Can't boot from DVD drive

[Joel]

Yes. I booted from my DVD drive to install Windows 7. As for the boot
order, my DVD drive isn't on the list of devices to select for booting.

Well

1. If the BIOS can't see the DVD then you may want to check the connection.

2. If the BIOS can see the DVD but won't allow to boot from DVD, and it did
before then either

a. You have overlooked something
b. Or the motherboard gone south?

 

[Joel]

It is in the CMOS setup utility. Otherwise nowhere that I can find in the
BIOS.

Until you give enough information so other won't have to make newer wild
guess, all I can do is giving you the very basic simple general answer

1. BIOS, you can see CD-ROM and other storage devices from about 2 or more
locations. To select booting from CD-ROM you will need to go to the
booting order selection from a specific MENU

2. On some (not ALL) BIOS, it may give you the option to press F8 during
booting to displaying the booting selection, and if the CD-ROM is working
then it should show the CD-ROM option. It's still better to set BIOS to
boot from CD-ROM (first) for installation.

This "F8" option is from the BIOS *not* Windows, or you have option to
press F8 to boot to SAFE MODE

 

[Joel]

In the CMOS setup utility, my CDROM drive shows up as "SONY CD-RW CRX" under "IDE
Primary Master". My DVD drive shows up as "HL-DT-STDVD-RA" under "IDE Primary
Slave"

As for boot options, there are 9 options:
1) Floppy
2) - 4) Card Reader
5) - 7) Hard drives
8) "CD/DVD: PM-SONY CD-RW CRX216"
9) Disabled

So my CD drive is available to boot from.

And have you tried to make 8) "CD/DVD: PM-SONY CD-RW CRX216" as the 1st
Choice?

 

[Joel]

Is it with the same install-disc you can't boot ?
or an other bootable disk ?
or not at all possible to boot from any bootable disc ?

It is possible that the format of the un-bootable disk is 'ISO 13346
UDF' standard;
Some older BIOS (maybe +/- 4 years old) don't recognise always this
format and give possible an 'error 15', and take the next bootable
device specified in the BIOS.
If that is the problem, it's possible to boot with a bootable
'workaround BIOS' LINUX floppy, set as first boot,
and then select the ISO/UDF-disc.

Lucas

Bootable CD/DVD is another good question too. I dunno but it seems like
we have more question than answer to the OP.

 

[~misfit~]

Yes. There is a boot order. I've already tried that boot order, and my
PC always boots from the hard drive. Just for kicks, I tried making my
CD drive my first, second AND third boot device, (with "Boot other
device" set to "NO") and it still booted from the hard drive, which I
wasn't expecting. Looks like my PC boots from one of my hard drive
regardless of the boot device order.

But did you have a bootable disk in your drive/s?

You can't boot what ain't bootable.

 

[Flip Wilson]

1. If the BIOS can't see the DVD then you may want to check the
connection.

Checked power and data connections. Both are fine.

2. If the BIOS can see the DVD but won't allow to boot from DVD, and
it did before then either

a. You have overlooked something
b. Or the motherboard gone south?

I don't think it's the motherboard going south. Other than not being
able to boot from the DVD drive after installing Windows 7, everything
else is fine.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Until you give enough information so other won't have to make
newer wild
guess, all I can do is giving you the very basic simple general answer

1. BIOS, you can see CD-ROM and other storage devices from about
2 or more
locations. To select booting from CD-ROM you will need to go
to the
booting order selection from a specific MENU

I have tried the boot order menu in the BIOS. The DVD drive is not on
the list of available devices to boot from.

I can also press F11 during the POST to get a different boot order list
for the current session. Here, my DVD drive IS available to boot from. I
select it (with a proven bootable disk in the drive), and all I get is a
blank screen with a blinking cursor in the upper left corner.

2. On some (not ALL) BIOS, it may give you the option to press F8
during
booting to displaying the booting selection, and if the CD-ROM
is working then it should show the CD-ROM option. It's still
better to set BIOS to boot from CD-ROM (first) for installation.

This "F8" option is from the BIOS *not* Windows, or you have
option to
press F8 to boot to SAFE MODE

I can also press F11 during the POST to get a different boot order list
for the current session. Here, my DVD drive IS available to boot from. I
select it (with a proven bootable disk in the drive), and all I get is a
blank screen with a blinking cursor in the upper left corner.

 

[Flip Wilson]

And have you tried to make 8) "CD/DVD: PM-SONY CD-RW CRX216" as
the 1st
Choice?

Yes I have.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Bootable CD/DVD is another good question too. I dunno but it
seems like
we have more question than answer to the OP.

Yes. The DVD in question is a disk image and is bootable.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Some additional information.

Since my BIOS seemed insistant to boot Windows 7 from my primary hd no
matter what I specified in the boot order, I disconnected the power and
data connections.

 

[Flip Wilson]

Some additional info.

Since my PC was insistant on booting Windows 7 from my primary hd no matter
what I specified in the boot order, I disconnected the power and data
connections to my primary hd (where I keep my OS's) and rebooted. I went
into the BIOS again, and this time, my DVD drive WAS available in the list
of bootable devices. The disk in my DVD drive (Mandriva linux) booted up
just fine. I powered down, reconnected my hd and rebooted. All I got was
"NTLDR is missing". I rebooted and went into the BIOS again and checked the
boot order. The first device, which WAS my DVD drive was changed to my
secondary hd (where I store applications). I sure as hell didn't change it.

I swear M$ knows what I'm trying to do and is trying to stop me ;-)

 

[mike]

Some additional info.

Since my PC was insistant on booting Windows 7 from my primary hd no matter
what I specified in the boot order, I disconnected the power and data
connections to my primary hd (where I keep my OS's) and rebooted. I went
into the BIOS again, and this time, my DVD drive WAS available in the list
of bootable devices. The disk in my DVD drive (Mandriva linux) booted up
just fine. I powered down, reconnected my hd and rebooted. All I got was
"NTLDR is missing". I rebooted and went into the BIOS again and checked the
boot order. The first device, which WAS my DVD drive was changed to my
secondary hd (where I store applications). I sure as hell didn't change it.

I swear M$ knows what I'm trying to do and is trying to stop me ;-)

When you install win7 and let it partition the hard drive, you get
an additional partition at the beginning that FSCK's up anything (non-M$)
that depends on the label/order of partitions.

If you partition the hard drive with another program, win7 will install
without adding the partition. Most of my backup image problems went away
when I repartitioned and reinstalled win7 without that FSCKing
lead partition.
Have no idea what happens if you try to dual boot.