Computer help forum: computer won't boot from XP disk after DBAN

partition problem?

by aglaonike - 2/27/13 4:05 PM

In Reply to: Re: no boot from CD by Kees_B

Thank you everyone for your help, but I'm still stuck.

I double-checked the BIOS settings and tried burning a copy of the disk, but it didn't help. I still can't boot from the XP disk. I can boot from the DBAN disk again though, so there's nothing wrong with CD drive. It would definitely seem that there is something wrong with my disk, though it doesn't look scratched and I've never used it before, so I don't know how it would be corrupted. I read somewhere else about people have issues with DBAN removing their partitions and/or partition table. Could that be the problem? And how could I fix it?

Thank you!

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A Coprrect XP Installation Disk....

by Grif Thomas - 2/28/13 4:36 PM

In Reply to: partition problem? by aglaonike

.. is bootable, whether there are partitions on the hard drive or not, PLUS, during the installation process, it allows you to create new partitions on the computer after the hard drive has been wiped.. Therefore, with a good and usable XP operating system disk, the concerns you mentioned are nil.

Please confirm the XP disk you have is the one that came with this computer and you've actually got the XP install disk... The older Dells came with two or three different recovery discs.. One is the "Resource/Driver CD" which contains ONLY the drivers.. It's NOT bootable.. One is the bootable XP installation CD which contains ONLY the operating system but sometimes extra programs that were installed at the factory ... and occasionally, there is a third which contains the extra programs that were installed at the factory because they weren't contained on the XP installation CD.

If you're sure you've got the original XP installation disc, you might try it on another computer to see if it will actually boot the computer.. If it does work on another computer, then you'll need to replace your CD/DVD drive.. (Yes, I know that DBAN works on it but some drives start failing a little at a time.. This may be the time.) Of course, if it doesn't work on another computer, then you'll need to contact Dell for a new installation disk.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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New XP installation disk worked

by aglaonike - 3/6/13 8:58 AM

In Reply to: A Coprrect XP Installation Disk.... by Grif Thomas

You guys were right. Turns out the disk was the problem the whole time.

It wouldn't boot in another computer either, so I called Dell and got a replacement XP installation disk for $20. It worked on the first try, so I'm gonna say it was worth the money.

Thank you all for your help!

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Answer Best answer as chosen by user aglaonike

Either the CD is damaged or you're not booting it

by wpgwpg - 2/26/13 8:27 AM

In Reply to: computer won't boot from XP disk after DBAN by aglaonike

My best guess would be that somehow you're not booting from the CD. Usually there's a key (e.g. F12) you can press to select which device you're going to boot from. This menu would appear a few seconds after you turn the power on. On the computers I've worked with it's usually F12, but that can vary with make and model. The other thing to check would be to make sure the XP install disc you're using is bootable and hasn't gotten scratched or gotten dirty causing unreadable spots. I'd put it in another computer and make sure I could boot from it.

Good luck.

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