Member Avatar for sarathchandra

hi,
I am using Intel 945 motherboard . I am facing a problem of boot disk failure.
when i keep dvdrom connected without hard disk,it is working fine. Similarly without dvdrom if i connect hard disk ,it is also working fine.. but I have not been able to connect both of them at a time. I am getting BOOT DISK FAILURE. INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER. Kindly help me in solving the problem
thanks,
U.Sarath Chandra

  • 3 Contributors
  • 3 Replies
  • 126 Views
  • 1 Day Discussion Span
  • Latest Post Latest Post by sarathchandra

Dani AI

Generated

This is a common symptom on older IDE-based systems: when two devices share one ribbon channel the controller can see only one device at POST and Windows then reports a boot failure. As reported, the immediate fix came from changing the drive cable/jumper arrangement; below are practical checks and explanations that make the fault easier to find and prevent it from recurring.

Why it happens (brief): an IDE channel supports two devices and the controller needs a clear way to identify which device is which. Problems crop up when the drives, the ribbon cable, or power behave inconsistently: wrong jumper/cable-selection combination, a damaged or 40-conductor cable (instead of an 80-conductor cable required for higher UDMA modes), loose/bad power connectors, or a BIOS that doesn’t enumerate a slow-spinning optical drive in time. As noted, the physical configuration matters; as suggested, BIOS detection and boot order are worth checking.

Quick troubleshooting checklist (apply in order)

  • Confirm each drive works solo: disconnect one device and boot with only the HDD, then only the DVD.
  • Observe BIOS: does it list both drives when both are connected? If not, suspect cable/drive or power.
  • Replace the ribbon cable with a known-good 80-conductor cable, and try different IDE ports on the board.
  • Use separate Molex/SATA power leads for each drive (avoid daisy-chaining on a faulty connector).
  • Inspect connectors for bent pins and ensure ribbon orientation matches the motherboard’s pin 1.
  • Update the motherboard BIOS if an update exists that improves device enumeration.
  • Backup important data before experimenting; run manufacturer drive diagnostics if detection is intermittent.

If problems persist after these checks, try the drives in another machine or use an external USB adapter to isolate the failing component. In many cases the fault is a bad cable or a mis-set jumper/cable-select condition rather than a failed drive or motherboard.

Recommended Answers

All 3 Replies

Member Avatar for abhisdm

Have u checked the BIOS settings???
Try givin boot priority and check...

Member Avatar for 4th&3wood

If these are IDE drives you will need to set the jumper on the rear of the drives to Master and Slave. You will want to set the hdd as the Master.

Member Avatar for sarathchandra

If these are IDE drives you will need to set the jumper on the rear of the drives to Master and Slave. You will want to set the hdd as the Master.

hii thanks for ur reply.. I have solved the problem by changing the jumper for cable mode.. and it is working properly.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.