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I bought a new system and it has no OS on it. So I put in my CD and all it gives is Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk and press Enter and it doesnt work I've also set CD ROM Boot as first priority. What am I doing wrong?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

Dani AI

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A few focused checks that aren’t in the replies yet and will quickly separate media, firmware, and hardware causes.

First, verify the XP disc itself. A common mistake is burning the ISO as ordinary files instead of using “burn image” (the disc then contains the install files but no boot sector). Mount the ISO in a VM or try the disc on a second PC—if it does not boot there, reburn the image (finalize the disc and burn at a low speed) or recreate the ISO from a known-good source.

Second, consider firmware/driver compatibility on newer motherboards. Modern machines often use UEFI with Secure Boot or SATA controllers in AHCI/RAID mode. Windows XP’s installer won’t boot or see drives in those modes unless you (a) enable Legacy/CSM/Compatibility boot and disable Secure Boot, or (b) set the SATA controller to IDE/Compatibility mode, or (c) slipstream the board’s SATA/RAID drivers into the XP install media (tools like nLite were commonly used). If the board won’t support legacy boot, installing XP on that hardware may not be practical.

Third, rule out optical-drive or media-reading faults. Try a different bootable disc (Linux live CD or any Windows installer) in the target machine and test the suspect XP disc in another computer. If other discs boot but the XP disc does not, the disc is the problem; if nothing boots, the drive or motherboard may be faulty—swap the drive or use a USB installer as a fallback (creating a bootable XP USB requires special tools and/or driver slipstreaming).

Suggested order: (1) test the XP disc on another PC, (2) make a fresh ISO burn if needed, (3) try a different boot medium to test the drive, (4) toggle UEFI/Legacy and SATA mode or slipstream drivers, (5) replace optical drive or use USB install. This expands on points from and with steps that resolve the cases where the CD is technically non-bootable or the motherboard won’t present drives to an XP installer.

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Member Avatar for caperjack

I bought a new system and it has no OS on it. So I put in my CD and all it gives is Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk and press Enter and it doesnt work I've also set CD ROM Boot as first priority. What am I doing wrong?

does new mean NEW or just new to you !
have you removed the case cover to make sure that the cdrom/hard drive is all wired up right .

Member Avatar for Catweazle

Are you watching the screen when you power up, and pressing a key when requested in order to boot from the CD?

Most systems do not do so without user intervention, and prompt for it!

Member Avatar for cguan_77

check your bios make sure that your cd is detected by the system..and your cd is bootable...follow what catweazle told you also..

Member Avatar for caperjack

check your bios make sure that your cd is detected by the system..and your cd is bootable...follow what catweazle told you also..

almost a 4 yr old post .whats the point

Member Avatar for Kraai

almost a 4 yr old post .whats the point

This remind me of a certain hairdryer story. ;)

Member Avatar for caperjack

This remind me of a certain hairdryer story. ;)

lol

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