Boot to CD (XPP)

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I have a unit with XP Pro installed and wish to reformat and do a whole clean install. Everytime I attempt to boot to the CD, it boots up XP from the HD. The boot priority is CD/Floppy/HD. Any I ideas as to why It won’t boot from CD to get to the new install and format screen?

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Maybe obvious but do you have a bootable XP CD in the drive? Are you sure the boot order in the BIOS is CD 1st?

Joe

--Joe

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I have the bootable XP Pro retail installation media. The boot order is CD/floppy/HD – CD is first.

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Remember that you have just a few seconds to hit the any key to boot to the CD.
READ your screen

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Dave ~

On this unit I do not get the “Hit any key to boot from CD….” at start-up. I get these three choices: Diagnostic, F12 Boot Menu, F2 BIOS Setup. That is all there is to read on the screen before it boots to the HD.

When I first installed XP on this unit, I simply put the CD in and booted to it and went to Windows XP setup – simple. Now, it will not boot to the CD.

The manufacturer is telling me that once you install XP, you can no longer boot to CD and must Fdisk or install an older OS to reinstall XP. I think that is rubbish. I had XP Home on here and installed XP Pro by simply booting to CD and formatted. Then another rep says if you install XP and format NTFS, then you cannot clean reinstall XP. That does not sound right to me. I am sure it must be possible to re-install XP via booting to CD – a hundred times if necessary – is this right or am I drunk?

On three machines I have all boot priorities configured the same and formatting and installation was a breeze booting to CD. The media seems to be fine and I can install from the CD from within an existing OS, but don’t get the formatting options as you do in the boot method.

Nothing has changed in the settings and am doing nothing different, but I think I must be doing or not doing something to get a boot to CD to reformat and re-install XP clean.

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Bruce – something has to be different. If it weren’t, then you would still be able to boot to CD.

Windows is not even a part of the equation, so we can rule that out. This is the microcode that starts your computer, and it alone is responsible for the bootstrap process.

That limits us to the BIOS, which controls the boot sequence. Carefully check your settings and make sure that you didn’t overlook something, and that your changes are saved. If you can’t see anything, make sure you post the version number of your current BIOS (visible at boot time) and the make and model of your system.

Armed with that information, you can pound the manufacturer’s website and as a legitimate owner may also have the right to technical assistance from them. It sounds as though you’ve gotten the runaround that route, but persistence pays off. Escalate it if need be, because it will eventually get on someone’s desk who will look at it and say “why am I dealing with this? Fix it for the customer.”

Use all of your resources – and please post some specifics about the BIOS.

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The reps tried to convince me there was something on the CD that would prevent booting if XP was already installed. That, of course, is simply silly. I am amazed that these people are passing such info. I have had the runaround or incorrect information from Fujitsu often in the past. They have great products but lousy support. I have learned it is outsourced to a third party ‘call center’ that handles multiple OEMs.

I rarely if ever mess w/ the BIOS once I first set it up, so this is why I think nothing is different, at least not since the last install which was booted from CD, but I will double check all the settings and post back. I downloaded the BIOS pdf and will comb through it, but that is about all I can expect from the manufacturer in support.

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Bruce, Your are correct about all that crap the reps are telling you. Having installed XP does not in any way stop you from booting to CD. Nor will having an NTFS partition. I also don’t know how these people get away with passing out this sort of drivel. Have you checked for a BIOS update? How about putting any old diskette in the drive to see if the system tries taht before the HD? I agree with Dave, you need to be prepared to escalate this – which sometimes takes some patience over the phone.

Joe

--Joe

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If nothing else, can you try booting with a Win 9x bootable floppy?? That will load drivers for your CD, then you can get to the XP commands to FDisk, etc…

Just my 2cents

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I get these three choices: Diagnostic, F12 Boot Menu, F2 BIOS Setup.

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There’s a possible out Bruce… use the F12 key at bootup. This SHOULD give you a menu to select the CD as your temporary boot device.

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Yep, sheesh, what a simple oversight! F12 gives me the 3 second “Hit any key to boot to CD…” prompt. Thanks, Chris

Another unit I am working on, a new Compaq 4402KS coincidently does the same thing – installed XP booting automatically from CD, but now will not boot to CD anymore (automatically), so I will apply the same manuver there.

For the record, the BIOS is a Phoenix 1.03 on a Fujitsu 7631 Series C Lifebook and is current. I checked all the settings and they are the same as when I first set it up. It boots to the floppy fine. I can now prompt boot to any other CD as well this way, but am curious as to why it doesn’t auto-boot to CD as does the floppy like it used to.

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