Can't boot without XP CD

[Andy in NJ]

so what was it

I meant the problem with the clock, not the re-boot

 

[Andy in NJ]

Hi,

Boot.ini is corrupt. Load from the CD, but enter the Recovery Console.
Logon, then delete the existing boot.ini. Run bootcfg /rebuild to create a
new one.

Ok, tried that one and no luck. Same results, although it did say it
successfully rebuilt the boot.ini.

 

[Andy in NJ]

I just recently got a new computer and I installed a new hard drive,
installed WinXP Home with SP2 on it. Now, whenever I reboot the computer, if
I don't have the XP CD in the computer, I get the message that Windows
didn't load properly and it gives me the menu with the Safe Mode options or
the regular boot. After I select anything, it reboot the computer and does
the same thing. It's an endless loop unless I have the XP CD in there. Any
suggestions?

 

[Mook]

It is.

What info does fdisk give?

 

[Andy in NJ]

No I'm not. My clock says 3:05pm, which it is as of this message.

 

[Andy in NJ]

Do you have more then one hard drive? If so did you set the jumpers
corectly, Master, Slave.

Yes I do and Yes they are set correctly.

 

[Andy in NJ]

If you feel comfortable in the BIOS, check to ensure that the hard Drive
is
designated as thr Boot Drive..........Dick. M.

It is.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Did you delete the existing one first? You need to.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Andrew Murray]

Check the boot device order in the BIOS - make sure C: drive is listed
first, or after the A: (Floppy) drive with CD listed third, or last (depends
on how many boot devices you have).

 

[Andy in NJ]

Check the boot device order in the BIOS - make sure C: drive is listed
first, or after the A: (Floppy) drive with CD listed third, or last
(depends on how many boot devices you have).

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt

 

[Andy in NJ]

Hi,

Did you delete the existing one first? You need to.

Not sure how to do that...

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Andy,

attrib -h -s -r C:\boot.ini
del C:\boot.ini

Then run bootcfg /rebuild.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Andy in NJ]

www.flotserver.net

Hi Andy,

attrib -h -s -r C:\boot.ini
del C:\boot.ini

Then run bootcfg /rebuild.

Ok, tried that. No luck. Same results.

 

[neil]

Have you tried the commands FIXBOOT & FIXMBR from the repair console after
booting from the CD.

Neil

 

[Andy in NJ]

Have you tried the commands FIXBOOT & FIXMBR from the repair console after
booting from the CD.

Yes.

 

[Mook]

Yes.

Have you run Fdisk, and if so what info does it give?

 

[Guest]

The answer to your problem is pretty simple really.
When windows was installed the cmos setting was for the cdrom to be the
first boot device.
Change the setting for in the cmos to make your hard drive the first boot
device. If it still fails to boot.
Do this.... As the system starts (as the cmos is being read) look for the
hot key for boot menu (on my system it's F8) and with the cd in the system
tell it to boot to the cdrom drive. Reinstall windows or repair it. Once the
system restarts during the set up it will restart to the hard drive and NOT
the cdrom.

I've made this mistake with several of the systems I've built.

 

[Andy in NJ]

Just a followup on this. I did something that I should have done long before
posting this. I unplugged my second hard drive and the computer rebooted
without needing the CD! I went ahead and reformated the old hard drive and
I'll be using that in a second computer.

 

[Andy in NJ]

The answer to your problem is pretty simple really.
When windows was installed the cmos setting was for the cdrom to be the
first boot device.
Change the setting for in the cmos to make your hard drive the first boot
device. If it still fails to boot.
Do this.... As the system starts (as the cmos is being read) look for the
hot key for boot menu (on my system it's F8) and with the cd in the system
tell it to boot to the cdrom drive. Reinstall windows or repair it. Once
the
system restarts during the set up it will restart to the hard drive and
NOT
the cdrom.

I've made this mistake with several of the systems I've built.

Actually, the problem was just solved. I disconnected the old hard drive and
it boots fine now, without the CD.

 

[Guest]

Andy, Unless you are hitting the "Press any key to boot from CD" prompt, I
don't know of any reason for this cycle ?. I would reccomend that you do a
reinstall of your WindowsXP, after first Formatting the hard drive again.
Insert the WinXP disc in the CD-rom, and hold down the "control" key until
you see the "Windows is inspecting your computer's hardware", then follow
instructions until you get a page that asks if you want to repair a previous
installation, choose NO, and then instruct it to delete the C: drive
partition, and then format the HD to NTSD, don't use the "Quick" format
option. After it formats, complete the new installation, and if the cycle
repeats itself again, you most likely have a hardware issue. Hope this helps.