So i decided to whip out one of my old arse Pcs and see how well Linux runs off it. Windows had a problem and needed to be formatted, other than that the PC is in a descent working order.

Ive inserted a disk with Ubuntu on and try to do the format. In the BIOS ive ordered it to run E:, A:, C:

for some reason you can only put the order in this format. Even if i put it in the order D:, A:, C: i get the same result

When it goes to boot from CD ROM it prompts with this error

DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER


It is a Pentium 3
has a 20GB HD
1 CD ROM and 1 CDRW
256MB RAM but also got 512RAM ready to be put in.

Ive researched abit on this problem and the solutions that im getting seems to be that i should remove a CD or Floppy thats in the drive...but the whole point of me having the CD is to format my HD and install Linux

Any suggestions?

First, see if the machine will boot from any CD.

Be sure the BIOS is set correctly--I don't understand the E-A-C or D-A-C order---the BIOS setup should specifically show the CD and DVD options.

The error message comes after it has tried ALL the options listed in the BIOS setup---eg it might try CD first, then floppy, then the hard drive.

Remove all boot options and only set CD-ROM. Then after formatting and installing Linux change the boot sequence once again. This should help.

there is no other way to set the boot priority, i guess its got something to do with older machines or something.

Like i said the only way to boot is in orders of 3.
im not sure if it tries all the options but the error msg prompts even with a windows XP cd. So its not the CD with linux that is faulty....something else should be the problem.

i cant remove all options i can only change the order in groups of 3.

Unfortunetaley i cant format since it doesnt allow me to run from CD.



Basically if i put a CD in drive i get that error.
If i dont have a CD in drive it takes me to XP and states that i should run it in safe mode etc. (blue screen)

What are the various options you get in the BIOS? E,A,C and D,A,C? Those the only ones? I would suppose the A would refer to the floppy, the C to the hardrive and the D & E would be the CD Drive and CDWriter but there's no way for us to know which is which.

What is the name of your motherboard manufacturer. You should see this on boot or you could get it in the BIOS, also the BIOS version. Also, the name of the computer manufacturer.

As asked above, do any CDs work in either drive?

Nope i get some more options:

A, C, SCSI

LS/ZIP, C

C only

SCSI, C, A

SCSI, A, C

F, A, SCSI

E, A, SCSI

D, A, SCSI

CD/BCM, C, A (note: this one isnt clear, i dont know what CDCM is)

These are all the boot sequence options.

I think the BIOS is: BCM PCI/ISA BIOS P6BAP-AP

NVIDIA GEFORCE MX200 BIOS VER 3.11.01.48.8

VER 1.51PG

I stated above that even Windows XP doesn't work

Where else can i see the BIOS version

So anyone know what could cause this error?

how could i get around to formating my HD to install Linux

Some things to think about:

If you told us the model of your computer, maybe we could search for a manual that would describe the meaning of those BIOS boot options and help you choose the one you need. ( Or, better, you could do this yourself ).
[Edit]: I just tried searching on your BIOS P6-BAP-AP. The manufacturer no longer has any details available. It dates from 2000. [/Edit]

You could try all the boot options, one by one, until you find the one that boots from the CD. Some old CD drives did have SCSI interfaces.

You could check that the CD Rom is working. You could check that the boot CD is working. You could check that you are not trying to boot a DVD in a drive that only reads CDs. You could check that the drive does not care about what sort of CDs (+/- R etc) it is being asked to read.

You could check that the CD you are trying to boot is not trying to run code compiled for a P4, when only a P3 is available.

You could take the HHD out, put it in another computer (ideally one with a pentium 3), and install linux on it.
Then put it back and boot from it. It should work.
You will probably only get to the CLI, but once you had figured out your display chipset, I am sure you could get X working.

Have fun and let us know how you get on.....

some older cdroms had to have drivers installed before there would work. Check to see if the cd or the cdrw are atapi drives. If either drive is atapi it should work.

Just to throw "crap" in the game.. can you put a bootable floppy into the drive and boot from it? If so DSL and Puppy Linux, offer bootable floppy images that can then find your cdrom for you and then boot from it!!
HTH
RP

Thanks for all the suggestions, ive tried many things but still cant boot.

Ive tried each boot sequence and still nothing, im starting to think that these old machines cant be resurrected!

theres been some good suggestions though that could be the problem, i'll have to try them soon and post for some feedback.

This could possibly be something to look into, good point and thanks.

I might just have to put another CDROM and try it out i guess.

Could you expand please

How do i check if they are ATAPI drives?

Good tip, thanks, i dont have any floppy disks unfortuneatley so i'll have to leave that as a last option but it does seem like it will work.

turns out it was a faulty HD