[bamminer]

I. Reason for Question: 1. Vista will not boot after trying to install SP1(there's the loop of Green Screen, "Shut down" appears on the screen, and it reboots before reaching Vista desktop). 2. What happened while I was trying to fix this was the DVD RW Drive died and now I have a double whammy! 3. I did have Erunt 1J backups, so I put the Vista HD into a Xp machine and changed the Erunt.inf to restore the Vista HD using the XP PC. This, for some strange reason, allowed me to boot into Vista once, but, after that, it was doing it again. The green screen loop of death happens if I try Safe Mode or any of the boot options, too. System Restore did not work when I got the computer and I do not remember there being any old restore points. I tried LKGC and it did not work. Even the Erunt backups are based on newer backups after I got it.

II. I do have an Aomei Backupper DVD backup set of Vista working on that PC. I do have a Hirens Boot DVD as well and these 2 work together. That I have used and know it works. I do not have any Vista setup or repair discs nor do I have a Recovery Partition(it seems like it was bought with cheapness in mind; for instance, the RAM maxes out at only 2 GB).

III. So, I need to know; is it possible to buy a DVD RW Drive that can boot a bootable DVD without first having to boot into Vista?

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What make and model number is the PC?  

 

Does it even have SATA connections on the motherboard?

 

If you go in to the BIOS does it have an option in the boot order list to use USB DVD or USB drive?

[RKinner]

What make and model number is the PC?  

 

Does it even have SATA connections on the motherboard?

 

If you go in to the BIOS does it have an option in the boot order list to use USB DVD or USB drive?

[bamminer]

It's a HP Pavilion S3023w and it was given to me by a neighbor. As far as I know, it was passed between 2 people, one was supposedly a novice/ the latter one of them had no use for it at all, and so my guess is that it's been sitting in a box for months or years before I got it. It had major software problems(as System Restore would not run and sfc /scannow reported problems it could not fix) within Vista, but still booted up as if there were no problems(before the REBOOTING Green screen of death occurred) and there is no backup/restore point continuity to when the owner received it or any point while she owned it. I checked it for viruses and it came back clean before the problem.

The motherboard is fully SATA. The BIOS does allow me to change the boot setup from CD/DVD drive to HD and vice versa. I do have a Hirens boot DVD and a Aomei Backupper DVD backup to when Vista was at least booting up correctly. I had tested it in the past to ensure that it works. These programs do work together in failure to get the Vista back booting again--ONLY THIS TIME THE DVD RW DRIVE FAILED. SO, NOW I HAVE AN ENDLESSLY REBOOTING PC WITH NO OPTICAL DRIVE TO STOP IT. Also, the Hp s3023w NATURALLY forces you to stand the DVD drive up on its side and the DVD tray opens from that position rather than the normal position. That is how it has always worked. Question: IS IT POSSIBLE TO BUY A SATA DVD-RW DRIVE THAT WILL BOOT UP A BOOT DISC LIKE HIRENS BOOT DVD AND READ A DVD WITHOUT HAVING THE DVD DRIVE BOOT INTO VISTA AND BE RECOGNIZED BY THE OS?

Note: I do also have another XP SP3 Machine and Erunt 1J backups that work for Vista. I was able to connect the Vista HD to the Xp machine. Editing the Erunt.inf file allowed me to restore the Backup on the 2nd drive rather than the 1st. When I did, I could boot up once. However, it starting doing it again. With no System Restore working, I lacked an immediate means to create a Restore point. Erunt 1J could, but this required taking the drive out and putting it into the XP machine for the same exact backup. This has been some kind of can of worms.

[bamminer]

I'll check about USB Drives in the BIOS. I've never had to use them and so I never paid any attention to it. THANKS A WHOLE LOT FOR HELP!

[bamminer]

In response to your USB Question, BIOS has 4 Boot Options: Hard drive, CD-ROM Group, Floppy Drive, and Network Boot Group.

[RKinner]

If your motherboard has SATA connections then you just connect up a standard SATA DVD drive, then go into the BIOS and make sure it sees it.  There is no need for windows to recognize it first.

 

You can get a read only DVD drive pretty cheap but this one ($22 from Amazon) is a burner too and claims it can work both horizontal and vertical:

 

 

:Samsung 24x SATA DVD Burner Internal Drive SH-224DB/BEBE (Black) Bulk + Nero Multimedia Suite 12 Essentials CD/DVD Burning Software

[bamminer]

Thanks for all your help! I was wondering if SATA technology allowed a DVD drive to be fully used in pre-OS. Thanks for confirming this! I needed a DVD RW drive and, if I can't get the SPs to install after restoring the backup and restoring my Erunt registry backup, I might just use the DVD RW drive in the XP machine--as it would be an upgrade to the CD RW drive that I have now. Then, I could just shop for another PC with Win 8, 8.1, or 10 on it. The newer machine would be for a job. I figure XP is just too old for modern demands , cyberthreats, and it has been unsupported for years. Still, it serves my purposes for gaming(classic and anything in between that and the modern), media burning, etc. THANKS A LOT CLEARING THINGS UP!

[RKinner]

If the XP's DVD drive will work in your other PC I would try it to see if it's able to reinstall at all.  Could be something else wrong that a new DVD drive and a reload won't fix.

[bamminer]

I just figure that I could use the DVD RW drive in my XP PC--if the Vista PC did not work out. I only have a CD RW drive in the XP PC now, so it would be an upgrade.

Either the Vista PC is going to upgrade to SP1 and SP2 or it won't. If it won't, then it's so low end that I might as well not stick any more money into it. Not even buying an OS setup disc for it. It only allows 2 GB of RAM(MAX). That won't even nearly satisfy 32-bit Windows. Besides, the audio has never worked, either. An OS setup disc for "A" modern Windows version(8 or later) would be around $100, but eBay sellers offer the same "PCs" in decent or better shape for the same price or close.

Ebay requires that you do your homework on the sellers that you buy from or you could waste a lot of time, but--if God's on your side and you know what you're doing--you can find some great deals from honest trustworthy sellers. I use MOs and use eBay, so I know how to find them or I'd lose out. If I lose out buying from a scammer(who accepts MOs), I have no protection at all. That's just saying that you can find reasonable prices on great PCs from great sellers on eBay. Some probably think great products and great sellers on eBay is an oxymoron, but I know that's not nearly true.

[RKinner]

I am assuming you are in the US.  If so: Another source of low cost used PCs is publicsurplus.com - you sign up with them and tell them what state you are in and what you are looking for and you get a list of items that local governments want to get rid of.  If you see something you want you can bid on the item.  I once got a fork lift sized box of LED monitors for $24.  Had to drive to the site and pick them up (and transfer them from the box to my station wagon) but it was a good deal.  That was when I was in Washington state.  Now I'm in Florida and they are always selling individual PCs.  You have to watch out as some may not have operating systems but they are always honest about the condition.  Some are ridiculously old but others are fairly new.  They give you the part number so you can look up their specs.

 

Here is a sample:

 

Dell Optiplex 780 Desktop
Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9400 @ 2.66GHz
Memory: 4GB DDR3 (2 X 2GB)
Hard Drive: 250GB HDD
Does NOT come with operating system.

This computer booted to BIOS, no further testing has been done.

 

 

This one is currently going for $7 with 6 days left in the auction.  No operating system but I bet the sticker with the license number is still on the box and you can download a copy of the original software from Dell on their support site.

[bamminer]

That computer is better in almost every way than the PC that I was looking at and much cheaper. That site, however, had nothing for the state of Mississippi: my state.

The one that I was looking at did have a HD and Win 8 PRO loaded and the OS disc literally comes with it for not even $100. It is also the best processor setup that I've ever had. I've never had better than a P4 2.8 GHz(and that handles almost everything that I've thrown at it) or a AMD Sempron +3800 2.4 GHz single core, but this PC is dual core 2.8 GHz.

Plus, many places today will not allow MO payment(even USPS MOs that are instantly cashable through the very post office network that issues them); the company with a great reputation said they would allow postal money orders. This is the number 1 deal maker/breaker for me, because I have no credit cards or bank account and getting a cash loader card costs a good bit more than USPS MOs do. Cash loader cards allow instant transaction completion, but they cost about 2.5 times more and also usually require that your money funnels through 2 organizations: an unknown bank somewhere and Paypal. USPS MOs go through the gov't postal service and are backed by the gov't; they are US cash in the mail. Only they are better than cash, because cash is counterfeited more often than USPS MOs are and a business owner--upon cashing them at post office--gets genuine money that is not counterfeited and maybe uncirculated as well. Also, when a seller is dealing with a reputable buyer, they know that they got their "USPS MO" at the source and, so, there's no embarrassment of looking like a scam artist or awkward at the post office. Reputable buyers don't try to get over very often(usually it's just only a matter of trying to save as much as they can in a very legal way), but unsavory buyers do very often and look to scam in any they can get away with often. Even so, the seller should have every confidence in the world in USPS MOs, because--in any event--they have to cash before they send the item and, if they don't cash, then the seller keeps the item. If a seller is trying to make money, then--if they use cash and that's everyone in America--they should take USPS MOs. Still, many personal sellers and most known mainstream companies won't(OR YOU HAVE TO ASK WITH PERSONAL SELLERS WHEN THEY DO). And the ones that do do charge double the rate for new equipment for PC when compared with great used equipment--when all I want is a working PC that can do a lot for what I can afford. If that's new, so be it and if that's used, so be it. Most of the time that's used or refurbished, but I'm very satisfied with that as long as it's working like new and without viruses. I found a company that sells a very modern PC that is less than $100, includes the OS disc, works like new, has a DVD-RW drive(allbeit vertical, which I'd rather not have), and they take USPS MOs, too. The only knock on it is HD space. Would like a little more, but that's still more than any other PC that I've had. Plus, I have an extra 50 Gb HD for extra space and could go bigger. The huge drives, these days, have lost some altitude. So, when all of that comes together like that, I have to take it--if possible.

Thanks for all your great and priceless help and too bad for me that they didn't do MOs or have any listings in Mississippi, because your equipment was far better and at a peanuts price!