Failure to boot

[daniel elijah]

excuse me guys, sorry to bother, just finding help here.

my pc failed to boot any operating systems, what seems to be the problem?

i already tried to install different operating systems but after installing, it always fails to boot.

hope to hear from you guys.


daniel elijah
daniel.elijahATlive.com (change AT to an ampersand sign).

[Paul Komski]

We can edit back your email link if you want but such links are very good ways to attract spam and peeps can contact you anyway from the email sub-menu of your profile.

A failure to boot has multiple causes including a failure to even complete POST so some more information about the specifics and history of your problem would help us diagnostically.

It sounds like you can boot to a CD but that there is some problem with the HDD itself. If that is the case try the HDD diagnostics from the HDD maker's website.

Which operating systems have you tried to install and did the setups seem to run correctly? Etc, etc.

[daniel elijah]

Thank you very much Paul,

i have already tried to install windows xp service pack 2, then windows 98 second edition, and windows 2000 professional, but i always come up with the same result, , after i installed the OS, it fails to boot so that i can see the desktop.

by the way, it's not my pc, its my aunt's. it's my first time to encounter such pc problem, im still a beginner.

i don't think that the harddisk has the defect because i tried to use it to another pc.

thanks for the reply.

daniel elijah

[Paul Komski]

I would first check that there is an active partition using FDisk or BiNG or ...

If not then mark the relevant partition as active.

Also check that HDD is in the boot options of the BIOS setup and put it as the first option.

Consider resetting the BIOS to defaults or failsafe and retry installing having first zeroed the drive with the HDD diagnostics or something like copywipe (http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/copywipe.php) or DBAN (http://dban.sourceforge.net/).

[daniel elijah]

i think, there's a problem on the motherboard itself, or the 128mb ddr memory is defective. there's no problem on the harddisk because i have already tried it to install to another pc and it's fine. i installed an OS to the harddisk and it's fine. um, could you please tell me what are the possible problems of boot failures? is it possible that the motherboard has the problem? by the way, the pc is pentium3.

[Sylvander]

How far does your PC's Startup sequence get in the following?

A typical and successful startup sequence
1. Start of Boot Troubleshooting Walkthrough
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/index.htm
2. Yes: The system power supply is functioning
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/power1.htm
------------------------------------------------------
You should hear a single short beep at about this point indicating the successful running/completion of the POST.
Some PC’s beep much later, possibly as late as just before step 12.
------------------------------------------------------
3. Yes: Something is being written to the screen during boot up [This may be only a flashing cursor]
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/video1.htm
4. The video BIOS message is displayed on the screen for a few seconds and then clears from the screen, or more messages display under it
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/vbios1.htm
5. Yes: The system BIOS startup screen is appearing
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/bios1.htm
6. The memory test completes successfully
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/ram1.htm
7. The BIOS accesses the floppy drives and the boot continues
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/seek1.htm
8. The system is able to autodetect IDE devices successfully
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/auto1.htm
9. The system is not Plug and Play compatible, has no Plug and Play devices, or has PnP devices but identifies them properly
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/pnp1.htm
10. Boot sequence is A: before C: (floppy disk first)
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/seqAC.htm
11. The floppy disk makes a noise and the light comes on
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/fd1.htm
12. The floppy disk light goes off and the hard disk light comes on as it starts booting
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/fd1hdd.htm
13. The hard disk boot process will continue here, if you want to follow it.
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/hd1.htm
14. The system continues booting from the hard disk and the message "Starting MS-DOS" or "Starting Windows" is displayed
http://www.pcguide.com/ts/x/boot/walk/hd1os.htm
15. Operating System Loaded From Hard Disk. The system has found a boot sector on the hard disk and is now starting the load of the operating system. The hard disk is working. You have successfully completed the hardware part of the boot process. Any problems encountered after this point should be diagnosed by looking for a more specific problem with a component, or under the section that contains run-time error messages.

[Paul Komski]

but after installing ... implies that setup starts but doesn't create a bootable hard drive.

Is that correct and have you checked the BIOS setup and checked for an active partition as asked, etc? Just because the hard drive is not defective in another PC doesn't mean that everything is setup correctly to work in the current PC. It is, as you have asked, possible that there is a problem with the RAM or the mobo but we also need answers to the questions already asked to help with troubleshooting.

If any of this is not understood by you please just ask for clarification.