mikej@lilink.UUCP (Michael R. Johnston) (07/25/89)
I have a nagging problem with a PC that I would love to fix. It seems that the machine will not boot off the hard disk no matter what I do. I was able to install the drive and perform all the necessary steps to get the drive up. If I try to boot from the hard drive the machine just sits there. If I boot off the floppy and then change to the C: drive all is well. Now, before you go and say "He didn't install the O/S on the drive" let me just say that I DID do a format /s and am still unable to get the thing to boot. I am beginning to believe that perhaps one of the switches on the motherboard needs to be thrown. I'll be damned if I know which one. The manufacturer has not been very helpful. You see, this is one of those el-cheapo clones. For interested parties I am running a Phoenix BIOS ver 2.27a. I have a Seagate 20 Meg HD and a Western Digital Controller card. I think it is a WX2 controller card. It's all very standard stuff. Can someone offer me a suggestion? Booting from floppy is getting annoying! -- Michael R. Johnston System Administrator rutgers!lilink!mikej LILINK Public Access Xenix (516) 872-2137/2138/2349 1200/2400 Login: new
gcook@cps3xx.UUCP (Greg Cook) (07/26/89)
From article <789@lilink.UUCP>, by mikej@lilink.UUCP (Michael R. Johnston):
> Can someone offer me a suggestion? Booting from floppy is getting annoying!
Just leave the computer on, then you won't have to boot it every time :-).
Seriously, you said that you did a format /s. I once had a problem
like this. It was a problem with the operating system. My install
disks for DOS were bad. The "hidden" files were not installed properly.
This might not be the problem, but hell, if I were you I'd try everything.
maybe some of your system files on the floppies you are installing your
operating system from are bad. See if you can get another copy of the OS
and try to install them again. At least then you'll know if that's the
problem.
Greg Cook
gcook@horus.cem.msu.edurwberry@hubcap.clemson.edu (Robert W Berry) (07/26/89)
Have you checked the partition table with FDISK? The DOS partition may not be set as the default boot partition of your fixed disk. I once had to set up a PC that had 2 partitions to get around a bad cylinder -- usually they just come with the whole disk partitioned to DOS. Anyhow, it's worth checking. If you're working on an AT-class machine, you may also need to check the battery-backed setup. Hope this helps, (tm) Bob -- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- -=- Bob Berry -=- PC-Guru's Inc. ! rwberry@hubcap.clemson.edu -=- -=- We are the science of modern motion. ! 803-654-7623 || 803-656-2635 -=- -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
santol@cbnewsc.ATT.COM (shawn.r.antol) (07/26/89)
In article <789@lilink.UUCP>, mikej@lilink.UUCP (Michael R. Johnston) writes: > ... > Can someone offer me a suggestion? Booting from floppy is getting annoying! > -- I have had similiar problems trying to install COMPAQ DOS on BLEADING EDGE PCs and have found that there is a BIOS incompatibility with the version of DOS. I tried other versions, but it would only work with the DOS that came with the PC. Your solution Mike, should you accept it, is to use a DIFFERENT version of DOS for your machine. "Version" is a poor word. "Manufacturer" is a better choice. Shawn Antol AT&T Bell Labs Naperville, IL. 312-979-5622 Reply all flames/email/love letters to: att!ihlpb!santol <std-claimers apply>
hydrox@itsgw.rpi.edu (Michael A. Hendrix) (07/27/89)
>From article <789@lilink.UUCP>, by mikej@lilink.UUCP (Michael R. Johnston): >> Can someone offer me a suggestion? Booting from floppy is getting annoying! > It is also possible that you did not specify the partition to boot off of when you ran Fdisk. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Who said life was fair......I sure as heck didn't!!!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- hydrox@hope.its.rpi.edu hydrox@mts.rpi.edu Bitnet:F7TZ@RPITSMTS