Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare!

beejaydvs · 03-25-2009, 03:15 PM

I sincerely hope someone can help me. I am working a a Dell Inspiron laptop for a friend. I've purchased and installed a new hard drive for the laptop. However, I absolutely cannot install the operating system (Win XP Pro, SP3) because no matter what I do, the computer will not boot from the cd rom drive, and yes, I have gone into the BIOS and set the boot order with the CD ROM drive first. I have even tried using an external cd rom drive and set the boot order to USB storage device and still get the message, "no boot sector on hard disk -- no bootable devices---strike F1 to retry boot, etc. etc. I have run the diagnostics and everything seems to pass. I just don't know what else to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

**TriggerFinger** · 03-26-2009, 10:22 AM

Try to remove the HDD and see if it boots from CD drive. If it will still look for the HDD, clear the CMOS, load default settings in BIOS, save and reboot.

beejaydvs · 03-27-2009, 08:30 AM

Thanks for the reply, TriggerFinger. I removed the HDD and I get a "No bootable devices" message. Does this mean that the cd drive itself is shot?

**simpswr** · 03-27-2009, 08:55 AM

It might . . are you using an original Dell Reinstalaltion cd or a copy?

beejaydvs · 03-27-2009, 09:45 AM

no I'm not. I'm trying to do a clean install of xp pro on a new hard drive.

**simpswr** · 03-27-2009, 10:42 AM

What are you using to install from? . . is it an original? . . Installing on a Dell goes much better if you use the Dell Reinstallation cd ( borrow one if you have to )

beejaydvs · 03-27-2009, 12:24 PM

ok tried that but still nothing......it seems to be going straight to the hard drive instead of booting from the cd

**simpswr** · 03-27-2009, 12:48 PM

you tried what? If it does not boot from the cd when BIOS is set to boot first from CD, either the cd or the drive is faulty.

beejaydvs · 03-28-2009, 03:12 AM

I tried using the Dell reinstallation cd. I was thinking that the drive might be shot however I also connected an external usb cd rom drive and set the boot order to USB storage as the first option and still ---nothing.

03-25-2009, 03:15 PM	#1 (permalink)
beejaydvs Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 5 OS: Windows xp sp3, Vista Ultimate sp1	Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! I sincerely hope someone can help me. I am working a a Dell Inspiron laptop for a friend. I've purchased and installed a new hard drive for the laptop. However, I absolutely cannot install the operating system (Win XP Pro, SP3) because no matter what I do, the computer will not boot from the cd rom drive, and yes, I have gone into the BIOS and set the boot order with the CD ROM drive first. I have even tried using an external cd rom drive and set the boot order to USB storage device and still get the message, "no boot sector on hard disk -- no bootable devices---strike F1 to retry boot, etc. etc. I have run the diagnostics and everything seems to pass. I just don't know what else to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

03-26-2009, 10:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,791 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! Try to remove the HDD and see if it boots from CD drive. If it will still look for the HDD, clear the CMOS, load default settings in BIOS, save and reboot. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

03-27-2009, 08:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
beejaydvs Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 5 OS: Windows xp sp3, Vista Ultimate sp1	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! Thanks for the reply, TriggerFinger. I removed the HDD and I get a "No bootable devices" message. Does this mean that the cd drive itself is shot?

03-27-2009, 08:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 11,898 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! It might . . are you using an original Dell Reinstalaltion cd or a copy? __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?

03-27-2009, 09:45 AM	#5 (permalink)
beejaydvs Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 5 OS: Windows xp sp3, Vista Ultimate sp1	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! no I'm not. I'm trying to do a clean install of xp pro on a new hard drive.

03-27-2009, 10:42 AM	#6 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 11,898 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! What are you using to install from? . . is it an original? . . Installing on a Dell goes much better if you use the Dell Reinstallation cd ( borrow one if you have to ) __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?

03-27-2009, 12:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
beejaydvs Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 5 OS: Windows xp sp3, Vista Ultimate sp1	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! ok tried that but still nothing......it seems to be going straight to the hard drive instead of booting from the cd

03-27-2009, 12:48 PM	#8 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 11,898 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! you tried what? If it does not boot from the cd when BIOS is set to boot first from CD, either the cd or the drive is faulty. __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?

03-28-2009, 03:12 AM	#9 (permalink)
beejaydvs Registered User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 5 OS: Windows xp sp3, Vista Ultimate sp1	Re: Dell Inspiron 1150 nightmare! I tried using the Dell reinstallation cd. I was thinking that the drive might be shot however I also connected an external usb cd rom drive and set the boot order to USB storage as the first option and still ---nothing.