Windows won't boot from SSHD or CD

[#1]

Windows desktop PC, homebuilt in 2015 (I'm not really savvy but I can build a PC with a friend's BIOS help), Win10, nothing fancy as we don't use it for gaming.  One of the hard disks started making a funny noise while no-one was using it (it had been used and was on for later use). The sound was like it makes when it's booted up and is just winding down to go off, except this time it never 'clicked' off.  I thought I'd restart it, as I couldn't find anything immediately wrong from a quick check in Windows Explorer.  It never restarted, just scrolled through 'Restarting', so I hard-restarted with the little button on the front. It sat on the Asus screen for ages and then gave me the black screen where it tells me to boot from another disc. So I tried the original Win7 install disc.  It whirred up, I got the 'press any key' bit and then back to the no boot screeen.  The next few tries it just went straight to the no boot screen, even when I changed boot priority to the CD drive.  ALso while I was in the bios I tried to see how to check the disc but I couldn't work it out.

The PC has three harddisks: an old and new 'classic' drive and a new SSD which is where the OS is.  The CD drive (a CD/DVD writer) in the case is from 2009(I kept the old case etc.) and was working fine in August, and also was used to install the 2015 build.

I had a Google but couldn't find anything specific: pretty much everything was solved by booting from CD.  I'll be back tomorrow evening so don't expect an immediate reply!

[#2]

If you have access to another computer...( a mate`s or member of family ?)  .. download and burn the .iso file of Linux Mint  ... this produces a "Live " dvd that you may find helpful ... ( If it will boot up ) .. Or you could try burning it to a USB stick

If it boots up. then you should be able to access any HDD`s already installed on your computer.

[#3]

Initially i found myself thinking your hard drive has failed but as you mention you cannot boot a windows CD I'm inclined to think that your SATA / PATA drive controllers might be damaged on the motherboard. If so then you're going to need a new mobo.

It could be that your optical drive isn't functioning properly as well as your HDD or that your CD is badly scratched so perhaps trying another windows / linux CD first will help rule out one scenario.

[#4]

As @7up says, try a different disc - never used it but Linux Mint sounds like a plan, as it will rule out disc errors, software protection and that your hardware is working.

I have a similar issue to you, but under different circumstanes.

I have a old (well not that old a three year old Dell laptop) which I am trying to put a clean build of W10 on, as it was W7 at the time. I screwed my W7 build up, luckily I had nothing I needed to keep on it.

The disc would boot, looks like it was installing, take ages and when done wouldn’t boot off the hard drive.

He does know his stuff and the advice I’ve been given is to update the BIOS and in a Dell (not sure about other machines, there
is a protected boot option in the BIOS you have to disable), else it doesn’t work.

I am going to try it in mine a bit later tonight

[#5]

"no bootable device found"  ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Re-boot..... as soon as screen lights up... press and hold F12  (on Dell machine )... maybe F2 or F8 on others... this may give a "boot option menu"... make your selection  with up/ down keys then press return...

[#6]

My one was moaning it had “No Operating System found”, which would imply the PC could access the drive and was on the correct boot order and was trying to access that drive, but was unable to load anything from it.

[#7]

Had similar problems myself recently with this mini itx build.

Tried WinXP64bit - couldn't copy a file over - or many others after it.

Tried WinXP Pro inc SP3 - BSOD

Tried WinXP Pro inc SP1 - BSOD

Tried Knoppix live CD - error only one CPU found (yet it always worked on single core machines)

Tried Mandrake live CD - didn't boot at all!

Eventually despite my better judgement I went with a WinXP pro disc that had SP2 slip streamed into it. For whatever reason (maybe a better quality CD or slower burn speed) it installed.

To say I was becoming frustrated is an understatement. I spent 2 days trying and then found the HDD is also faulty and doesn't reset for around 20 seconds after powering on - then the reset button needs pressing and the mobo will boot it. Bios update made no difference to that so was in reality a waste of time updating it.

Just shows there can be all sorts of stupid technical glitches that prevent a machine from booting properly.

[#8]

Since the OS is on your SSD, I would uplug all your other hard drives and the CD drive and see if it boots then.  If it does then you can start reconnecting the other drives, probably best to do it one at a time and make a test boot.

[#9]

In the opening post you say that you use Win 10

I wonder if it could have been setup to block booting from a USB stick or CD

In the bios is there an option for secure boot https://fossbytes.com/enable-disable-secure-boot-windows-8-10/

• Click on the security tab under the BIOS settings.
• Use the Up and Down arrow to choose the secure boot option as shown in the previous image.
• Select the option using Arrows and change the secure boot from Enabled to Disabled. 
• Press Enter
• Save your work and exit.

[#10]

Thanks everyone, I'll see what I can do when I get home tonight.  I'm going to try booting from USB first (I've done this successfully for flashing the RAM when one failed), as that's been suggested on multiple fora, then I'll go with unplugging the drives.

One question, if I do manage to boot from USB, how do I find out what the fault is?  Sorry if that's a daft question, I'm one of those awkward people who knows a bit about this sort of thing but not enough to really get to grips with it!

[#11]

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@7up wrote:

... and then found the HDD is also faulty and doesn't reset for around 20 seconds after powering on - then the reset button needs pressing and the mobo will boot it. Bios update made no difference to that so was in reality a waste of time updating it.

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@7up 

I've experienced similar many years ago.

You could probably have got around what appears to be slow 'spin-up' on that HDD (provided your BIOS had the necessary option) by looking for a setting called something like 'Hard Disk Delay' or similar, which you would then need to set to a time greater than the spin-up time of the drive.  It doesn't need much explanation other than it pauses the boot sequence to give the HDD time to spin-up.

The problem can also be caused by an inadequate power supply.

The reason the computer booted when you pressed the reset button was likely because the HDD was already spinning and so was 'ready for action'.

[#12]

Have you tried resetting the BIOS to the default settings? I have had PCs lock up because the BIOS had got corrupted, generally because of a flat battery, which will be even flatter if the temperature is down.

[#13]

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@RobPN wrote:

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@7up wrote:

... and then found the HDD is also faulty and doesn't reset for around 20 seconds after powering on - then the reset button needs pressing and the mobo will boot it. Bios update made no difference to that so was in reality a waste of time updating it.

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@7up 

I've experienced similar many years ago.

You could probably have got around what appears to be slow 'spin-up' on that HDD (provided your BIOS had the necessary option) by looking for a setting called something like 'Hard Disk Delay' or similar, which you would then need to set to a time greater than the spin-up time of the drive.  It doesn't need much explanation other than it pauses the boot sequence to give the HDD time to spin-up.

The problem can also be caused by an inadequate power supply.

The reason the computer booted when you pressed the reset button was likely because the HDD was already spinning and so was 'ready for action'.

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Sorry i should have made myself clearer (though i did say the HDD is screwed lol).

The intel bios stops on a 5A code at the bottom right of the screen. When looking this up in the manual for the board it is quoted as resetting ATA / SATA channels and devices. When the only device is a HDD which IS spinning but having a slightly odd buzzing sound to it then there is a good reason for concern. The health of the drive when looked at in speedfan isn't great either (actually might be cpuz - can't remember). When unplugged the mobo goes straight to a PXE / network boot screen which is the next selection after the hard disk. Also with dvd drive plugged in but no HD it also gets to the PXE screen quite quickly too so it's quite clear that the HD is taking a while to wake up and initialize / reset.

Basically it's a disk on borrowed time but i did get given it for free to get me up and running with my new mini-itx board as i had the board but nothing else. The HD does work just as long as i let it have around 20s of power and then reset the board - i can live with that for a while lol. I had a spare GB of ram which went in to double it to 2GB and i've got a pico atx power supply on order. I might bag myself a SSD soon although the car needs a new battery and mothers day is coming along... eek

[#14]

One thing to check is the power supply. Try another if you have access to one.

It's possible that the 12v power line has died, or is short of juice. That would stop pretty much all spinning drives from working.

[#15]

If it was me I would change the bios battery and reset the bios before ripping out the power supply just in case ithe battery is half dead and the bios is corrupted