Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk

[WolfpackRon]

I have a seven year old computer I built with Windows XP Pro. The main drive is a 80gb drive and a secondary drive is 120gb. I receive the error "Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter." I also have a message "Primary master drive fails." I was able to start the computer after a number of boots and recover data from the main drive. It does not recognize the D: drive. I can insert the Win XP disk and get to the C:/Windows prompt, but I do not know what to do then. I probably have a bad drive, but was trying to keep from starting over. I tried to unplug the D: drive thinking it may be the problem, but I still get the same messages. Any suggestion? Thanks in advance. WolfpackRon.

[WolfpackRon]

I have a seven year old computer I built with Windows XP Pro. The main drive is a 80gb drive and a secondary drive is 120gb. I receive the error "Disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter." I also have a message "Primary master drive fails." I was able to start the computer after a number of boots and recover data from the main drive. It does not recognize the D: drive. I can insert the Win XP disk and get to the C:/Windows prompt, but I do not know what to do then. I probably have a bad drive, but was trying to keep from starting over. I tried to unplug the D: drive thinking it may be the problem, but I still get the same messages. Any suggestion? Thanks in advance. WolfpackRon.

I double posted because I did not think I put this post in the correct place!

[Paul Komski]

It does not recognize the D: drive.Is it Windows or the BIOS or the installation CD that doesn't see the drive? ... Presumably you are referring to C: and D: as hard drives and not simply as partitions. It could be less confusing to refer to the two drives as the 80 and the 120.

Suggest you first check that both drives are recognised in the BIOS setup. If both are recognised it doesn't mean that neither has a problem but it is a significant starting point.

Are these IDE or SATA drives and are they configured in the correct boot orider in the BIOS setup and have the cables, connections, jumpers been double-checked or replaced?

If both are seen in the BIOS does a utility such as BiNG (in my sig) see their partition geometry correctly and is the relevant partition marked as active?

[WolfpackRon]

Thanks Paul for putting my posts in the correct forum. I was 0 for 2. My computer turns on very intermittantly. C or 80gb is the master drive and D or 120 is the slave drive. BIOS sometimes sees 80 and 120 but 120 has not been seen under My Computer since the problem began. BIOS is also intermittant at seeing these drives. Once BIOS saw both drives, so I thought I may be able to save what data is located on 120. These are IDE drives and the 120 drive does not show up in the boot order at all. I have replaced the ribbon cable to try to solve the problem. I have not changed any of the jumper settings. I am not familar with "Bing" as a utility. I will google it and check it out. I tried to use the Win XP Pro installation disk to Repair the problem. No help. Thanks again Paul. I will keep at it. I will be gone most of the day to see my first granddaughter. WolfpackRon.

[WolfpackRon]

Paul, I finally figured out you had a link on your post. I will need more time than I have to figure out Bing. Thanks, WolfpackRon.

[WolfpackRon]

OK, I finally had time to work with Bing. Not that I completely understand. I made a "Boot it" startup disk, I think. I have not tried it yet. The computer rebooted automatically as I made this Boot it disk. When it started up, it stopped because I still had the floppy disk in the computer. I read the following info about my "stuff."

Primary Master: WDC8000JB-OOCRA1
Primary Slave: WDC800BB
Secondary Master: NEC DVD RW...
Secondary Slave: Lite On...

Then, when I removed the floppy and hit enter, the following info was listed:

Primary Master: 800026
Primary Slave: None

I am still not seeing the D: 120 hard drive under My Computer. Not sure what is going on, but the computer did boot without many many restarts. Still seems to point to a problem with the 120 hard drive. Early on, I removed the ribbon cable and power cable from the 120 hard drive and still had boot up problems. I may cut it off and try to reboot it. I may try the Boot it start up disk if I have a problem booting. WolfpackRon.

[WolfpackRon]

Now I seem to be dead in the water completely. When I booted the computer I get a black Windows XP screen with the three blue dots going across below the Windows XP. The hard drive cycles making a humming and clicking sound. This has been going on for 18 mins. Now "loading your personal ... just came up and the computer is booting somewhat slowly. I put the floppy with Boot it and the message said remove disk. The computer has started and seems to be working properly now that it has booted. Who knows what is going on. I will keep it on and try it out. Later. Wolfpackron.

[Paul Komski]

Clicking and clunking from hard drives is almost invariably bad news. It certainly sounds as if there is an intrinsic problem with the hard drive itself or with its data/power connections and supply. A poor PSU or loose connections of power or data are typical causes of such intermittent problems.

[WolfpackRon]

I cut the computer off again and checked the power supply connections and ribbon and power cable on the hard drives. I had replaced the power supply a few months ago and had a problem keeping the power supply connector plugged in. I think I had solved that problem. The black Windows XP screen came up immediately. It took approximately 18 mins til the Welcome screen came up and the computer finally started. During this 18 mins it sounded like a motor or hard drive starting and stopping like it was searching for something. Humming and clicking like a relay maybe. Still no 120 gb drive listed under My Computer. This computer is 7 years old with a Pentium 2.4 ghz processor. I am in the market for a computer anyway. I was waiting until Window 7 was loaded on the new computers. It may be a hard drive or something else. I will limp along for a while and maybe try to format the hard drive later on. Any suggestions on a new computer? Not a gamer. Thanks for your suggestions. WolfpackRon.

[sassie05]

Lot of the folks here in this forum like to DIY.
Have you thought about building your own?

[WolfpackRon]

Sassie05, Yes I built the computer I am having trouble with when I retired almost 7 years ago. That is one possibility. I am not sure I will save that much versus shopping around. I saw a computer yesterday from Officemax with an Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8300 2.5GHZ, 750GB (7200RPM) hard drive), 8GB PC3-8500 DDR3 memory, Wireless card, network interface, Windows 7, and the other normal stuff for $599.99. I don't think I can build this computer for $600. It is an HP Pavilion p6240f desktop computer. It may be a piece of crap, but the specs look good on paper. Anyone have any input on this desktop computer? Thanks, WolfpackRon.

[Paul Komski]

In seven years much has moved on and unless one particularly needs or wants a specialist system there are a lot of good deals to be had from just about all of the big names. Even five years ago I used to build a lot of systems for the average Joe who mainly wanted Office/Surfing/Email but now even that is not cost effective for me to do and for that sort of client I usually now get a bottom of the range Dell, which is more than adequate for that sort of user.

Really good laptops too have come down amazingly in price and for the traveller who just wants net access a netbook has much merit.

A good PSU and a UPS are ancillaries/replacements that are very often worth the investment - particularly if buying OEM systems.

I'm not really up to speed with Windows having ignored Vista as much as it is possible to. Perhaps Win7 will be worth the wait but, then again, Linux and Ubuntu in particular have moved on in leaps and bounds.

If you have a good box and don't mind re-using some of the peripherals there are many good bare bones systems available to purchase at very little cost.

[WolfpackRon]

Sassie05, Yes I built the computer I am having trouble with when I retired almost 7 years ago. That is one possibility. I am not sure I will save that much versus shopping around. I saw a computer yesterday from Officemax with an Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8300 2.5GHZ, 750GB (7200RPM) hard drive), 8GB PC3-8500 DDR3 memory, Wireless card, network interface, Windows 7, and the other normal stuff for $599.99. I don't think I can build this computer for $600. It is an HP Pavilion p6240f desktop computer. It may be a piece of crap, but the specs look good on paper. Anyone have any input on this desktop computer? Thanks, WolfpackRon.

I purchased the HP p6240f listed above for $549.99 last week at Staples and installed an ASUS EAH4670 1GB video card from Newegg for another $50 after rebate. It is so much faster than my old computer that I cannot believe it. Merry Christmas to me. I am very pleased, WolfpackRon.

[sassie05]

I have a seven year old computer I built...
I did miss that statement. You would think I might have read the very first sentence, maybe, or, not. :)

Glad your pleased with your new rig.
Enjoy.

[WolfpackRon]

I am working with the old computer again trying to format the harddrive and reinstall Windows XP Pro. I am not seeing either of the drives (80gb or 120gb) in the BIOS. As I said before, i removed and reconnected ribbon cables and they are still not listed in BIOS or under my computer. I used the WinXP Pro disc to format the HD and as a startup disc. Lots of issues and very little understanding on my part. Any other problems that I could cause me not see the drives in BIOS, such as mother board, drivers, etc.? Need help, WolfpackRon.

[david eaton]

As this computer was built 7 years ago, I would suggest changing the BIOS battery ( coin cell cr2032). The usual life of these is about 2 or 3 years, and a dead or dying battery can cause all sorts of problems

[WolfpackRon]

I did replace the battery. I may try putting the hard drives in my new computer one at a time. WolfpackRon.

[WolfpackRon]

I said I would try to connect my old EIDE hard drive on my new computer. I am having a bad day anyway, but can an EIDE hard drive be used on a computer with SATA connectors? My bad day was because when I took the cover off of my brand new computer, I noticed the SATA connectors. I then put it back together and connected the monitor to the "other" video plug and not the new video card. Guess what, it does not work. To make it worse, I connected a second monitor to the wrong video output. It didn't work either. I finally got over the stupids, partially. Anyway, back to my question of the day. Is there some kind of adapter to allow an EIDE HD to be used on an SATA connector? Also, could it be connected thru a USB connector as an external hard drive? Thanks in advance, WolfpackRon.

[Paul Komski]

Yes there are such bi-directional adapters. If you don't have an available molex connector, which would still be fairly unusual, on your PSU you would also need a power adapter

http://www.amazon.co.uk/IDE-SATA-Bi-Directional-Adapter/dp/B002SI4I5K/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258616579&sr=1-2

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4162j1ORsdL._SL500_AA280_.jpg

The alternatives are to use a PCI/PCIe slot with IDE host controllers (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1070704&CatId=508) on it or to a USB external IDE-converter (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001A5SK56/ref=s9_sima_gw_s3_p23_i3?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1M7DXEW8BATE7G39GNAJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=467128533&pf_rd_i=468294) or USB 3.5"-IDE enclosure (http://www.amazon.co.uk/3-5-External-Enclosure-Caddy-cooling/dp/B000PKIXMW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1258617333&sr=1-1). That particular converter cable can connect to 2.5 and 3.5 and SATA drives. The USB option would only work for storage drives and not for booting to Windows installed on the drive. Booting to drives on a PCI/PCIe card can also have unpredictable results if you are mixing SATA and IDE drives in a system.

[WolfpackRon]

Thanks Paul, I already have an enclosure with another drive in it. I can swap it out to check out the other hard drives from my old computer. Seems like I continue to learn as I go. WolfpackRkon.

[WolfpackRon]

The saga continues!!! I put the 120gb HD in my enclosure and the new computer did not find it. I replaced the original HD back in the enclosure and it worked fine. I assume the 120gb drive has gone to heaven. I then put the 80gb HD in the enclosure and it worked OK. I then formatted the 80gb drive to start fresh. I put the 80gb formatted HD back in my old computer and started the computer with the Windows XP Pro disc in the drive since there was no operating system on the hard drive. Windows setup loads files, then trys to start up. Under "detecting primary master" it says "none." After messing with setup the 80gb dirve finally shows up. After starting, it says booting from Atapi, no emulation. I think it opened again in Windows setup. It copied files and seemed to be recycling over again. I never could get it to start properly. Any suggesions? I do not have a clue. Maybe I should toss the entire mess, but I am real hard headed. Not sure what to do next though. Help!! WolfpackRon.

[Paul Komski]

You have had on-and-off problems with the 120 before and since it is playing up again its integrity must be suspect - particularly since two PCs have had difficulties recognising it. Personally I would use it as a paper-weight but if you want to try testing it with the maker's diagnostics that is something you could try, though non-recognition in the BIOS setup (even if intermittent) would not even allow such testing.

[WolfpackRon]

Paul, I have the 120gb drive on my desk and it is working perfectly at its new job of holding papers down. I have finally done something right pertaining to computers. Back to my original project. The 80gb HD was formatted in the enclosure and again when I tried to install Win XP. I am not seeing this hard drive in BIOS under Primary Master. It does seem to allow me to write files to it as I install Windows XP. When the Win XP disc is in the computer, I get the message: "Boot from Atapi cd-rom, no emulation. Then it recycles back to Windows XP is loading files, Welcome to Setup. I have 3 options: 1) To setup Windows XP now, press enter, 2) To repair Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R, and 3) To quit setup without installing Windows XP, press F3. If I choose option 1, it trys to load Win XP and I get another message about installing it on a partition that already had a copy of an operating system. Option 2 takes me to C:\Windows maybe in DOS. Option 3, quits and restarts to the Boot from Atapi cd-rom, no emulation or if the Windows XP disc is not in the computer, I get the message: "Disk Boot Failure, Insert system Disk and press enter." That sounds like the original message before I formatted the HD. Maybe the 80gb HD is not just right even though it was read by my new computer when it was installed in the enclosure. I could try to use another HD from a different discarded computer. Since this is just a learning project, maybe I should toss the whole thing. Any suggestions, I am missing something, WolfpackRon.

[WolfpackRon]

Problem Solved!!! Call off the dogs. Something simple as always. Per another forum, I followed some of their simple checks. One was to check the jumper settings on the hard drive. I had it set on Master. I changed it to Cable Select and the old computer recognized the HD in BIOS. Also, it continued where it left off installing Windows XP Pro. I guess I figured that it was reading the HD when it was loading the files, but it never got that far. I am sure I learned something. This is not rocket science, but it sure stretches my brain sometimes!! Thanks again for the help Paul and everyone.

[Paul Komski]

Good!

And how was the 120 jumpered?

[WolfpackRon]

Paul, It is holding the paper on my desk down nicely!! I did try it with different jumper settings and it is still clicking. WolfpackRon.