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matmum · 06-27-2003, 01:08 PM

hi

i got my new pc today but cant install xp - when i boot the pc up i get an error that says - disk boot error please insert a system disk.

i have put the xp disc in the cdrom drive and changed it to be the primary boot but still it has the same error - can anyone help as i am a newbie and not sure if i have to do things to the pc before installing the operating system - i.e. do i need to format the harddrive - do i need to make and boot initially from a bootup floppy (and if so how)

any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks
matt

meese · 06-27-2003, 01:16 PM

If this is a new pc you should be able to boot from the XP cd if you set the CDrom as the first boot device in the BIOS. Make sure you don't have a floppy disk loaded. The error you are getting is as if its trying to from the hard drive but it obviously can't because the OS isn't loaded yet. While the system is booting up watch closely, it may say "to boot from cd press any key" if you don't press a key it bypasses the cd and tries to boot the hard drive.

matmum · 06-27-2003, 01:42 PM

i have made the cdrom the primary boot and do not have a floppy disk in the drive - and all that comes up is disk boot error please insert system disk - anyone got any other ideas as this is driving me crazy

thnx
matt

MrPurple · 06-27-2003, 02:04 PM

Are you sure that your CDRom is recognized by your BIOS, also make sure that your copy of XP is bootable, ie no scratches and whatnot.
Try it out in a different comp if it works, and your CD is recognized, you might have a faulty CDRom drive.

highrock · 06-27-2003, 02:06 PM

I would get floppy disk and hop on someones win98 machine and create a boot disk. I had the same problem. no floppy disk and just cd in drive and it wouldn't load the cd and kept asking for system disk. strange because cd is a bootable cd. floppy should work for fdisking and formatting the drive then use the cd when the harddrive is formatted.

meese · 06-27-2003, 02:14 PM

With a win98 boot disk you can't format the drive NTFS.

matmum · 06-27-2003, 02:22 PM

hi

i tried the xp cd on 2 other pcs and it auto boots fine - i have also tried to boot the cd with my new one with the dvd rom drive and the cdr drive and still it doesnt work - i havent got a clue what to try next - is there a way to make a floppy boot disk for xp and if so how (i would like to format in ntfs format tho)

matt