[ngrome]

Good day,

I have an old Dell Inspiron 1100 whose CD drive no longer works (verified), so I wanted to re-install the OS and attach an LG external CD/DVD drive to boot the CD from. But there are no options in the 1100's bios to boot externally and I thought if I could just plug in the external CD/DVD drive while it's powered up, maybe it would recognize it, but to no avail.


I know my external drive is about 4-5 years old, but maybe if I get a more updated optical external CD/DVD drive? But then again, this same external drive worked when as I was able to boot from it with my Acer netbook as the netbook didn't have a CD drive to boot from when I re-installed the OS on it.

Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks in advance as always.

 

[hanthuy]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

When you start you machine try to press F8 or F12 to choose Boot Option.

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

If the BIOS does not have an option to boot from USB, you will not be able to use the external drive. You can find the replacement cd drives on ebay or here:

http://www.amazon.com/Burner-Inspiron-Latitude-Laptops-Replacement/dp/B002IJO3P4

 

[ngrome]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

When you start you machine try to press F8 or F12 to choose Boot Option.

Thanks, I did that and it has no option to boot from USB or external source, nor does the bios has the option. Looks like I'm gonna have to get a replacement internal drive as the next reply suggested below.

 

[ngrome]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

If the BIOS does not have an option to boot from USB, you will not be able to use the external drive. You can find the replacement cd drives on ebay or here:

http://www.amazon.com/Burner-Inspiron-Latitude-Laptops-Replacement/dp/B002IJO3P4

Thanks, looks like I have no choice but to get a replacement drive. Thanks for the link, but for $50, I can probably get that much for the laptop if I just get rid of it as is. I'll do a little search if I can get it cheaper elsewhere. Thanks.

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Check eBay . .

 

[SA Spurs1]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Here are some options for you.

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Here are some options for you.

Nice link!!!! they are nearby too!

 

[ngrome]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Here are some options for you.

Thanks for the link! I did find one on eBay for $15. As soon as I get it, I'm going to do a little test and load Windows 7 on this oldie, as it barely meets the minimum requirements. I loaded Windows 7 on my netbook and it runs great, so even this 1100 has slightly better specs than a netbook so I'm anxious to see how it runs Windows 7. I'll probably end up buying my wife a new netbook anyways but just curious how this little experiment goes.

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Let us know! . . I have loaded Win 7 Basic on several marginal systems and it has performed well.

 

[ngrome]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Let us know! . . I have loaded Win 7 Basic on several marginal systems and it has performed well.

Well, I was able to replace the CD/DVD drive fine and load Windows 7 and runs fine, but I'm not getting full screen because it's displaying ony 640x480 and the Dell website has no Win 7 video drivers for the Dell Inspiron 1100 so I can display a higher resolution and I don't think they'll bother because it's such an old laptop. Unless anyone has any ideas I guess I'm stuck with XP on this old dinosaur.

 

[ngrome]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Well, I was able to replace the CD/DVD drive fine and load Windows 7 and runs fine, but I'm not getting full screen because it's displaying ony 640x480 and the Dell website has no Win 7 video drivers for the Dell Inspiron 1100 so I can display a higher resolution and I don't think they'll bother because it's such an old laptop. Unless anyone has any ideas I guess I'm stuck with XP on this old dinosaur.

Oh, and when I try to run it in XP mode, it just crashes and takes a memory dump.

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Well, I was able to replace the CD/DVD drive fine and load Windows 7 and runs fine, but I'm not getting full screen because it's displaying ony 640x480 and the Dell website has no Win 7 video drivers for the Dell Inspiron 1100 so I can display a higher resolution and I don't think they'll bother because it's such an old laptop. Unless anyone has any ideas I guess I'm stuck with XP on this old dinosaur.

Have you run the Windows Update? . . it will often offer drivers that were not available at the time the installation disc was produced.

Frankly, I am amazed that 7 did not have the video drivers for that one . .

 

[ngrome]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Have you run the Windows Update? . . it will often offer drivers that were not available at the time the installation disc was produced.

Frankly, I am amazed that 7 did not have the video drivers for that one . .

I ran all available updates, both recommended and critical, and not one of them included a video driver, only sound. I was ready to give up on 7 and install Linux but when I checked the Linux forums all Dell Inspiron owners had similar issues with video stuck at 640x480. HOWEVER, one post from the Linux forums did recommend upgrading the BIOS to the latest available before messing with the video config, which is what I did and guess what, after the bios update Windows 7 started recognizing the driver files I tried to load originally that would not load before, and I finally got full screen and 1024x768. Glad I stuck with it, but debating whether or not to keep my Win 7 license on this machine because it's the Ultimate version, which I don't want to waste on an old machine. I'll play with it for a few days before deciding Thanks for yours and everyone else's help!

 

[Old Rich]

Re: Laptop will not boot from external CD/DVD drive

Great . . thanks for posting back with the solution!