unable to boot from windows installation CD

[Steven Wabik]

i seem to have a huge issue. i need to reimage my PC for one reason or
another and i can't seem to boot from the OS CD to reimage it. when i start
the PC with the CD in the drive i get the "press any key to boot from CD"
prompt. if i do push any key, the PC just freezes there. if i don't, the PC
just continues to load the OS. does anyone have an ideas of how i can get
past this issue and boot from the CD so that i can reimage the PC. i am
having this issue on a Compaq evo N600c notebook PC.

 

[philo]

i seem to have a huge issue. i need to reimage my PC for one reason or
another and i can't seem to boot from the OS CD to reimage it. when i start
the PC with the CD in the drive i get the "press any key to boot from CD"
prompt. if i do push any key, the PC just freezes there. if i don't, the PC
just continues to load the OS. does anyone have an ideas of how i can get
past this issue and boot from the CD so that i can reimage the PC. i am
having this issue on a Compaq evo N600c notebook PC.

You can try downloading a set up boot floppies from Microsoft and give that
a try.
Occasionally I've seen a machine that *should* boot from a cd...just plain
not do so...

 

[Ben]

try inserting the cd
then using a valid boot disk (Windows, XP, 98, whatever), insert the
disk in the slot, when the prompt comes up for starting windows (n)
then choose "boot from cd or disk.
when you get to the floppy A drive, (command prompt)
type in:
D:\
or whatever the drive's name is
then sype in:
Setup.exe
or just setup
that will reformat and install windows
****warning! all files will be wiped out!****

 

[Steven Wabik]

this notebook PC never came with a floppy drive. it uses multibay drives. i
have a multibay floppy drive that works with it, but it has writing issues
at times. it was from a armada e700 that used multibay drives as well and
that PC was made in 1995. my desktop has a floppy drive as well. i can't use
it to write or read floppies because it stopped working all together. you
got any other ideas?

 

[Steven Wabik]

when i tried pushing a key at the "push any key to boot from CD" prompt, the
PC just freezes and stops responding....

 

[Brian A]

i seem to have a huge issue. i need to reimage my PC for one reason or another and i
can't seem to boot from the OS CD to reimage it. when i start the PC with the CD in
the drive i get the "press any key to boot from CD" prompt. if i do push any key,
the PC just freezes there. if i don't, the PC just continues to load the OS. does
anyone have an ideas of how i can get past this issue and boot from the CD so that i
can reimage the PC. i am having this issue on a Compaq evo N600c notebook PC.

If it's the OEM Recovery CD for the Notebook, try this.
Put the CD in the drive and shutdown.
Wait approx 10 seconds. boot up and immediately press the F11 key.
It should now start the recovery from the disk.

also see:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...c=en&docname=c00608578#c00608578_RecoverDisks

or if the link wraps/breaks: http://snipurl.com/17y4w

--

Brian A. Sesko { MS MVP_Shell/User }
Conflicts start where information lacks.
http://basconotw.mvps.org/

Suggested posting do's/don'ts: http://www.dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

 

[DL]

maybe a hardware issue

when i tried pushing a key at the "push any key to boot from CD" prompt, the
PC just freezes and stops responding....

 

[Steven Wabik]

the disk just needed to be cleaned.

maybe a hardware issue

 

[Steven Wabik]

the disc just needed to be cleaned. besides this notebook PC has no recovery
CDs. my momther lost them all. the notebook was her old work laptop. i took
it from her after she got a new one that was 3 years ago. the notebook is
now 7 years old. some of the parts have been replaced. some still need to be
repaired or replaced. and i have already brought this notebook back from the
dead twice already. i no longer have the OEM CDs for it. i just have a
replacement OS CD from microsoft and i downloaded the OEM updates from HP
and burned them to a CD.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

i seem to have a huge issue. i need to reimage my PC for one reason or
another and i can't seem to boot from the OS CD to reimage it. when i start
the PC with the CD in the drive i get the "press any key to boot from CD"
prompt. if i do push any key, the PC just freezes there. if i don't, the PC
just continues to load the OS. does anyone have an ideas of how i can get
past this issue and boot from the CD so that i can reimage the PC. i am
having this issue on a Compaq evo N600c notebook PC.

Clean the CD. Clean the CD drive's lens. Try again.


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Steven Wabik]

i cleaned the CD and the operation work.

how do i clean the CD drive's lens?
i think that is really needed.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

i cleaned the CD and the operation work.

how do i clean the CD drive's lens?
i think that is really needed.

Most computer and/ audio equipment shop sell kits (it's little more
than a CD with a brush attached, really, for cleaning the interior of
the drive.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

i seem to have a huge issue. i need to reimage my PC

I don't know what you mean by "reimage my PC. Do you want to reinstall
Windows cleanly."

for one reason or
another and i can't seem to boot from the OS CD to reimage it. when i
start the PC with the CD in the drive i get the "press any key to
boot from CD" prompt. if i do push any key, the PC just freezes
there.

Then one of two things is wrong. Your CD is defective or you CD drive is
defective. It's certainly not a Windows issue. I would start by trying the
CD on another computer. Then call Compaq and explain the situation to them.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I don't know what you mean by "reimage my PC. Do you want to reinstall
Windows cleanly."




Then one of two things is wrong. Your CD is defective or you CD drive
is defective. It's certainly not a Windows issue. I would start by
trying the CD on another computer. Then call Compaq and explain the
situation to them.

I should clarify that for both the CD and drive, they don't have to be
permanently defective. They could just be dirty.

 

[Steven Wabik]

i don't have one of those.

Most computer and/ audio equipment shop sell kits (it's little more than a
CD with a brush attached, really, for cleaning the interior of the drive.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand
Russell

 

[Steven Wabik]

reimaging a PC is just reinstalling windows. you just delete the partition
from windows repair console. restart the PC. let windows installer start.
then it repatitions the drive and installs windows.

 

[Steven Wabik]

i know. the CD was just dirty. i got it free from microsoft through help and
support. the case it comes in does not really keep it clean and it scratch
it a bit, but i have something that i can use to clean and repair it.
cleaning the CD worked.

 

[Chuck]

You mentioned that the laptop was from about 1995. It may not have the
ability to boot from a CD, unless you can obtain an updated BIOS.

 

[Steven Wabik]

no, no, no. u missread. someone said that since the CD boot was not working
to try a floppy boot. most of my notebooks use multibay drives. i still have
the floppy drive from my old notebook that used multibay drives. my current
notebook it 7 years old. they both have CD boot capabilities. just forget
about the CD boot issue. i fixed it, the CD just needed to be cleaned.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

reimaging a PC is just reinstalling windows. you just delete the
partition from windows repair console. restart the PC. let windows
installer start. then it repatitions the drive and installs windows.

OK, if that's what you mean by the term, fine. That's what I guessed you
meant. However that is *not* standard terminology.

One of the really important issues in asking for help in a newsgroup like
this is getting the terminology correct. If you don't, you are likely to get
the answer to a question that wasn't the one you thought you were asking,
and that can turn out to be disastrous. Fortuntaely that didn't happen in
this case.

I also understand the difficulty that beginners have in knowing the proper
way to describe something. Often if they knew the proper term, they could
just look in help or google, and easily find the answer themselves. It isn't
easy to ask good questions when you're a beginner.