No option to boot from cd in Bios HELP

My friends pc (Dell Inspiron) boots into windows as far as the login screen but then logs in then out while the sceen flickers. eventually it stops at the login screen but he doesnt have password, and his profile password doent work. it does the same in safe mode. I tried to boot from the windows xp cd but when i go to the boot screen it says " cd not installed". so i obviously cant run any software from cd and it has no floppy drive. Can anyone help either with advice or help cutting off my friends arms so he cant bugger it up again. THANKS in advance.

 

Go into the BIOS and see if the cd drive is enabled.

 

Im no expert at this, were would i look to find if its enabled. on the boot screen it says not installed. Im at the limit of my knowledge when it comes to bios so im not sure how i would do that. thanks again

 

It sounds like the CD drive isnt working...
Is the drive connected properly, R & R the drive.....

 

Yes the drive is connected ok, it WAS working fine before the problem occurred, (the logging on and off that is) I have a spare dvd drive to check if that will work but i have a sneaking suspicion that its ok. My friend said, and i quote " i changed something on one of the pages, something to do with digital?. on one of the f4 f12 pages" havent a clue what he changed but i suspect its the culprit. ill change the drive to be safe. Any other Ideas, is there no way to install the drive without getting into windows

 

Hi,

Xp will make you a boot floppy that will setup the CD drive to work and get you to DOS. Run Setup on the XP CD. Go to Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs, StartUp Disk to make the disk.

Good Luck, Jim

 

Thanks Jim. Are you suggesting i do this on my own pc?. If so " at the risk of sounding dim" how would i do this .Thanks in advance

 

One simple thing would be unplug the computer, remove the battery(watch type, coin-shaped) for a couple of minutes. Put the battery back, plugin and restart. You should be prompted to accept BIOS defaults. Say yes. Restart with the CD in the drive and see if you get the option to boot from it.

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If you can't boot from it but don't get the CD not installed error. Then try to change the Boot Order to CD first then HD second.

If you still get the CD not installed then try the dvd drive. You may be able to simply rest the DVD drive on top of the case and plug the cables in without actually removing the old CDROM if the cables will reach.

 

I already tried removing the cmos. It loaded the defaults but there was still no cd installed. ill try another drive and let you know how it goes. thanks

 

I just looked at my Dell BIOS (not sure if you have the same version).

It appears to me that if you are getting "not installed" you are set up to auto-detect the CDROM. So if it isn't detected then the drive is bad or either the data or power cable isn't properly connected.

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I went to f2 then Drive Configuration then ( I already forgot but I believe it was the first option). It should list your CD(not installed)...hitting enter will display the options, you want it set to auto which it probably already is set to. So then just ESC to get out until the screen for "Discard Changes and Exit".

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By the way is the CDROM which is installed the original that came with the PC? Is the jumper set to master?

 

I believe its the original, im not sure what the setting is on it but ill check.

 

Hi again OB,

You would have to make the Startup Disk on any working XP machine. If you can't manage that there are several boot disks for download just be sure that the one you get sets up the CD drives.

Luck, Jim

 

I changed the settings in bios to automatic, as per SACH2.s suggestion and replaced the cd drive. now when it boots up it says "drive seek failure"

 

Sorry, If I helped confuse things. I believe the drive seek failure is related to the floppy drive.

Either Unplug, remove battery for a minute or two..replace, plugin reboot and accept defaults.

Or, in Drive Configuration.
Diskette Floppy set to OFF
Primary Master set to Disk type: Auto
Primary Slave set to Disk Type: OFF
Secondary Master set to Disk type: Auto
Secondary Slave set to Disk type: OFF
ESC to exit and "Save Changes and exit".

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The above assuming you have one HD and one CD/DVD connected each on its own cable.
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Also boot sequence(a few items down from Drive Configuration in the main menu list) should be set to: CD then HD either change before exiting or reboot and use f12 for boot menu at startup.

 

ha ha right ill check that. I removed the battery again, replaced the dvd drive and changed the drive config to auto but still wouldnt recognise the disk. theres a floppy drive connection on the wiring. do you think it would detect that if i attached one. Personally im doubting it but its worth an ask. Thanks for all the advice so far. appreciated.

 

I think it should recognize a floppy but you would have to go back in and set Drive Configuration to Floppy: auto.

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I'm running out of ideas. You set BIOS to defaults with the new DVD drive attached. When you go to F12 is CDROM listed as a possible boot device? Is it listed in F2 Boot Sequence?
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Does the DVD light flash when starting up the computer. Make any sound? If not then do you have an extra data cable, the wide flat one that connects to the CD/DVD. You could try taking the data cable off the HD and putting on the CD/DVD. Start the PC and see what is available in F12.

 

Im not looking at it right now but i think it had hd and dvd drive listed in both but the dvd said not installed, there is no listing for a floopy as far as i can remember. the dvd drive has power and when a cd is inserted it loads up, green light flashing. the pc is as was the day it was bought. turning into a saga this lol. cheers again

 

Sorry missed a bit. Ill try plugging the dvd into the hard drive cable and see what happens

 

Well still no further forward with the problem but "PRAISE THE LORD" My friends going to buy a new PC so problem solved. Thanks to everyone for the help!