Can't boot from a CD/DVD...

[Karolis]

Hi everybody. I thoudt this was the right place for this thread. If not, I'm sorry, I won't do it again. :) Anyway, recently I bought a new DVD-RW drive (Samsung SH-S203N) to replace my old half-dead Lite-on drive. Everything seemed to be fine: BIOS (Windows too) recognized the drive and I succesfully burned a couple of CDs/DVDs, but... When I tried to boot from a CD/DVD (Primary Boot device - DVD-ROM of course), the screen just showed "Boot from CD/DVD:" and loaded the OS form the HDD. Later I downloaded the latest firmware for the burner, but it didn't help. Can anybody help me solve this problem? :confused: Thanks in advance. :)

[alexio]

Set it as the only boot device, that should work.

[Karolis]

I tried that. It didn't work.:down:

[malkiewicz]

Hit it with a hammer.....

Edit....

Sorry... I'm having problems with my computer as well... Good luck...

[Karolis]

Hit it with a hammer.....

Edit....

Sorry... I'm having problems with my computer as well... Good luck...
I wish I had a hammer right now...:) Thanks, good luck for you too.:up:

[alexio]

What are you booting? A windows installation?

[Karolis]

What are you booting? A windows installation?
I tried Windows XP and Vista install CD/DVD, Kubuntu Live CD, Hiren's Boot CD. Zero CDs/DVD booted.:slapass: Could the problem be the thing that my mobo is kinda old and its SATA connectors weren't meant to be connected to DVD drives and BIOS just doesn't support booting from SATA burners even though it recognizes it and it works like a champ in Windows? Just a thoudt...

[alexio]

I tried Windows XP and Vista install CD/DVD, Kubuntu Live CD, Hiren's Boot CD. Zero CDs/DVD booted.:slapass: Could the problem be the thing that my mobo is kinda old and its SATA connectors weren't meant to be connected to DVD drives and BIOS just doesn't support booting from SATA burners even though it recognizes it and it works like a champ in Windows? Just a thoudt...
What happens when all other driver are disconnected and you try to boot from the DVD drive?

[Karolis]

What happens when all other driver are disconnected and you try to boot from the DVD drive?

When I disable everything except the DVD-ROM I get a message saying "DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER". And one other thing I noticed: if I do the same thing with the burner opened, I get the same message.:bsod:

[alexio]

When I disable everything except the DVD-ROM I get a message saying "DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER". And one other thing I noticed: if I do the same thing with the burner opened, I get the same message.:bsod:
You could try to use SATA port 0 (or 1, whatever the first is labeled). If this does not work either then try the first SATA port on the second controller if the board has one.

[Karolis]

You could try to use SATA port 0 (or 1, whatever the first is labeled). If this does not work either then try the first SATA port on the second controller if the board has one.
The mobo has one SATA controller (2 ports). Sadly, if I use another port, nothing changes.:(I guess I'm gonna have to use my Lite-on drive (IDE) which, luckily, still can read DVDs and PC boots from it succesfully. Oh, I just remembered, a boot floppy (from which I could boot my PC and it would then mount my DVD-ROM) might help. Only if I knew where to get or how to make one.:confused:

[MikeB12]

just a quick note, and this is probably too simple to mention... but are you intervening at "booting to cd/dvd........" on post and hitting a key.... because if you don't, on some mobo's it will by pass and boot to hd if you don't start tapping the keyboard... which as dumb as it may sound, sometimes means using a ps2 keyboard instead of a usb..

[cantankerous]

I think it is an issue with the older/cheaper onboard sata controller not playing nice with sata based optical drives. Do you have latest bios flashed to your board and if possible the latest SATA RAID ROM bios? Sounds stupid but try another port, or switch ports with another drive if you have to. Try and change cables too just to say you tried it all.

[Karolis]

just a quick note, and this is probably too simple to mention... but are you intervening at "booting to cd/dvd........" on post and hitting a key.... because if you don't, on some mobo's it will by pass and boot to hd if you don't start tapping the keyboard... which as dumb as it may sound, sometimes means using a ps2 keyboard instead of a usb..

The problem is, after showing "booting to cd/dvd........" the PC instantly starts booting from the HDD, without showing "Press any key bla bla bla...". Even when I tap the keyboard until my fingers turn blue. OK, I dramatized a little bit about the fingers...:D BTW, I use a PS/2 keyboard.:)


I think it is an issue with the older/cheaper onboard sata controller not playing nice with sata based optical drives. Do you have latest bios flashed to your board and if possible the latest SATA RAID ROM bios? Sounds stupid but try another port, or switch ports with another drive if you have to. Try and change cables too just to say you tried it all.

Yes, I have flashed the latest motherboard BIOS. I tried changing ports, cables, but nothing changed. SATA RAID ROM bios? I don't know where to get one.:am: Maybe I need the RAID IDE ROM BIOS, because since I installed my new burner, sometimes my PC would just freeze during post, saying nothing (when shows all connected IDE/SATA devices) or saying:
____________________
RAID IDE ROM BIOS 4.81
Detecting Array...
____________________

Then all I can do is just to press the reset button. And what's more frustrating is that it sometimes repeats several times in a row.:dammit:

Anyway, thank you all for your help.;)

[Zifko]

Do you have another burner you can try? Seems your computer doesn't notice that burner.

[Karolis]

Do you have another burner you can try? Seems your computer doesn't notice that burner.

Yes, I have an IDE one. PC can boot from it fine (except the thing that it's half-dead and can't read CDs:doh:). So, it seems that BIOS can't see my new burner as a boot device.:shrug: I'll try tomorrow to find a way how to create a boot floppy that would mount my new burner and see if it would work.:google:

[Zifko]

I haven't read all the responses but can you get the boot menu to come up so you can select what to boot from? Normally hitting F8 over and over will get you that menu

[Toferman]

Try Samsung support? You said it was a new drive... if it is in fact an issue between the firmware and the board's (limited) sata controller, maybe Samsung should fix the issue and release a new firmware rev (assuming it's something fixable on their end). Maybe also hit up you motherboard vendor for an update.

You may be the first person to use THAT drive with THAT exact mainboard; it happens, and unless compatibility validation catches it, you might end up being the first. :)

Also, try booting from that drive on a different motherboard... see if it works.