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"Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
news: m...
>I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it, boots from
>hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized so apparently there
>is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't know what is causing this.
>The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.


Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or the CD is
not bootable.

Edwin Sineath Inscribed thus:

> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>> news: m...
>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it,
>>> boots from
>>> hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized so
>>> apparently there
>>> is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't know what is causing
>>> this. The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.
>>
>>
>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or
>> the CD is not bootable.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by
> putting
> it in another computer. Now when the computer tries to boot this CD,
> I
> get a checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If there's something wrong
> with the CD, why will it work on another computer? BTW, I tried
> another live-install CD (one that I know works, have used it to
> install an OS) on this same computer and it also wouldn't boot and
> gave the checksum error.

In that case the CD drive is suspect !

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

"Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
news: m...
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>> news: m...
>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it, boots
>>> from hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized so
>>> apparently there is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't know what
>>> is causing this. The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.
>>
>>
>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or the CD
>> is not bootable.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by putting it
> in another computer. Now when the computer tries to boot this CD, I get a
> checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If there's something wrong with the
> CD, why will it work on another computer? BTW, I tried another
> live-install CD (one that I know works, have used it to install an OS) on
> this same computer and it also wouldn't boot and gave the checksum error.


Then the CD drive is toast.

Boot the machine to the HDD, then put the CD in. If the drive works, the CD
should start by itself. If the drive is toast, then the CD won't run and the
checksum error should come up.

Edwin Sineath Inscribed thus:

> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>> news: m...
>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>>>> news: m...
>>>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it,
>>>>> boots
>>>>> from hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized so
>>>>> apparently there is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't
>>>>> know what is causing this. The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.
>>>>
>>>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or
>>>> the CD is not bootable.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by
>>> putting it
>>> in another computer. Now when the computer tries to boot this CD, I
>>> get a
>>> checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If there's something wrong
>>> with the
>>> CD, why will it work on another computer? BTW, I tried another
>>> live-install CD (one that I know works, have used it to install an
>>> OS) on this same computer and it also wouldn't boot and gave the
>>> checksum error.
>>
>>
>> Then the CD drive is toast.
>>
>> Boot the machine to the HDD, then put the CD in. If the drive works,
>> the CD should start by itself. If the drive is toast, then the CD
>> won't run and the checksum error should come up.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> OK. Did that. The CD shows up. Auto-mounts and I can see what's on
> it. This is really strange behavior, isn't it?

Mmm ! Delete the CD drive from the hardware list and let Windows
re-detect it.

Dirt, fluff etc can cause strange errors from a CD/DVD drive. Really it
depends upon whether you want to take it apart and clean it or spend
£30 on a new one.

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

Edwin Sineath wrote:
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>> news: m...
>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>>>> news: m...
>>>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it,
>>>>> boots from hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is
>>>>> recognized so apparently there is nothing wrong with the drive. But I
>>>>> don't know what is causing this. The BIOS is set to boot
>>>>> from CD first.
>>>>
>>>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or
>>>> the CD is not bootable.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by
>>> putting it in another computer. Now when the computer tries to
>>> boot this CD, I get a checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If
>>> there's something wrong with the CD, why will it work on another
>>> computer? BTW, I tried another live-install CD (one that I know
>>> works, have used it to install an OS) on this same computer and it
>>> also wouldn't boot and gave the checksum error.
>>
>>
>> Then the CD drive is toast.
>>
>> Boot the machine to the HDD, then put the CD in. If the drive works,
>> the CD should start by itself. If the drive is toast, then the CD
>> won't run and the checksum error should come up.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> OK. Did that. The CD shows up. Auto-mounts and I can see what's on
> it. This is really strange behavior, isn't it?

Not really, it could either be the drive or the actual CD but it's
definately one or the other, most likely the drive.
Just because you can browse the contents of the CD on that machine it
doesn't follow that it will boot from the same CD, the drive needs to read
the data on the drive accurately for that.
If you have a spare drive try it, if not optical drives are very cheap.

Edwin Sineath wrote:
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>> news: m...
>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>>>> news: m...
>>>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it,
>>>>> boots from hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized
>>>>> so apparently there is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't
>>>>> know what is causing this. The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.
>>>>
>>>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or
>>>> the CD is not bootable.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by
>>> putting it in another computer. Now when the computer tries to boot
>>> this CD, I get a checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If there's
>>> something wrong with the CD, why will it work on another computer?
>>> BTW, I tried another live-install CD (one that I know works, have
>>> used it to install an OS) on this same computer and it also wouldn't
>>> boot and gave the checksum error.
>>
>>
>> Then the CD drive is toast.
>>
>> Boot the machine to the HDD, then put the CD in. If the drive works,
>> the CD should start by itself. If the drive is toast, then the CD
>> won't run and the checksum error should come up.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> OK. Did that. The CD shows up. Auto-mounts and I can see what's on
> it. This is really strange behavior, isn't it?

Can you do a bad block scan on a CD drive ?

OK, I went through my software, and "Nero CD/DVD Speed 4.7.7.13"
has a "ScanDisc" option, to check for bad blocks. I dropped in
a DVD 9 disc into my drive, and as I'm typing, it is checking
for bad blocks.

There are some versions of that tool available for download.

http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads...d_4.7.5.0.html

Paul

My thoughts:
Is the LiveCD loading a DVD/CD driver ? or just a CD driver ?
I know I've tried to boot an old CD ( Win98 ? WinXP install CD) and noticed
that it failed when it got to " loading OAKCDROM" - then got 'no such
device', BECAUSE it was an old CD driver - not a driver for DVD device.
Check startup for
DEVICE=OAKCDROM.SYS /D:OEMCD001.
if so, change that line / file to be a DVD driver for your device. Right
now, it loads for a CD drive, then after polling gets a response for a DVD
drive and has no idea what " THAT" is.
( With Windows UP, using windows driver and Windows driver knows what a DVD
is)

>>>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>>>> news: m...
>>>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it, boots
>>>>> from hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized so
>>>>> apparently there is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't know
>>>>> what is causing this. The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.
>>>>
>>>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or the
>>>> CD is not bootable.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by putting
>>> it in another computer. Now when the computer tries to boot this CD, I
>>> get a checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If there's something wrong
>>> with the CD, why will it work on another computer? BTW, I tried another
>>> live-install CD (one that I know works, have used it to install an OS)
>>> on this same computer and it also wouldn't boot and gave the checksum
>>> error.
>>
>>
>> Then the CD drive is toast.
>>
>> Boot the machine to the HDD, then put the CD in. If the drive works, the
>> CD should start by itself. If the drive is toast, then the CD won't run
>> and the checksum error should come up.
>>
> OK. Did that. The CD shows up. Auto-mounts and I can see what's on it.
> This is really strange behavior, isn't it?

"Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
news:qqednaToP-...
> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>> news: m...
>>> Jeff Strickland wrote:
>>>> "Edwin Sineath" <> wrote in message
>>>> news: m...
>>>>> I put in a live CD to boot from, computer doesn't boot from it, boots
>>>>> from hard drive. But once it boots up, the CD is recognized so
>>>>> apparently there is nothing wrong with the drive. But I don't know
>>>>> what is causing this. The BIOS is set to boot from CD first.
>>>>
>>>> Either the boot priority does not list the CD ahead of the HDD, or the
>>>> CD is not bootable.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>> OK, fixed boot priority and verified that the CD is bootable by putting
>>> it in another computer. Now when the computer tries to boot this CD, I
>>> get a checksum error, and it doesn't boot. If there's something wrong
>>> with the CD, why will it work on another computer? BTW, I tried another
>>> live-install CD (one that I know works, have used it to install an OS)
>>> on this same computer and it also wouldn't boot and gave the checksum
>>> error.
>>
>>
>> Then the CD drive is toast.
>>
>> Boot the machine to the HDD, then put the CD in. If the drive works, the
>> CD should start by itself. If the drive is toast, then the CD won't run
>> and the checksum error should come up.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> OK. Did that. The CD shows up. Auto-mounts and I can see what's on it.
> This is really strange behavior, isn't it?


Not that strange.

A bootable CD has a boot sector, much the same as the boot sector on the
HDD. When you bring up the machine, the BIOS looks to see if the CD drive is
loaded, and if YES, then it looks for a boot sector. If NO, then Bios moves
on to the HDD, if YES, then the CD drive reads the boot information and life
goes on.

When the boot information is corrupted, the CD will not start the machine.
If the boot information works in one machine (CD drive), but not another,
then the head alignment on the drive that fails is maladjusted, or the drive
is defective.

If the boot sector on the CD was bad, then the CD would not boot any
machine, but if the drive was having a problem, then the boot sector coule
be read on some drives but not others.

Just because you replaced the drive does not automatically fix the issue,
you have to load the correct drivers for the new hardware. If you drug an
old drive out of the closet, then you will have to find a driver for it for
the current OS. Let's say that you had an old drive from a Win98 machine,
and wanted to use it on Win7. The drivers from 98 won't work, and there is
likely no driver to support it for Win7.

It sounds as if you have a CD that works minimally, it can read -- and maybe
write, but we have not gone down that road yet -- when a CD is put into the
tray, but can't read a boot sector. The Boot Sector of a CD is in the very
inside track. All CDs write from the center to the outside, which is why
those small CDs work, by the way. So, you have a drive that can't get all of
the way to the inside track(s), and you replaced it with one that you may
not have the correct drivers to support it.