Member Avatar for 83nighthawk

I just put together a new EVGA H55 motherboard with a Intel Dual-Core 655K processor, 2 x 2MB DDR3, 550W power supply, Seagate 1TB SATA HD, 24x SATA DVD.

The motherboard boots up to get to the BIOS and I can see the hard drive and the DVD drives. No problems configuring the BIOS.

When I try to read the DVD to install the drivers, I see the LED read the disk for a second and the DVD spins-up but never reads the disk.
I've isolated the motherboard on cardboard and have only one stick of RAM inserted into slot #1. Replaced the SATA cables, swapped out RAM, cleared CMOS. No joy.
Verified the 24pin power and 8pin power. Can't understand why Bios sees and identifies both drives but can't boot from the DVD. Changed out the DVD drive for another, no luck.

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by crunchie

Dani AI

Generated

Brief diagnostic summary and focused tests to isolate the problem (builds on suggestions from and while disregarding the master/slave idea from ).

A few quick facts narrow the fault: the BIOS detects both drives and the DVD spins briefly, so power/data cabling is likely OK. That pattern most commonly means either non-bootable media, the drive is on a controller/port the BIOS won’t boot from, or BIOS/firmware settings are preventing the optical device from being used as a boot source.

Recommended, ordered checks:

  • Verify the media: confirm the same DVD boots on a second PC (or try a known-good commercial boot DVD). If it fails on another machine the disc/image or burn method is the issue — reburn the ISO at a slow speed or recreate the installer on fresh media.
  • Bypass the optical path: create a USB installer or try an external USB DVD. If USB boots but the internal DVD does not, the motherboard’s SATA/controller path or BIOS is implicated.
  • Force and observe boot behavior: use the board’s one-time boot menu (boot device hotkey) rather than only changing boot order; alternatively temporarily disconnect the HDD so the BIOS must attempt the optical device and watch for any “Press any key to boot…” prompt.
  • Check BIOS settings and ports: toggle SATA mode (AHCI vs IDE/Compatibility/CSM), disable any “fast/quick boot” option, and move the optical drive to a different motherboard-controlled SATA port (refer to the manual to avoid third‑party controller ports that may not be bootable).
  • If the drive spins but never reads burned discs, test with a factory-pressed DVD or a CD; some drives struggle with certain media types or poorly burned discs.

If all else fails, consider updating the motherboard BIOS (follow EVGA’s instructions carefully) or trying the board with a known-good optical drive on a different system to decide whether RMA is appropriate.

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Member Avatar for zelkea

Hey Nighthawk,

I had a similar problem a while back, I was able to work around it by using a IDE DVD-rom to install my OS since I had one laying around, might be a temporary workaround if you have one too at least for the installation. I later stumbled on a thread that stated I need to have my bootable drive connected to SATA port 1. I didn't test this since I haven't had to reload my OS, hope this helps.

Member Avatar for 83nighthawk

Thanks zelkea,

I tried connecting to SATA port 1 and the Bios did see the drive on IDE port 1, but did not boot from there. I have a IDE DVD-rom that i'll connect to the IDE port connector and try that.
Thanks!

Member Avatar for zelkea

No problem would love to hear the results. I know how frustrating it is to be ssssooooo close to having a new build complete.

Member Avatar for benmar

First, make sure your HDD is in the primary, and the DVD rom is in secondary slave, try to look at their right pinning will help you resolve the boot sequence....

Member Avatar for crunchie

First, make sure your HDD is in the primary, and the DVD rom is in secondary slave, try to look at their right pinning will help you resolve the boot sequence....

You are going back a few generations of technology there. Sata drives do not need to be ID'd as Master/Slave, neither do they have pins and jumpers. :icon_rolleyes:

nighthawk, I take it you have selected 1st boot as the optical drive? Are you in AHCI or IDE mode in BIOS?

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