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Booting Without the Removable Hard Drive
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Booting Without the Removable Hard Drive
Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 4:32 pm
Posted by Dewey Nelson (231 messages posted)

I have a removable hard drive (D:/) that I backup my primary Hard drive (C:) to and 
then remove the hard Drive and store in a fire proof safe until next time.

I just replaced my primary Hard Drive (C:\) with a larger Hard Drive and now I am 
not able to boot unless I have my removable hard drive in the computer.  The computer 
merely comes up with a IBM Aptive Icon type screen (as it always has/does and where 
I can press F1 to change the BIOS),  but it just hangs on this screen.

I'm confused and hope someone can steer me in the right direction.  Thanks a mil, 
 Dewey

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re: Booting Without the Removable Hard Drive
Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 5:02 pm
Posted by Fed-up (219 messages posted)

Weird.  Are you able to get into the BIOS?  Perhaps the removable drive is listed 
in the boot sequence ahead of your hard drive, or perhaps your new HD is not recognized 
at all, so it can't boot?

Have you been able to boot up and use the new HD?






On Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 4:32 pm, Dewey Nelson wrote:
>I have a removable hard drive (D:/) that I backup my primary Hard drive (C:) to and
>then remove the hard Drive and store in a fire proof safe until next time.
>
>I just replaced my primary Hard Drive (C:\) with a larger Hard Drive and now I am
>not able to boot unless I have my removable hard drive in the computer. The computer
>merely comes up with a IBM Aptive Icon type screen (as it always has/does and where
>I can press F1 to change the BIOS), but it just hangs on this screen.
>
>I'm confused and hope someone can steer me in the right direction. Thanks a mil,
> Dewey

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re: Booting Without the Removable Hard Drive
Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 5:11 pm
Posted by Dewey Nelson (231 messages posted)

After I boot with the removable hard drive in place, my C:\ & D:\ hard drives are 
properly designated as confirmed by the correct size listed.

Hmmmmmm, Dewey






On Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 5:02 pm, Fed-up wrote:
>Weird. Are you able to get into the BIOS? Perhaps the removable drive is listed
>in the boot sequence ahead of your hard drive, or perhaps your new HD is not recognized
>at all, so it can't boot?
>
>Have you been able to boot up and use the new HD?
>
>
>

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Fed-up is talking about *Boot Precedence*
Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 6:00 pm
Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted)

||Are you able to get into the BIOS?
|| Fed-up
||
He means "Are you able to get into CMOS?"
See below.

||Perhaps the removable drive
||is listed in the boot sequence ahead of your hard drive,
||or perhaps your new HD is not recognized at all,
||so it can't boot?
||
I think the boy is onto something there
(though he didn't explain it so you could catch it).

|After I boot with the removable hard drive in place,
|my C:\ & D:\ hard drives are properly designated
|as confirmed by the correct size listed.
| Dewey Nelson
|
When the computer starts,
there will be a message displayed that says something like
**Hit F2 to enter Setup.**

Do what it says.

You will have to find the place in the CMOS configuration that specifies Boot Precedence 
(probably called something very different).
Tell it to look at the C: drive FIRST when looking for an operating system.

Fed-up is saying that C: isn't 1st on the list
or maybe isn't on the list at all.

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re: Fed-up is talking about *Boot Precedence*
Friday, January 7, 2005 at 4:05 am
Posted by Fed-up (219 messages posted)

Yep.  I did it.  *smacking head against table*

I have committed the unpardonable sin on help forums - assuing advanced knowledge 
and as a result, giving a cryptic reply.

Okay, let's try again.  Your computer has settings that are in the hardware, completely 
independent of the operating system.  There is a chip on your motherboard that holds 
a very basic computer program that tells your hardware how to operate - without this 
you'll never see Windows.  (Well, that might not be a bad thing, but you'd never 
see Linux, either!  Now, THAT would be bad!)

This is called the Basic Input Output System, or BIOS.  That's where you go when 
you hit F2 - you get access to the BIOS settings.  (Sometimes called CMOS, because 
it's at the hardware, or chip, level.)

In those settings you can tell your computer to look for various boot devices, and 
you can specify the order.  A boot device is any drive that can contain bootable 
information.  That would include floppy drives, CD-ROMs, and hard drives.

If your main hard drive is not in that list, your computer won't boot from it.  If 
it's in the wrong order, it should still boot from it if there are no other bootable 
drives available.  For example, if your boot order is:

Floppy
CD-ROM
Hard drive

And there is no disk in the floppy drive or CD-ROM, you'll boot from the HD.   (That's 
the normal boot order, BTW.)

So check what your boot order is, and do come back and tell us what you find.





On Thursday, January 6, 2005 at 6:00 pm, gewg_ wrote:
>||Are you able to get into the BIOS?
>|| Fed-up
>||
>He means "Are you able to get into CMOS?"
>See below.
>
>||Perhaps the removable drive
>||is listed in the boot sequence ahead of your hard drive,
>||or perhaps your new HD is not recognized at all,
>||so it can't boot?
>||
>I think the boy is onto something there
>(though he didn't explain it so you could catch it).
>
>|After I boot with the removable hard drive in place,
>|my C:\ & D:\ hard drives are properly designated
>|as confirmed by the correct size listed.
>| Dewey Nelson
>|
>When the computer starts,
>there will be a message displayed that says something like
>**Hit F2 to enter Setup.**
>
>Do what it says.
>
>You will have to find the place in the CMOS configuration that specifies Boot Precedence
>(probably called something very different).
>Tell it to look at the C: drive FIRST when looking for an operating system.
>
>Fed-up is saying that C: isn't 1st on the list
>or maybe isn't on the list at all.

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re: Fed-up is talking about *Boot Precedence*
Friday, January 7, 2005 at 4:03 pm
Posted by Dewey Nelson (231 messages posted)

Hi Guys,

When I check the BIOS I find place where you can set the sequence of checking which 
drive to check in what sequence.  So mine was and still is listed as: 1)Check A:\ 
Drive;2) check CD; and 3) check Hard Drive.  However it doesn't say which hard drive 
and the computer checks my D:\ drive rather than my C:\.  Once I'm up and running 
the C:\ drive is dong all the work and recording all the new info.

Since I had used Drive Image 2002 to create a new bootable and larger hard drive 
I have asked them for help too, but so far no solutions.  I'll keep trying on my 
own--you never know what I'll stumble on to!!

Thanks for your interest!!!!!   Dewey


Message-ID: 






On Friday, January 7, 2005 at 4:05 am, Fed-up wrote:
>Yep. I did it. *smacking head against table*
>
>I have committed the unpardonable sin on help forums - assuing advanced knowledge
>and as a result, giving a cryptic reply.
>
>Okay, let's try again. Your computer has settings that are in the hardware, completely
>independent of the operating system. There is a chip on your motherboard that holds
>a very basic computer program that tells your hardware how to operate - without this
>you'll never see Windows. (Well, that might not be a bad thing, but you'd never
>see Linux, either! Now, THAT would be bad!)
>
>This is called the Basic Input Output System, or BIOS. That's where you go when
>you hit F2 - you get access to the BIOS settings. (Sometimes called CMOS, because
>it's at the hardware, or chip, level.)
>
>In those settings you can tell your computer to look for various boot devices, and
>you can specify the order. A boot device is any drive that can contain bootable
>information. That would include floppy drives, CD-ROMs, and hard drives.
>
>If your main hard drive is not in that list, your computer won't boot from it. If
>it's in the wrong order, it should still boot from it if there are no other bootable
>drives available. For example, if your boot order is:
>
>Floppy
>CD-ROM
>Hard drive
>
>And there is no disk in the floppy drive or CD-ROM, you'll boot from the HD. (That's
>the normal boot order, BTW.)
>
>So check what your boot order is, and do come back and tell us what you find.
>
>

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re: Fed-up is talking about *Boot Precedence*
Friday, January 7, 2005 at 5:59 pm
Posted by gewg_ (4444 messages posted)

|mine was and still is listed as:
|1) Check A:;  2) check CD; and 3) check Hard Drive.
| Dewey Nelson
|
You're wasting time at boot spinning the floppy drive and the CD drive.
Now that you know how to change it when necessary
(and change it back), set it to HDD only.


|However it doesn't say which hard drive 
|and the computer checks my D:\ drive rather than my C:\.
|Once I'm up and running the C:\ drive is [doing] all the work
|and recording all the new info.
|
We're talking about 2 physical drives
--not 2 partitions on the same hard disk. Right?

Swap the cables to the 2 HDDs.

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re: Fed-up is talking about *Boot Precedence*
Saturday, January 8, 2005 at 1:50 pm
Posted by Dewey Nelson (231 messages posted)

Hi Again,

I had thought about swapping the cables, but being a stickler for what's the real 
cause (it worked before why not now) I did not swap the cables.  You motivated me 
to do that--quite a trick with the twisting of the flat cable, but I still had the 
same problem.

So, I thought it worked with the original hard drive, but not now, so what's the 
difference?  I had jumpered  the new hard drive the same way as the old hard drive 
and sure enough it was my new C;\ drive, but would not boot.  I thought, it must 
be the new hard drive and the only thing I could do was choose different pins to 
jumper.  So I did jumper the next set of pins over and the drive remained my C:\ 
drive and booted as well.  
:-))))

It sure is discouraging--not only did I waste a lot of my time, but I wasted your's 
and Drive Imagine's time too.  Thanks a mil for sticking with me--without this sounding 
board I'd be lost.  Dewey






On Friday, January 7, 2005 at 5:59 pm, gewg_ wrote:
>|mine was and still is listed as:
>|1) Check A:; 2) check CD; and 3) check Hard Drive.
>| Dewey Nelson
>|
>You're wasting time at boot spinning the floppy drive and the CD drive.
>Now that you know how to change it when necessary
>(and change it back), set it to HDD only.
>
>
>|However it doesn't say which hard drive
>|and the computer checks my D:\ drive rather than my C:\.
>|Once I'm up and running the C:\ drive is [doing] all the work
>|and recording all the new info.
>|
>We're talking about 2 physical drives
>--not 2 partitions on the same hard disk. Right?
>
>Swap the cables to the 2 HDDs.

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