Cannot boot from Bios

[Walter R.]

Running Windows Xp pro SP3.

I tried to install the RC of Windows 7 on my computer. I set the BIOS for:
1st Boot: CD Rom, 2nd Boot: WD Hard Drive, 3rd Boot: Floppy.

However, when I put the Win 7 DVD into the DVD drive, my system still boots
into Win XP. No messages.

I use a PCI to Sata converter which allows me to use SATA drives. But, this
issue did not even come up (F6 etc) because the computer would not boot from
the DVD but would boot into the Xp hard drive, instead.

After I downloaded Win 7 from MS, I burned the .ISO file to a DVD. Would the
ISO file contain the boot instructions for the DVR, or do I need to make the
setup DVR bootable, somehow?

What is happening? How can I fix this? My BIOS refers to the 1st boot device
as a generic CD-rom, instead of my DVD. Would that make a difference? May
the BIOS never heard of a DVD (2001)?

 

[Tim Meddick]

This may not be the answer - but, I have found that on some PCs, will
only read a cd/dvd disk's boot-sector (i.e. boot from a bootable cd/dvd)
if the PC is HARD BOOTED!

i.e.: after inserting the Win7 dvd you switch the PC 'OFF' completely -
then back on again, rather than a soft boot (Ctrl-Alt-Del, etc).

Before considering any other solution, you might try this first.

*NB Of course, you would have to make booting from the cd/dvd drive the
first boot device in the BIOS boot order.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[AJR]

"Copying" an ISO image to a DVD does not make it bootable. There are
several "burn" utilites available, some free (ISO Burn and ISOBuster) some
not.

Check the installation instructions provided on the RC download site.

 

[Tim Meddick]

You are incorrect - the [bootable] ISO image is just that - an absolute
'image' of the disk - and copying all the data of the ISO file on to a
dvd *will* make it bootable - just as the ISO image itself *is*
bootable.

The download instructions via the Win7 release candidate confirm this.

Also, I have such a disk by my side, burned from the ISO image, which
works just fine in all the PCs that I've tried it in!

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

 

[Tim Meddick]

AJR,
Sorry - I see what you are trying to say now - copy the file :
Windows7etc-etc.iso onto a data dvd so that you can see a single file
upon the burnt disk?

Yes, or rather - no - it would not be bootable.

Download the simplest of all ISO burning utils - the XP 'powertoy' 'ISO
Recorder' by Alex Feinman :

http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/download/ISORecorderV2RC1.msi


==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

You are incorrect - the [bootable] ISO image is just that - an
absolute 'image' of the disk - and copying all the data of the ISO
file on to a dvd *will* make it bootable - just as the ISO image
itself *is* bootable.

The download instructions via the Win7 release candidate confirm this.

Also, I have such a disk by my side, burned from the ISO image, which
works just fine in all the PCs that I've tried it in!

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.

"Copying" an ISO image to a DVD does not make it bootable. There are
several "burn" utilites available, some free (ISO Burn and ISOBuster)
some not.

Check the installation instructions provided on the RC download site.

 

[Walter R.]

Mystery Solved: When you install Win 7 while WinXP is running, you do not
use the dos/bios method of installing, you just start the DVD in your DVD
drive and it will install win 7 from there. Only if there is not previous OS
installed, is it necessary to install it through Dos.

Incidentally, Win 7 will ask for drivers for SATA / PCI links but you no
longer have to use the floppy and F6 routine, any media will work.

 

[Lil' Dave]

Running Windows Xp pro SP3.

I tried to install the RC of Windows 7 on my computer. I set the BIOS for:
1st Boot: CD Rom, 2nd Boot: WD Hard Drive, 3rd Boot: Floppy.

However, when I put the Win 7 DVD into the DVD drive, my system still
boots into Win XP. No messages.

I use a PCI to Sata converter which allows me to use SATA drives. But,
this issue did not even come up (F6 etc) because the computer would not
boot from the DVD but would boot into the Xp hard drive, instead.

After I downloaded Win 7 from MS, I burned the .ISO file to a DVD. Would
the ISO file contain the boot instructions for the DVR, or do I need to
make the setup DVR bootable, somehow?

The ISO file is an image of the data DVD for Windows 7 installation. This
image must be converted by the appropriate burning software to burn a
suitable DVD for that.

What is happening? How can I fix this? My BIOS refers to the 1st boot
device as a generic CD-rom, instead of my DVD. Would that make a
difference? May the BIOS never heard of a DVD (2001)?

The bios sequence is not seeing the boot information on the DVD because its
not there. You wrote one ISO file to the DVD.

You should consider not installing Windows 7 on a PC of that age.

 

[Tim Meddick]

So, you did manage to create a functioning Win7 installation disk from
the ISO image file?

I still say there is a possibility that putting the disk in the dvd
drive, then doing a 'cold' boot (switching off the PC instead of
Ctrl-Alt-del) would start the boot from the Win7 installation dvd.

Bear this in mind should you ever need to install without a functioning
OS.

Some of us were side-tracked by the possibility that you had not burnt
the dvd properly in the first place.

==

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.