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Yet more compy problems.
Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 10:53
by Grifter
So for the past month or two, I occasionally boot up my comp and it stops before getting to the winxp splash/load screen. It reads NTLDR missing. I go into BIOS and find that somehow my bios is looking at the wrong HD ( have 2 in the box). I change the boot priority to the right HD, and it's fine for a few weeks, and then this problem randomly crops up again. Recently, my system tray has been showing my primary HD as an external drive that I can disconnect like an ipod or memory stick, yet it functions just fine. All of this has occurred despite reinstalling two or three times over the past few months. Suggestions?
Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 21:51
by Hammer
are the rest of your bios settings o.k.? maybe your bios is completely resetting itself?
Posted: 02 Jan 2009, 22:06
by Grifter
It appears to be okay. Nothing else seems out of place, but then you're talking to a bonehead novice.
Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 09:48
by Grifter
How could I tell if my bios is restarting? Why is my primary hd appear as an attachment, like a memory stick? weird.
Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 10:31
by Hammer
check the date in your bios. if your bios resets, it will be at default date and not current.
Posted: 03 Jan 2009, 19:11
by Falker
Sound like you have your hard drives connected wrong. Or the Jumpers on your drives. With the IDE cable , make sure you have the master drive connected “lastâ€
Posted: 04 Jan 2009, 08:01
by Grifter
Well one HD is IDE and the other is SATA. I've been thinking that is the main problem. But I'm not sure what else to do other than fiddle with the jumper on the IDE drive. Guess, I'll mess around with it sometime this week. The problem of course, if I recall correctly, this is the only configuration that seem to work well. Everything else wouldn't recognize the SATA drive as the master or would not boot. hmm.
Posted: 04 Jan 2009, 21:21
by Hammer
which hd is old? the ide?
i assume you set the boot order in the bios, right?
like Falker suggested check your drive jumpers. if the IDE drive is the only one on that channel, ensure it is set to single master, if it is on that channel with a cd/dvd, ensure it is set to master with slave. some drives have a different setting for being by themselves or with a slave, some do not.
is there a bios update available for your mainboard? if so, update your bios.
if none of the above applies, you may just have to live with it.
Posted: 05 Jan 2009, 10:58
by Grifter
I will check the jumpers. I think that is my best bet. Thanks guys.