Vista OEM 64 Bit - Cannot Boot without CD

[danielm2008]

Hi

I have just recently purchased the following items:-

Foxconn RC4107M-8KRS2 Motherboard inc
Intel Dual Core 3.00Ghz Processor
1Gb of RAM
80gb Western Digital EIDE Hard Drive ATA100
Micrsoft Vista 64bIt OS
Novatech nVidia 7300LE with 256Mb of RAM

I have a number of problems that are affecting me. The major one is this. I have installed Vista to my hard drive successfully, however, it seems it cannot boot without the Vista DVD being in the drive. If I take the DVD out, the system will not boot and displays the following error:-

Disk Boot Failure. Please install a system disk and press a key.

If I leave the CD in the drive, Vista loads with occasional problems such as locking out (but quite rare).

I have done all the tests I can think of, there is no problem with the hard drive, no damage to any sectors, all connections are in place and firm and I have reformatted the hard drive a number of times with no success.
Checking online, a few people have had a similar problem, and there appears to be limited resolutions, most of which do not apply and others that are not relevant.

Another problem I have is that Vista is constantly locking out. I have all the latest drivers that Vista can get for Graphics and hardware, but it still appears to lock out. I am suspecting it might be Internet Explorer 7 which used to do the same on and older system using XP. I'd appreciate any advice if anyone has encountered a similar problem and may know a possible solution. Many thanks.

[hunterhunt]

Ok. Make sure you take these steps:

1. Check your BIOS. Make sure your 1st boot up is from hard drive, not from CD
2. If that doesnt work, then you should check your DVD and your Hard drive, set 1 of them to Master and one to Slave, because they may be fighting over which is to start first.

I had the same problem. I set boot from CD, had the DVD Drive as Master and Hard drive as Slave, booted Vista, downloaded. Then set the boot from Hard drive and used PC without CD needed.

Hope I helped

[danielm2008]

Hi, many thanks for the advice

I have attempted to put the HD as first boot. However, that action just causes the computer to hang when it is trying to boot, then it eventually asks the same message of putting a system disk in and pressing a key.

The HD is set as Primary Master and the DVDROM is set as Secondary Master, so they should not be competing for control, hopefully.

A few people I have spoken to suspect it may be the motherboard having trouble, I'm still checking into that now. Thanks for the advice, I know this is not given for an OEM product.

[system7]

Daniel, this sounds like a jumper or bad cable problem. Let's run through it. Here's your Foxconn RC4107MA-8KRS2 motherboard: http://www.foxconnchannel.com/product/Motherboards/detail_overview.aspx?ID=en-us0000150
2 X EIDE connectors, blue motherboard socket is primary for the hard drive. Black is secondary for the CD/DVD. I don't see much in the way of 64 bit support there, BTW.

You will save yourself a world of grief if you only use modern UltraATA ribbons, which have blue, grey and black plugs and a finer construction than the old black plug 40 cores. They also have larger plugs, which are easier to grip.
You only use Cable Select jumpering in the modern world, the master/slave bit is taken care of by using the black end connector. It is worth reading the jumpering off the Hard Drive and CD/DVD label.

Western Digital jumpers:
http://support.wdc.com/images/drives/jumpers/jumpers.gif

Boot order in the bios of CD/DVD before HD will always work, it is just a tidge slower, and may give your HD a few extra seconds to spin up correctly. Disable any other boot options like USB and floppy. You should have a setting in the bios for IDE "Enhanced" mode which is correct for modern operating systems.

With all your ducks in a row on that, the next stage is to try a new/different ribbon. Also try the HD on it's own plugged into the other motherboard socket. You can download testing utilities from your HD manufacturer, which when downloaded and burnt to bootable CD-R, will give your HD and IDE interface a thorough testing. Use IsoRecorder to burn the disk for free.

[danielm2008]

Hi, an update on the current issue. I have updated the Jumper settings and the cable. IDE Detection is much faster now, but the computer still looks for the DVD of Vista to be in the drive before it can boot into Windows. Plus, Windows keeps locking out at inopportune moments, mainly on Internet Explorer 7. I can't see anything that could be causing this, I'm just wonderring if Vista OEM is meant to be in the drive to prevent people copying it.

I am considering swapping back to Windows XP instead to see if Vista x64 is the problem.

[danielm2008]

After speaking to the tech guys (Danno), Vista now boots ok. Many thanks for your help and advice :-)

[system7]

That's good news. :D

But what was the fix? 64 bit IDE driver?

Inquiring minds want to know... :wink:

[danielm2008]

All it seemed to resolve it was a straightforward BIOS Default Load, which I tried a couple of times previously, but seemed to work this time. Puzzling to me.

Unfortunately I still have a problem where the PC just freezes for no reason. I thought it may have been Internet Explorer 7, but it seems to do it on Windows Update as well. I can't see what could be causing it. I have updated all the drivers, any ideas?