Member Avatar for yikyang

i need help!!my PC is running under two windows on 2 different partition.XP home on C drive,XP pro on D drive.The problem now is,i was unable to change my main boot disk to the CD!!i cant get to the BIOS setup!is there any other way to get in the BIOS screen?Whenever i start windows,it'll prompt me to choose the windows i wish to start from.I just cant get into the BIOS setup.Another thing is i my disk drive doesnt seem to read the windows installation disk.It wont autoplay,and my disk drive will be still empty after i inserting the disk.Any ideas whats happening?How can i clean my system and reinstall windows?

the question is:
1.How can i get into the BIOS setup screen?
2.Any other way to get into the BIOS setup other then pressing DEL in the start-up?(pressing DEL wont work for me)
3.How can i reformat my PC when it don't detect the windows CD?
4.Is there any way to change my main BOOT DISK other then using the BIOS setup?

I need help here.Thank you!!

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This thread is a good example of three separate but related problems: not being able to reach the BIOS/Setup, an optical drive that appears not to read the installer, and a dual‑Windows setup that complicates reformatting. and gave solid starter tips, and resolved it by clearing CMOS. Below is a compact, practical checklist and safe alternatives for anyone who finds this happening later.

If Setup keys don’t respond, use the motherboard’s one‑time boot menu (common keys: F11, F12, ESC on many machines) to boot a CD once without changing BIOS permanently. If the board is unresponsive or you need persistent access, clear CMOS safely: power off and unplug, consult the manual for the CLR_CMOS/CMOS‑RESET jumper and follow the jumper procedure, or remove the coin cell for several minutes. Record any custom BIOS values (SATA/RAID mode, RAM timings, BIOS password) before clearing—those will be lost.

When an optical drive “won’t read” an installer, separate two things: autoplay in Windows and booting at POST. Autoplay is a Windows feature and unrelated to whether the disc is bootable. Confirm the disc is a bootable media or a correctly burned ISO, try other known working discs, check power and data cables, test the drive in another PC or try another drive, and clean the lens if dusty. Verify the drive is detected in BIOS before expecting it to boot.

If you cannot get a CD to boot, there are alternatives: start Windows XP setup from inside a running Windows by copying the CD’s i386 folder to the hard drive and running winnt32.exe; create a bootable USB installer if the BIOS supports USB boot; or build a small active FAT partition with installer files to boot from the disk itself. Always back up personal data and product keys before reformatting. If uncertain about jumpers or BIOS defaults, note the motherboard model and consult the vendor’s manual.

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Member Avatar for pip22

It's not always the 'Delete' key to get into the BIOS setup, could be one of the F keys, so try them instead. When the PC starts you normally get a message at the bottom during boot-up, saying something like "To enter setup press XX" where XX is the actual key you need to press.

Member Avatar for yikyang

It's not always the 'Delete' key to get into the BIOS setup, could be one of the F keys, so try them instead. When the PC starts you normally get a message at the bottom during boot-up, saying something like "To enter setup press XX" where XX is the actual key you need to press.

nope..it wont work..i've tried other keys as well.Any ideas?

Member Avatar for Rueful Rogue

You don't say if you receive any error messages. Your first task should be to check your CD-ROM drive. I'd start by going to this article on Microsoft's web site.

Since I'm assuming that your CD-ROM drive did work at one time, you can probably skip steps 1 and 2. But go through step 3 to see if your drive is being recognized by your system and also to see if there are any errors being reported in the device manager. Also take note of steps 6 & 7.

Does your CD-ROM recognize any other disks?

Regarding accessing your BIOS, this varies from computer manufacturer to manufacturer. You should consult your operating guide, or go to the manufacturer's web site for help there.

Member Avatar for yikyang

problem's solved!!thanks for all the trouble!!i took out the battery and got into the BIOS setup..changed the boot priority..and everthing goes well!thanks again!

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