Computer gone bonkers after adding a new hard drive.

[Hyper_Psycho]

Hi everyone,

Recently I put a new 320GB hard drive in my computer.

When I booted the computer I got the following error

Boot from CD/DVD :
Boot from CD/DVD :
DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

I tried disconnecting all of the other hard drives and booting from the main one. I got the same error. I tried putting the cables and everything back to where they originally were and I got the same error. I tried resetting the bios and I got the same error.

When booted all of my hard drives are detected.

The hard drive with the OS is connected through the SATA port on my motherboard. Another hard drive is connected to the motherboard as well.

3 hard drives are connected to the Promise SATA expansion PCI card.


I have no idea how to treat this problem. The hard drives are less than one year old and have been working perfectly. I never had any hard drive errors.


Any suggestions on what I could do?

 

[Spartacus]

You didn't run FDISK or FORMAT anything?

Sounds like the partition on your main drive got hosed.
You'll need a utility to fix that like Partition Magic, etc.

Note that you want to repair the partition, not create a new one.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

You didn't run FDISK or FORMAT anything?

Sounds like the partition on your main drive got hosed.
You'll need a utility to fix that like Partition Magic, etc.

Note that you want to repair the partition, not create a new one.

I havent ran any of those utilities yet ... as I was going to format the new hard drive in Windows.

I guess I should go out and use Partition Magic. Is there an alternative software solution?

 

[digital_exhaust]

I havent ran any of those utilities yet ... as I was going to format the new hard drive in Windows.

I guess I should go out and use Partition Magic. Is there an alternative software solution?

GParted or PartedMagic... both are free and work with NTFS just fine.

But I'm not sure that is the best way to repair the problem your having.. not sure, so I'll let someone else jump in here, maybe offer some different advice..

 

[nmanley]

I saw this just two days ago. Go in your Bios and reassign the correct Hard Drive as the boot drive. I've been bouncing SATA drives in and out of my computer and on two occasions my motherboard Bios lost reference to the correct OS install hard drive.
You may have to disconnect the other (extra) HD's for one bootup but then all should be well again.

I'm pretty sure you have not FRAGGED your boot partition as other seem to think.

 

[Spartacus]

I saw this just two days ago. Go in your Bios.....I'm pretty sure you have not FRAGGED your boot partition as other seem to think.

Maybe not, but I go on what people tell me......

from the OP:

"I tried resetting the bios and I got the same error. "

 

[Nenu]

Maybe not, but I go on what people tell me......

from the OP:

"I tried resetting the bios and I got the same error. "

Resetting the BIOS doesnt know to set your boot drive as the first drive, it might do it right but it doesnt seem to in this case.
As the previous poster pointed out it might be wise to remove the other drives as well to make sure that the boot drive is functional and work from there.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

I saw this just two days ago. Go in your Bios and reassign the correct Hard Drive as the boot drive. I've been bouncing SATA drives in and out of my computer and on two occasions my motherboard Bios lost reference to the correct OS install hard drive.
You may have to disconnect the other (extra) HD's for one bootup but then all should be well again.

I'm pretty sure you have not FRAGGED your boot partition as other seem to think.

The only option that I have in my boot devices is SATA DRIVE so its not like I can choose SATA 1 ... 2 ... etc ... there is only SATA DRIVE despite having two SATA connections on the mobo :/

 

[Nenu]

The only option that I have in my boot devices is SATA DRIVE so its not like I can choose SATA 1 ... 2 ... etc ... there is only SATA DRIVE despite having two SATA connections on the mobo :/

There is another place where you can set the order of the drives.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

There is another place where you can set the order of the drives.

and that would be ?

 

[Nenu]

In the CMOS.
I dont have your PC / BIOS so I cant tell you where.

I use the same setting to change the boot drive so I can run 2 entirely independent copies of windows that dont need any other drives to be present to boot either copy.

 

[ashmedai]

Is the OS drive bootable? If so, try to boot with only that drive connected. Likewise, try to boot with only an optical drive with a bootable disk inserted connected.

In the CMOS.

CMOS = Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor, i.e. a microchip technology. Contrast with TTL Logic, or Transistor-Transistor Logic Logic (yeah, it's redundant).

BIOS = Basic Input / Output System, i.e. the preboot environment used by PCs (among others). The BIOS resides on a CMOS chip, among many other CMOS chips in your system.

 

[dK`_unlimited]

just install another copy on the same harddrive with no additional partition.. name the install folder backup or w/e then do the following once youve finished install and are on the desktop.


start,control panel,system,advanced tab,startup button then goto the first edit button.. thats the boot.ini

once there rename the two listings BACKUP to WINDOWS and restart.

i just had this same problem earlier.. this fixed it.

 

[Nenu]

Is the OS drive bootable? If so, try to boot with only that drive connected. Likewise, try to boot with only an optical drive with a bootable disk inserted connected.



CMOS = Complimentary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor, i.e. a microchip technology. Contrast with TTL Logic, or Transistor-Transistor Logic Logic (yeah, it's redundant).

BIOS = Basic Input / Output System, i.e. the preboot environment used by PCs (among others). The BIOS resides on a CMOS chip, among many other CMOS chips in your system.

A modern PC BIOS is a flashable memory chip and contains the BIOS code.
It can be shadowed into ram but as Windows provides system needs, there is no need to use the BIOS while in Windows.
Therefore it is usually not shadowed into system ram.
It does not run in CMOS memory.

The CMOS is the memory where the config for the BIOS is stored.
This is what you change when you change a BIOS setting.

 

[ashmedai]

A modern PC BIOS is a flashable memory chip and contains the BIOS code.
It can be shadowed into ram but as Windows provides system needs, there is no need to use the BIOS while in Windows.
Therefore it is usually not shadowed into system ram.
It does not run in CMOS memory.

The CMOS is the memory where the config for the BIOS is stored.
This is what you change when you change a BIOS setting.

I really don't understand most of that. Here's CMOS as I'm familiar with it being used, although admittedly that's largely from a few low-level EE courses. My understanding is that most modern electronics rely largely on CMOS chips. My digital camera, for example, uses a CMOS sensor. TTL chips are largely used in home projects and freshman labs, primarily because it's harder to let the magic smoke out. The NVRAM was once called "the CMOS" as a colloquialism in much the same way we call a photocopier a Xerox - it uses a CMOS chip. Damn near everything uses a CMOS chip, though, so it's really just confusing now. That use also wouldn't make any sense in the way you used it, since you'd be advocating directly altering the contents of the memory - a rather difficult thing for an end-user to do.

Also you seem to misunderstand what I mean by "preboot environment." What does that have to do with Windows, i.e. an operating system that requires booting, loading of drivers, mounting of volumes, et cetera?

 

[Nenu]

I really don't understand most of that. Here's CMOS as I'm familiar with it being used, although admittedly that's largely from a few low-level EE courses. My understanding is that most modern electronics rely largely on CMOS chips. My digital camera, for example, uses a CMOS sensor. TTL chips are largely used in home projects and freshman labs, primarily because it's harder to let the magic smoke out. The NVRAM was once called "the CMOS" as a colloquialism in much the same way we call a photocopier a Xerox - it uses a CMOS chip. Damn near everything uses a CMOS chip, though, so it's really just confusing now. That use also wouldn't make any sense in the way you used it, since you'd be advocating directly altering the contents of the memory - a rather difficult thing for an end-user to do.

Also you seem to misunderstand what I mean by "preboot environment." What does that have to do with Windows, i.e. an operating system that requires booting, loading of drivers, mounting of volumes, et cetera?

lol, the BIOS is a flashable chip so you can flash it with a new bios.
They used to be ROMs or EPROMs before the advent of Flash memory.
BIOS chips use Flash memory.
The BIOS is not stored in CMOS memory on a PC.

Can I have some of what you're smoking?

 

[ashmedai]

They used to be ROMs or EPROMs before the advent of Flash memory.

It's called an EEPROM, as in an Electrically-Erasable Programmable ROM. An EPROM isn't exactly conducive to the application, as it doesn't have that nice second E for being Electrically Eraseable.

Flash also uses the CMOS process as far as I know. Maybe not. I do physics, not electrical engineering, so the two are fairly similar from my perspective. NAND flash is a quantum mechanics problem to me, not an engineering problem. Of course, if it doesn't use the CMOS manufacturing method anymore, then you're even more off base for calling it that. Your arguments don't appear very coherent beyond an apparent attempt to provoke discord. If I'm wrong, show me - this is way off topic, so why don't we give the OP the courtesy of not messing up his thread further?

"The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz is pretty nice if you want some of my stash. It's a bit old, but good reading if you're legitimately interested in this.

 

[Nenu]

I used to blow PC EPROMs and erase them with UV light.
Its part of history, pretty indisputable that they were used.

Flash Memory is a type of EEPROM so of course EEPROMS are used.
you do talk waffle.

 

[SatTech]

Your computer thinks the new HD you installed is the boot disk. I've got an Asus A8N-SLI deuxe MB and whenever you add in a new SATA drive, it thinks that's the boot drive and gives the error you are seeing. I can only speak for the BIOS on my board but here goes: There is a boot order setting (DVD,Floppy,HD,Network Drive etc) and then there is a Hard Drive setting under that where you pick which drive is the boot drive. You set the first setting to Hard Drive and the second one to whichever SATA drive is the bootable one.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

Wow this is all intense.

Before I had my setting set to DVD drive, Serial ATA, none for the boot order and it worked for years. I had this computer setup since I was in Highschool ... 2002! Therefore the motherboard is old and it might be getting senile ...

The motherboard we are talking about it is Abit NF7-S (2.0).

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

I tried attaching the OS hard drive to the expansion card and changing the boot order to SCSI, none, none and I got the same error.

Its so weird that the hard drive is detected but then it ceases to boot from it. Is there a good dos bootable program I could run to get the sucker to do a check on the hard drive?

 

[dK`_unlimited]

just install another copy on the same harddrive with no additional partition.. name the install folder backup or w/e then do the following once youve finished install and are on the desktop.


start,control panel,system,advanced tab,startup button then goto the first edit button.. thats the boot.ini

once there rename the two listings BACKUP to WINDOWS and restart.

i just had this same problem earlier.. this fixed it.

do this hyper and your problems will be solved....

heres a pic where to go.



when your installing windows do this:
do not make another partition. install it on the same hard drive and keep the format intact it will ask you if you want to install it into another folder select that and name it as backup

then once you have windows installed follow the picture and change the BACKUP to WINDOWS you should be able to figure out what im saying from the pic i hosted above.

 

[nmanley]

The only option that I have in my boot devices is SATA DRIVE so its not like I can choose SATA 1 ... 2 ... etc ... there is only SATA DRIVE despite having two SATA connections on the mobo :/

Sorry for your problems and the Abit MB. I don't use them anymore for a reason.

One thing for damn sure. Keep it simple in your troubleshooting till the situation DEMANDS more out of line methods. Common sense works.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

Ok guys you seriously confused the bejebus out of me ...


Once I get back from my business trip I guess I will hook up every hard drive to the usb connector and see if i can even get them to get my data back ...

see the problem is not with the new hard drive
but the old drive that has my OS on it ... maybe its just a mix up with the boot table ... hmmm

 

[dK`_unlimited]

Ok guys you seriously confused the bejebus out of me ...


Once I get back from my business trip I guess I will hook up every hard drive to the usb connector and see if i can even get them to get my data back ...

see the problem is not with the new hard drive
but the old drive that has my OS on it ... maybe its just a mix up with the boot table ... hmmm

if you would just look at what i said and do it.. you will be able to boot back into your old windows..

 

[Spartacus]

Once I get back from my business trip I guess I will hook up every hard drive to the usb connector and see if i can even get them to get my data back ...

Sounds like a good plan Hyper.

If you can connect the drive with your data on it to a USB adapter, then it's a simple matter to plug it into another PC and backup your data.

Assuming you are satisfied that the BIOS boot options look ok, then you can either use a utility to fix the partition or just reload Windows since you have the backup.

As for the BIOS vs. CMOS debate.....

The system BIOS has been stored on many types of chips over the years, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, and now flash memory. The BIOS chip stores only the BIOS code, no data. All of the BIOS option data, real time clock (RTC) data, etc. are stored in the CMOS RAM chip.

The term CMOS refers to a process for making chips not a specific type/function of the chip. They use a CMOS RAM chip on PCs because CMOS chips use low power and the memory can be kept alive by the small button battery on the mobo. If it wasn't for the need to have the RTC running when the power is off, they could store the BIOS data in flash and not even have the CMOS RAM and onboard battery.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

if you would just look at what i said and do it.. you will be able to boot back into your old windows..

well i guess once i have the os hard drive attached to the usb adapter i can try that out ...

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

I just unplugged all of my hard drives from my pc ...attached each to the USB cable adapter ... and all hard drives show up ... and work ... hmmmm !

more sherlock homes-ing tomorrow ... I gotta put in my 10 hours of work in first! ... welll ... that is after sleep

 

[dK`_unlimited]

I just unplugged all of my hard drives from my pc ...attached each to the USB cable adapter ... and all hard drives show up ... and work ... hmmmm !

more sherlock homes-ing tomorrow ... I gotta put in my 10 hours of work in first! ... welll ... that is after sleep

told you -_- now follow my steps and you'll have your rig back online.

 

[Spartacus]

I just unplugged all of my hard drives from my pc ...attached each to the USB cable adapter ... and all hard drives show up ... and work ... hmmmm !

more sherlock homes-ing tomorrow ... I gotta put in my 10 hours of work in first! ... welll ... that is after sleep

Cool.... that means you can backup your data.
Do that first.

Your old drive being accessible is good, but we still don't know why it's not bootable (yet).

Try hooking up just the old drive to the PC again and let us know how far it gets.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

told you -_- now follow my steps and you'll have your rig back online.

my boot.ini looks like

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

so ... its set properly ... why do i need to reinstall windows and then change the directories ... im kinda confused about all this

 

[dK`_unlimited]

my boot.ini looks like

[boot loader]
timeout=20
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Professional" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

so ... its set properly ... why do i need to reinstall windows and then change the directories ... im kinda confused about all this

hmm odd.. my timeout is set to 30.. well maybe i just had luck i guess..

you can try it but cant promise anything after seeing that.

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

hmm odd.. my timeout is set to 30.. well maybe i just had luck i guess..

you can try it but cant promise anything after seeing that.

Maybe its all in how I set my sata drives or something ... im going to play around this weekend if i get a free moment....

 

[Hyper_Psycho]

The issues here have been escalated to a new level. My computer decided to completely stop working ... see the new thread here: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1031769328#post1031769328