although given the conflicting reports (it both boots fine, while at the same time not being bootable) I'm sort of shooting in the dark here based on the information that it appears to occasionally refuse to boot (you said it boots into some recovery environment disc).

Quote

If there was a problem with the drive it would not read it at all or hang up at random points

Have you dealt with many failed/failing disc drives before? It could very well be a mechanical failure somewhere that affects the Drives compatibility with the El Torito specification. I've had CD-ROM drives that refuse to work at 32x but will read and burn fine at any other speed up to 52x, and other seemingly random weird things occur for other devices. Any computer problem that doesn't have an obvious cause can usually be caused by anything- in this case that includes the cd drive (in fact, given it's seemingly central role in the problem it becomes a prime suspect) Or any number of things, including RAM. RAM is possibly even a greater suspect because the original post makes it SEEM like ti failed to boot to the hard drive (that is, not involving the CD-ROM). But, even then, the computer will, as you yourself state, try booting from the CD-ROM first, so considering all your problems seem to occur during the boot phase, and you haven't yet gotten past the attempt to boot to the CD-Drive (escept in one case where you boot to a disc in the drive) It's not an unreasoned or preemptive hypothesis. What it sounds like you're trying to do is a "theoretical diagnosis" rather then applied diagnosis, by trying to "reason out" exactly what is broken. DESPITE the determinate nature of the machines themselves, sometimes what ails them is not as determinate.You are probably going to have to try replacing a few things until you find the problem component- With most problems, it's usually possible to use good judgment based on the problem to determine what to replace, but there is never a way to be 100% sure that it's the cause- you can know what it probably isn't- for example, if you cannot read floppies, your CD-ROM drive probably isn't involved. But that never rules it out if you end up trying everything else. (taken from my experience, no idea why but whenever I use that CD-RW drive my floppy drive no longer works, it took some figuring).

At any rate and given the factor we dont kow the status of these bootdisks i'd say 30 bUCKS IS /WOULD BE A GOOD INVESTMENT...Lol. My bad, i messed up my words. When I said that I cant check the ram by RUNNING any diagnostics cause it doesn't boot, I meant it doesn't boot into any usable user interface. I'd have tried changing the cd drive unless my cousin had called me and told me yesterday that he tried running it again and it booted into XP and after using for sometime, hung up again and was unusable once more. So here we're, its obviously the RAM.As programmer states, theoritical analysis does fail some times, but when you're helping someone over phone or you dont carry your equipment around, thats all you can do. And in most cases the problems are so n00bish they're fixed by it. Tho remember one funny occasion. Every three months I clean up my hdd and reinstall XP (as I dont like the idea of tweaking applications or Anti virus). So at that time i did a clean format and used my recovery disc...The system wont boot. Then I tried installing XP with XP disc. It just wont detect the XP disc as bootable. I suspected the DVD drive to be the CULPRIT. So I tried other discs. And to my horror EVERYTHING else bootable, did boot. Even Windows 98SE.

I still decided to replace the optical drive. I had a functional LG DVD writer and a samsung CD reader. The latter had stopped working sometime ago, but as my drive bay was missing I had just let it sit there. So I first removed this cd drive. Something popped in my mind and I tried booting again, now with only the DVD drive connected. The friggin thing booted! I connected it again, and it didn't boot xp as before. I was totally lmao at this. I thought "Hey, I could ship this masterpiece to FSF. RMS is gonna love this windows opposing drive."

Solve : Computer not booting from any bootable media?

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