Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Method 2: Rebuild BCD
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1. Put the Windows Vista installation disc in the disc drive, and then start the computer.
2. Press a key when the message indicating "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD …". appears.
3. Select a language, a time, a currency, and a keyboard or another input method, and then click Next.
4. Click Repair your computer.
5. Click the operating system that you want to repair, and then click Next.
6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, click Command Prompt.
7. Type Bootrec /RebuildBcd , and then press ENTER.
Taken from here
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
More options:
http://neosmart.net/wiki/display/EBC...r+from+the+DVD
Although it seems weird that you manage to fix the problem, then it unfixes itself..
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Hmm, seems to work again when I came home. Here's hoping the fix sticks :) .
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Well, you know where to come if the problem comes back ;]
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
just for the record, try unplgging any USB devices that might be in.. USB hubs, memory sticks, externak drives etc.
My vista throws the odd wobbler on that score.
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Had this problem few days back...Tried repair startup about 9 times, reinstalled about 5 times but still wont boot..Ended up downgrading to good old xp sp3.
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Alright, still having problems with this. When I try to boot up Vista, I get that error everytime now. When I try and run the repair disk, I run in to so many different problems, there is no consistency in it. Here's just a small list of what's happening:
- I run the known working repair disk with only a keyboard connected, I get to "Boot from CD/Dvd: _ " and it hangs there.
- I run the known disk and get to "Press any key to boot from CD/Dvd: . . ." I press a key (tried loads of different keys) and it hangs there.
- One time, I got to a screen I've never seen before asking me to choose an OS, once I did the screen went black and I had to restart. Never seen that screen again.
- Will actually boot from the disk and will get 1/3 of the way into "loading windows files" and just hang.
- Once today it got past that but just froze at the repair screen.
- Will get to the bios screen saying "press tab for POST, del for setup" and it will just hang there.
- Randomly getting double and sometimes even triple boot (will start up, shut down, then start up again when I press the power button).
- Tried the original vista disk and once it booted the screen went black and I had to restart.
This is just a small selection of the problems I've been randomly running into today. There is no consistency whatsoever. Everytime I boot up something different happens each time, without any input from me. I have no idea what to try next. If I had a constant problem or error then I could start fixing it, but everytime I make headway I run into something different which sets me back. It's ridiculous and confusing.
I'm thinking about just buying another hard disk, back up all my important files onto it, and reinstalling vista. Though, I doubt this would guarantee I wouldn't get this problem again, right?
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
From all that, it sounds like your computer has problems on a higher level than Windows.
Quote:
- Randomly getting double and sometimes even triple boot (will start up, shut down, then start up again when I press the power button).
Especially this one makes me think it actually has nothing to do with Windows, and so running Vista repair isn't going to help in the long run until your underlying problem is fixed.
I see in your system specs that your computer is overclocked. I would return all settings to stock, and see if it makes any difference.
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Quote:
Originally Posted by
cmd
I see in your system specs that your computer is overclocked. I would return all settings to stock, and see if it makes any difference.
Do this ^ :)
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Well, last night I managed to get it to boot and did what mycarsavw suggested (rebuild BCD) which appeared to work. I restarted several times and never encountered the error.
Though, I'll be surprised if this is the end of it. If I run into the problem again, I'll go back to stock settings and try.
My motherboard is prone to double booting, but I've never had it triple boot on me (I didn't even know this was possible). It may have just be a coincidence, but who knows.
Thanks for the advice again, will take it on board :).
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Just as I expected I came home to be encountered with an all too familiar error. I reset my overclock and that didn't help. Now, I can't even boot from the cd to repair it again. When I boot up, I can go into the bios and edit settings, but even though the boot priority is cd drive, hard drive, floppy, it always boots from hard drive first and doesn't try the cd drive. When I chose to post, it does so then goes straight to the hard drive and I encounter that error.
I can't do anything, it won't let me boot from the cd drive to repair it. I checked all the connections and reseated those going to the cd drive and still no improvement.
I've done everything that's been suggested to no avail. Is it just a problem with the BIOS or motherboard, rather than windows? If so, then repairing it again and again will do no good as I will keep running into this error when I restart.
Any suggestions what to do next?
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Have you tried booting from any other CD?
It's sounding like either your Windows DVD or even your DVD drive is FUBARd
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Yes I've tried the official vista installation disk, and a repair disk I burnt which I've been using to repair. The thing is, even without anything in the drive it still comes up "Boot from cd-drive: _ " for a second after posting, then I get the error when it tries to boot from the hard drive. Now though, nothing like that comes up, it just goes straight for the hard drive. My drive was working fine last night, possible it's just broke :S ?
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Do you have another drive you can use?
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
Not right now I don't, no.
I set in the bios so it will ONLY be able to boot from the cd-drive and I still got that error...
I'm officially stumped on this one. Unless it's programmed to just boot from the hard drive if it can't find anything else to boot from.
I'll burn a Linux live disk and if that doesn't work, I'll try the drive in another computer :) .
I think I'd be awfully unlucky for the drive to go at a time like this. I've barely even used it before apart from stuff like this.
Re: Vista won't boot, cd won't work
I can't help with a DVD drive but I've got a stack of CD drives. You're welcome to have one (and then bin it/use it) for testing purposes.
Stupid question here, but have you checked you've not knocked any cables out, is the DVD drive IDE or SATA? Do you have the IDE cable the right way round (red stripe next to the power connection on the drive).