hard drive help

[kmanning]

Thanks in advance.

I'm putting together a computer for a friend using parts saved from various systems I've changed over the last year.

Leadtek Nforce mb
AthlonXP 2000+
512 M DDR 2700
ATI 9200 video
onboard sound, lan
Asus 40x CD-rom
WD 60GB EIDE hd
WinXP home SP2

Everything installed well, up and running smoothly. This weekend, I started getting an error message on start-up about invalid boot disk, insert a valid boot disk and press any key to proceed.

I checked all the cables, plugs, etc. I booted to the Windows CD, went to the repair console, and repaired the MBR. The computer booted just fine. Until the next time I turned it off and tried to reboot (both warm and cold boots). Exactly the same error. So I did another FIXMBR, and then did a full chkdks. No errors reported. THe computer booted fine...until the next time I turned it off.

Unfortunately, leaving the computer on 24/7 is not an option. I have installed no software other than winxp, sp2, and MS Office. The installation was a fresh install on a newly formatted (although used) drive.

Do I just need to replace the drive, or is there something I'm missing?

 

[Dublex]

Are the BIOS settings set up correctly in terms of a master/slave relationsip and in the boot device order? as it sounds as though the computer could be trying to boot from the wrong device at startup. Also, are all the drive jumper settings on the motherboard correct?

Another thing worth checking is the compatability of the BIOS with the hardware and whether there are any known issues with the hard drive that you are using.

It could be a faulty drive but I doubt it as you would probably receive continuious errors from the system. It could also possibly be down to something with the powersupply as that can cause problems if its on the blink, but it sounds more BIOS/boot related to me.

Either that or something keeps killing the boot sector files / OS loader files.

 

[LeeJend]

Get the WD install floppy (or CD) and do a Track 0 repair. You can download the files from WD website and make a floppy or CD if you lost the original. Then repair windows.