Hi,

I have a Dell 4700 desktop.

I am unable to boot the computer from the WinsXP Reinstallation CD that came with Dell purchase.

I've changed the Boot Sequence in BIOS so the "Onboard or USB CD-Rom Drive" comes first.

Then I restarted with the CD in the drive, but the computer acted as if the CD wasn't there.

Am I missing a step somewhere??

Thanks for your help!

Viv.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADDITIONAL.BACKGROUND INFO:

The reason I need to reinstall Win XP CD is because I received a BLUE screen stop error that read:

"A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps.
Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated.

Run CHKDSK/F to check for hard drive corruption and then restart your computer.

STOP 0x0000007B (0xF8CAF524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000) "


I read online that a reinstallation of the WinXP CD works (booting from the CD), but I can't even get the computer to read the CD.

Hey, my computer has been randomly shutting down as well and I tried a clean install. It did NOT work, my error message looks a lot like yours as well. I know this doesn't answer your question but I thought I'd just give you an fyi before you clear your HDD.

thanks for the fyi tom.

it's been a bad 2 hrs and i'm still trying to figure how to get the computer to boot to WIn CD! arrrgh, so very frustrating.

i think i'm supposed to enable something in BIOS (ie. SATA, IDE - what?? are those?!?), but i can only go as far as enabling/disabling the "factory default setting" for each one....
(ide is primary master, primary slave - again, what??!)

any suggestion would be much appreciated! thanks

See, if CD is bootable on another computer.

it's a bootable CD.

I'm thinking it has to do with turning on the IDE in bios or something...or maybe the cables??

I don't know how to go about changing them. I cant find the "enable IDE" option in bios and i have no idea where to look once i take off the computer's box cover.

I'm assuming, you're not getting any message:

while your computer is starting, correct?
Do you have only one CD drive?
Are you sure, your CD drive is in working condition?

Another option, would be to download Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details...;DisplayLang=en

i have 2 drives: CD/DVD/RW and the other is DVD/CD. I've tried both and it read from neither drive.

when i went into bios, it says my floppy drive isnt present (floppy would be the old fashion floppy disc drive right?)

my Cd is Dell's reinstallation WinXP CD, so its use is to resolve cases like this, i believe

Are you sure, you set appropriate drive as a first boot device in BIOS?

hello,

both my cd/dvd drives don't work anymore, so i've been using an external usb cd drive (drive connected to computer with usb cable).

is there a way for me to boot the computer to this external drive?

in my bios, the "onboard and usb cd drive" is ranked first..i'm assuming "usb cd drive" is the external cd drive that i have - is that right?

thanks for your advice!

Hello,
And why dont the CD and DVD drive both do not work?
Do they get power?
Do they just not see the disc?

This post has been edited by hfcg: Nov 19 2008, 11:48 PM

Let's have you uninstall the DVD-Drive and then have you reboot and let windows reinstall the drivers for it. To do this, do the following:

• Go to START-->RUN and type devmgmt.msc
• In the new window that appears, click the + symbol next to CD/DVD-ROM Drives.
• Locate the drive in question and right-click it and choose UNINSTALL.
• Once it's finishing uninstalling, reboot your computer.

Once it's rebooted, try putting a DVD in it again and see if the same thing happens.

----------------------------

If after rebooting you are still having problems, try the following:

Click Start then Run and type regedit...click "Ok"

In the left pane, expand (click +) HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, then SYSTEM, then CurrentControlSet, then Control, then Class, and click on {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Right click on {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} and choose Export. Name this file "filters" and save it to your desktop. This file can be deleted when it is determined it is no longer needed.

In the right pane, if either UpperFilters or LowerFilters are present, right click on it and choose Delete...accept the deletion. Delete both if they are both present.

Close Registry Editor and reboot.

----------------------------

If after doing that your drive still doesn't show up, please download CDGone from HERE. Once it's downloaded, extract the files to your desktop and open the READ ME FIRST.TXT file and follow the instructions there.

Post back with how things are going after doing the above.

Another thing to try, when optical drive(s) doesn't work:
Go to Device Manager, click a "+" sign next to IDE ATA/ATAPI Controllers.
You'll see two items:
- ATA Channel0 (or Primary Channel)
- ATA Channel1 (or Secondary Channel)
Right click on each of them, and click Uninstal. Confirm.
Restart Windows. They'll be automatically reinstalled.

thanks for the advice, but i am unable to get past the blue screen upon rebooting the computer. i can access the bios/setup and that's about it.

since i can't get to windows, is there a way for me to back up my files?

How to Slave a Hard Drive: http://www.dtidata.com/resourcecenter/2007...ave-hard-drive/