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Unable to Boot any Bootable CD/DVD - SOLVED!


Mobes

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This isn't a unique situation. I had encountered this with a Compal notebook in the past 6 months, but it would only refuse to boot off the CD if the OS on the HDD was in Hibernate. Any time it wasn't in hibernate it would work fine. :unsure:

Does your notebook have a boot menu where you can select the boot device?

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Yeh, I've also tried from the Boot Menu and same result, goes to black screen, blinking cursor for a couple of seconds and then boots the HDD. I guess it may be an inconvenience I'll live with. At least my almost 7yr old laptop is still working fine and I now have a 250g HDD vs. the original 60g! :D

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Yeh, I've also tried from the Boot Menu and same result, goes to black screen, blinking cursor for a couple of seconds and then boots the HDD. I guess it may be an inconvenience I'll live with. At least my almost 7yr old laptop is still working fine and I now have a 250g HDD vs. the original 60g! :D

If the HD boots allright, you could add to your BOOT.INI an entry for grub4dos and from the latter try booting the CD (either by chainloading the CD bootsector or by-passing it and directly load the actual loader on the CD/DVD.

At least this way we could undestand if the actual optical drive is allright.

jaclaz

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we could undestand if the actual optical drive is allright.

from post #11 it seems clear the device is fine, because if I understand, he then just removed the HDD from the boot order, not from the installed devices, so both devices can coexist in peace. As well, once booted from HDD, the OS reads the optical disc fine.

Permanent workaround would be to use Grub4dos on an (old/cheap/small) USB drive for the occasional cd boot, via USB. That computer is ~2005~ish and surely boots USB.

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@ Ponch - You're right. I removed the HDD from the boot order and the OS reads the optical disk fine. I've heard of Grub4dos but not familiar. Also, I verified a while back that my Compaq laptop does not boot from USB. I actually bought in July/04. I did find at the same time that my HP Desktop bought in 2005 does boot from USB.

Am I pretty much left with removing the HDD from the boot order when I need to boot from the CD/DVD? If so, I'm sure I can live with that.

Mobes

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Well, adding grub4dos for tests consists in:

  1. writing one single line in BOOT.INI
  2. copying one single file to the ROOT of the hard disk

BOTH of the above can be "undone" at any moment.

IMHO not such a complex thing to try. ;)

I would be curious if grub4dos can detect the (cd) device.

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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1) copy the file GRLDR to the root of your active partition.

2) in boot.ini, add in [operating systems] list, the line

C:\grldr="Grub4Dos"

3) :angel yes I believe there is a 3)...also create a text file in the root of the active partition, rename it "menu.lst" and have it contain this:


timeout 1

title Boot CD/DVD
cdrom --init
map --hook
chainloader (cd0)
rootnoverify (cd0)

You might have to retry booting if "device is not ready".

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3) :angel yes I believe there is a 3)...also create a text file in the root of the active partition, rename it "menu.lst" and have it contain this:


timeout 1

title Boot CD/DVD
cdrom --init
map --hook
chainloader (cd0)
rootnoverify (cd0)

You might have to retry booting if "device is not ready".

You believe WRONG :ph34r:

The idea (mine at least ;)) is to NEVER use a pre-made menu.lst and ALWAYS use command line when experimenting.

In any case the syntax used in that menu.lst is deprecated or plainly wrong (since a couple of years or more) and Mobes omitted to say WHERE he got grub4dos from and the EXACT version he found.

Normally if a CD/DVD is present grub4dos will find it and map it as "(cd)" (and NOT as "(cd0)") device WITHOUT needing to use cdrom --init.

In any case get latest from here:

http://code.google.com/p/grub4dos-chenall/downloads/list

Forget the menu.lst!

Add the:

C:\grldr="Grub4Dos"

to boot.ini.

Boot and choose the grub4dos option.

At the prompt type:

find (

and press the [TAB] key.

WHICH devices are listed?

Explanation: menu.lst is nothing but a sort of simple batch file, it is used to repeat a set of commands that you have already tested successfully on the command line.

jaclaz

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menu.lst is nothing but a sort of simple batch file, it is used to repeat a set of commands that you have already tested successfully on the command line.

I did. This was just a quick example that worked for me and I made it as short as possible. If you prefer him to wait (at the command line) for your instructions, fine with me.

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I did. This was just a quick example that worked for me and I made it as short as possible. If you prefer him to wait (at the command line) for your instructions, fine with me.

Well, you seem like thinking that the given advice was a form of sadism (having Mobes waiting at the command line for no apparetn reason :ph34r: ).

I was actually trying to explain :) how when you do experiments :thumbup you need control on what you are doing.

As said the cdrom --init is deprecated, in most cases unneeded and in a few counterproductive.

No matter whether it (or another pre-made menu.lst entry will work or not) you don't really know what happens as in case of success you don't know what happened, and in case of failure you cannot see what has gone wrong (if not last error).

By going line by line you get feedback from grub4dos and by using this feedback you can decide what instruction to give it on next line, and you will have (when actually a feedback is generated) the exact feedback for that given command.

A "correct" menu.lst (as simple as possible) entry to boot from CD - we are talking here of a "normal" bootable CD with a "known" filesystem - would be (for the record):

title Boot CD/DVD
root (cd)
chainloader

If you run the above with a number of assorted CD's on a "normally" working machine, it will succeeed in, say, 99% of the cases.

In the 1% of cases where it will fail, 20% (say) of the cases will be related to a non bootable CD (chainloader failing).

The remaining 80% (still say) will be related to the root not being established properly, but you will see the SAME error message as the above.

Whether the (cd) device will be available, or we will need anyway a cdrom --init (and possibly needing to --add-io-ports) or not is exactly (in my perverted mind ;)) the scope of the test.

jaclaz

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Thanks Guys,

I had downloaded Grub4DOS from Sourceforge. I knew I should have asked! Anyway, I've downloaded Grub4dos 4.5b from the link provided. Just to clarify, I also copied grldr to C:\ correct?

Also, I copiedC:\grldr="Grub4Dos"to the boot.ini. I assume when I reboot it should give the option of booting to Win XP or to Grub4Dos, right? When I try to save boot.ini I get an error "cannot create boot ini". I've made changes before to boot.ini previously and have not seen this come up. I'm sure it's just something I'm missing.

Pls advise. If everything else looks good, I'll give it a go!

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Just to clarify, I also copied grldr to C:\ correct?

Also, I copiedC:\grldr="Grub4Dos"to the boot.ini. I assume when I reboot it should give the option of booting to Win XP or to Grub4Dos, right?

Yep. :)

When I try to save boot.ini I get an error "cannot create boot ini". I've made changes before to boot.ini previously and have not seen this come up. I'm sure it's just something I'm missing.

Pls advise. If everything else looks good, I'll give it a go!

BOOT.INI is "by default":

  • hidden
  • system
  • read only

A number of utilities will re-set these attributes, it is very possible that after you edited it (some time ago) you used "something else" that has reset (all or part of) these attributes.

Here:

http://thpc.info/how/editbootini.html

jaclaz

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Ok. Got boot.ini modified :D I rebooted and selected Grub4Dos and at Command, typed Find ( and pressed Tab and got the following:

Possible Disks hd0 rd. Only the HDD was listed.

Good (which means bad). :(

Now try the:

cdrom --init

[ENTER]

you should have some feedback (post it)

map --hook

[ENTER]

(no feedback on this one)

then again the:

find (

[TAB]

or

root (

[TAB]

if the cd is detected, than it should be be listed as (cd0).

If it is, then cancel the above line and go on with:

root (cd0)

[ENTER]

You should have some feedback about the actual CD, then

chainloader

[ENTER]

Cannot remember if you'll get feedback, I seem to remember yes :unsure: , something like "Will boot...."

then:

boot

[ENTER]

And this would also mean that (by sheer luck ;)) Ponch was right. :angel

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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