[SOLVED] Does the boot disk need to be...

GeDe · 08-13-2008, 11:12 AM

...master on the primary IDE channel?

My trusty (Oh OK, outdated then) Win2k box finally gave up yesterday - it fails to boot. On a coldstart it starts the boot sequence and puts up the Win2k splash screen only to later on blue screen on me... Ensuing attempts will only get me to a blue screen with some scarce info "unknown hardware error". Since it actually starts to boot (if it's cold) I removed the system disk, mounted it in an USB-bridge and had a look at it - it displays all partitions correctly on my laptop. This indicated to me that perhaps it's the IDE controllers primary channel that's not working correctly and I thought I could try the secondary channel but I don't know if that will work for Win2k?

Real sorry if this is FAQ or out of scope but I thought I had had a go at trying to fix this box so I can turn it over to my parents in a working condition...

/GeDe, Gothenburg, Sweden

PS. I'm running an old ASUS P4C800 Deluxe motherboard and a fully updated Win2k.

Stu_computer · 08-16-2008, 11:37 PM

hi GeDe,

what you need to do is go into the BIOS and make sure that connection is on the boot sequence (boot up) list.

most newer computers allow a selection of several boot devices from a list, usually 3 (or more) devices.

the bios checks the first on the list, for example lets say a floppy drive, if the drive contains a floppy disk then it's checked for boot code-if no disk or no boot code then the next device on the list is checked and so on. any devices not on the boot up list are ignored.

**kodi** · 08-16-2008, 11:49 PM

You can remove the cable in the secondary channel and put the one from the primary channel with the hard drive attached into it.
Don't put anything in the primary channel for now, it should boot providing the hard drive is ok and the problem was the primary channel.

**Bartender** · 08-19-2008, 07:53 AM

When's the last time you replaced the battery on the motherboard?

GeDe · 08-22-2008, 11:14 AM

Thanks all for the suggestions...

I managed to solve the real problem - the old PC not booting. It actually turned out to be the primary IDE cable that was defect - at least it's working again now that I replaced it.

Thanks for your time interest and time spent...

Cheers GeDe

08-13-2008, 11:12 AM	#1 (permalink)
GeDe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden Posts: 14 OS: win2000, XP, Mac OS	[SOLVED] Does the boot disk need to be... ...master on the primary IDE channel? My trusty (Oh OK, outdated then) Win2k box finally gave up yesterday - it fails to boot. On a coldstart it starts the boot sequence and puts up the Win2k splash screen only to later on blue screen on me... Ensuing attempts will only get me to a blue screen with some scarce info "unknown hardware error". Since it actually starts to boot (if it's cold) I removed the system disk, mounted it in an USB-bridge and had a look at it - it displays all partitions correctly on my laptop. This indicated to me that perhaps it's the IDE controllers primary channel that's not working correctly and I thought I could try the secondary channel but I don't know if that will work for Win2k? Real sorry if this is FAQ or out of scope but I thought I had had a go at trying to fix this box so I can turn it over to my parents in a working condition... /GeDe, Gothenburg, Sweden PS. I'm running an old ASUS P4C800 Deluxe motherboard and a fully updated Win2k.

08-16-2008, 11:37 PM	#2 (permalink)
Stu_computer Tech Hardware Team Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 1,460 OS: Windows	Re: Does the boot disk need to be... hi GeDe, what you need to do is go into the BIOS and make sure that connection is on the boot sequence (boot up) list. most newer computers allow a selection of several boot devices from a list, usually 3 (or more) devices. the bios checks the first on the list, for example lets say a floppy drive, if the drive contains a floppy disk then it's checked for boot code-if no disk or no boot code then the next device on the list is checked and so on. any devices not on the boot up list are ignored.

08-16-2008, 11:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
kodi Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Sydney Australia Posts: 7,397 OS: Windows 7-Ultimate 64 Bit My System	Re: Does the boot disk need to be... You can remove the cable in the secondary channel and put the one from the primary channel with the hard drive attached into it. Don't put anything in the primary channel for now, it should boot providing the hard drive is ok and the problem was the primary channel. __________________ Brian

08-19-2008, 07:53 AM	#4 (permalink)
Bartender Mentally divergent Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Chehalis, WA, USA Posts: 1,285 OS: W2K, Ubuntu 8.04	Re: Does the boot disk need to be... When's the last time you replaced the battery on the motherboard?

08-22-2008, 11:14 AM	#5 (permalink)
GeDe Registered User Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Gothenburg, Sweden Posts: 14 OS: win2000, XP, Mac OS	Re: Does the boot disk need to be... Thanks all for the suggestions... I managed to solve the real problem - the old PC not booting. It actually turned out to be the primary IDE cable that was defect - at least it's working again now that I replaced it. Thanks for your time interest and time spent... Cheers GeDe Last edited by GeDe; 08-22-2008 at 11:16 AM.