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Boot CD not recognised

Not applicable

Boot CD not recognised

I am wanting to reinstall Windows XP for a friend but the computer is reporting no disk in the drive. Set the machine to boot from disk in the BIOS but no luck. Oddly enough, I put in an Ubuntu disk in and it is recognising that but won't proceed to install. The XP disk is OK BTW. Please can someone advise?
10 REPLIES 10
pd
Grafter
Posts: 235
Registered: ‎09-05-2008

Re: Boot CD not recognised

Sounds like it might be the drive that's faulty.  In such a situation I usually try another CD/DVD drive even if it means taking the one out of my own machine.
Not applicable

Re: Boot CD not recognised

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it rather sounds like it is although it does recognise Ubuntu. It is an elderly laptop so don't think it's worth messing about with.
Strat
Community Veteran
Posts: 31,320
Thanks: 1,609
Fixes: 565
Registered: ‎14-04-2007

Re: Boot CD not recognised

External USB Drives come in handy at times like these.
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pd
Grafter
Posts: 235
Registered: ‎09-05-2008

Re: Boot CD not recognised

Yes, it's probably the best option.  I hadn't realised it was a laptop.
Not applicable

Re: Boot CD not recognised

I have an external CD/DVD drive and have plugged it in -  went into BIOS again and it is not recognised so not sure how to proceed from there. Can't think of anything else to do.
Oldjim
Resting Legend
Posts: 38,460
Thanks: 787
Fixes: 63
Registered: ‎15-06-2007

Re: Boot CD not recognised

Worth trying a copy of the Windows disk
Denzil
Grafter
Posts: 1,733
Registered: ‎31-07-2007

Re: Boot CD not recognised

An older lappy may well not be capable of booting from a USB device. The internal drives can usually be replaced, but are usually fiddly and you need to be a bit careful as not all lappy drives are interchangeable.
MauriceC
Resting Legend
Posts: 4,085
Thanks: 929
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Boot CD not recognised

Just an odd thought Poppy - Is the XP disk an original or a copy?  I've had similar problems of compatibility between CD's written on newer CD writers for reading on older CD drives. 
Maurice

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Not applicable

Re: Boot CD not recognised

You could be right Maurice but I never thought of it. CD's are awkward things. Funny how it read the Ubuntu disk which was created recently on Roxio. Someone is having a look at it for me to see if it is worth repairing.
MauriceC
Resting Legend
Posts: 4,085
Thanks: 929
Fixes: 17
Registered: ‎10-04-2007

Re: Boot CD not recognised

It's not so much an error on the CD Poppy more of an incompatibility in the way data is written.  The CD will probably be OK on a more recent drive or the one it was originally written on.  If you have an original CD, give that a try.
M

Superusers are not staff, but they do have a direct line of communication into the business in order to raise issues, concerns and feedback from the community.