Why does my PC try to start from CD rom drive?

[Paula De Niro]

My old PC (windows 95 then 98) often crashed.

Touch wood - my new XP one hasn't so far (since March).

But about 3 times out of 10, it will try to start up from the CD rom drive, which slows everything right down, and results in a 'Not responding' message when I try to shut down. :rolleyes:

Anybody know why this happens? And if it's possible to prevent it?

Thank you

[ski]

It may be due to a virus.
Update your AV program with the latest files, and do a virus search.

[Paula De Niro]

Thanks but it's not due to a virus. I bought full PC Antivirus software and Internet security from Trend Micro, that is updated nearly every day.

I've never had a virus since July when it was installed.

[ski]

If the CD-ROM drive is configured in BIOS as a boot device ahead of the HD, then place it after the HD.

If that does not help, then disconnect the CD-ROM drive.

If that works, then the CD-ROM drive may be bad.

If disconnecting the CD-ROM drive does not work, or if the CD-ROM drive is already after the HD as a boot device, then replace the CMOS battery.

If no luck, then the HD may be failing.

[Quantax]

You might also change the configuration of the CD drive such that it's not on the same channel as the hard drive.
So, if it's say the slave to the hard drive(which is set as master), then make it the master on the other channel.

[Paula De Niro]

Thank you Ski and Quantax!

I'll try everything you suggested in chronological order.

Is it possible you could let me know how to place the CD-Rom drive after the Hard drive? (I only have to do a bit of typing, right?)
Thanks

Paula

[ski]

To change the device boot order, do the following:

Press and hold the key that's specified on the 1st or 2nd screen during startup(normally Del or F8) to 'Enter Setup' or 'Enter CMOS', highlight 'Advanced BIOS Options' (or similar) on the menu using the arrow keys, press Enter, scroll to 'Boot Order', 'Boot Device', '1st Boot Device', or similar, simultaneously press the -, +, Page Up, and Page Down keys to change the setting so that the HD is configured ahead of the CD-ROM drive as a boot device, press Esc to return to the main menu, highlight 'Save Changes and Exit' (or similar), press Enter, type Y at the warning, and press Enter. Windows should now load.

[Jacko]

This could be a problem with your Hard disk drive. If it fails to spin up on boot, your system will then look for the next available boot device. Just something else to think about!

[Paula De Niro]

OK, I did the first part and the HD is already 1st, Floppy 2nd, and CD-ROM 3rd.

So is it easy to replace the CMOS battery?

I'm not replacing the CR-ROM yet as I want to replace it with a DVD Rewriter soon, but if it is actually the Hard Drive, how do I back everything up, before changing it?

Thanks

Paula

[Jacko]

Couple of ways you can back up your existing hard drive before the switch

The easiest way will be to set up your new HDD as a primary drive and your existing (possibly faulty) HDD as a secondary drive in your PC. Once you have everything up and running (installed OS etc. on new HDD), simply copy all your data from the old HDD to the new one. Dont be tempted to leave the old one in there though!

Another way would be to copy everything onto cdrom, or even better dvdrom. The just copy the data back to your new HDD. This way you still have the data backed and while it isnt necessary, keeping backups is always a good idea as your HDD no mater how old or new, can stop working at any time. Definatly go down this route when you upgrade your CDROM drive!

[Paula De Niro]

Thanks, that's a good idea.

My web design teacher says the CMOS battery won't need replacing for 10 years, as it's a fairly new PC.

I'll replace the HD and CD-ROM.