Seeing that the boot sequence ends with "disk boot failure insert system disk", that's unlikely. It could be that the hard drive is intermittently failing and that repeated power cycling eventually allows it to boot. @clairehh: If you could provide us with as much information about your computer as possible, that would really help us out. If you have a recovery disk, then it sounds like you have a branded computer, something like a Dell, HP or Gateway? Can you find a model number on your computer as well? That thing about the HD requiring several power cycles sounds like the power jack that the IDE/SATA power cable plugs into is going bad, check the power cable (look for bite marks and cracks/rips in the cable) and both the connector in the mainboard and in the HD itself (look for bent, loose, broken or missing pins).