Yet more compy problems.

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Grifter
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Joined: 30 Jun 2002, 07:02

Yet more compy problems.

Post 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?
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Hammer
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Post by Hammer »

are the rest of your bios settings o.k.? maybe your bios is completely resetting itself?
Helmut
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Grifter
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Post by Grifter »

It appears to be okay. Nothing else seems out of place, but then you're talking to a bonehead novice.
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Grifter
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Post 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.
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Hammer
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Post by Hammer »

check the date in your bios. if your bios resets, it will be at default date and not current.
Helmut
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Falker
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Post 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€
We're in the pipe , five by five.
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Grifter
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Post 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.
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Hammer
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Post 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.
Helmut
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Grifter
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Post by Grifter »

I will check the jumpers. I think that is my best bet. Thanks guys.
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