Used P4SD or Compaq d530 won't read any disk

I bought a used Asus P4SD made for Compaq d530. I hooked it all up, checking with each step. Finally I was ready to run it. I turned it ON, It did automatic configuration. It read the memory and the hard disk type and size. I got an HP splash screen and selected boot menu. The boot menu gave me a choice of USB, Drive C: or network. I had a Windows XP Pro syste on the C: drive. I selected drive C: and got "read error" hit ctrl-alt-del to try again. That is as far as I could get. I tried floppy drive, cdrom drive nothing. Bios reads the floppy or the cdrom type, but will not read data.
I complained to the guy who sold it to me, so he sent me another. It did the exact same thing. I tried different cables-nothing. BIOS set up is all automated, it won't let me in to change anything. I cannot update bios if I cannot get it to read a disk!
Any help would be appreciated.

benrath

 

Hi Benrath,
Welcome to BBS
Since you can get in to bios have you tried to reset the bios?
This can usually be done by shorting the clrcmos jumper on the motherboard itself!, do this only when you have the power disconnected from the power supply (on & Off, either use a jumper block or anything else metalic not magnetic you can think of) or by pressing & holding the power power button for around 2 minutes (again with the power disconnected)
Once you have done this then power up the machine, it should ask you to enter bios & set it or press f1 to continue (enter Bios)
Try this then post back the results, if you are unsure of where to find the clrcmos jumper search the hardware maanual on the Asus site or follow the 2nd option
Regards Jac

 

Jac,
This board has a clear switch which I used. I also removed the battery and shorted out the terminals for a log time (hours). All I got was a cleared cmos. When I turned it ON again, it auto configured then same old story read error. The documentation for the d530 said a previous good copy of bios is saved and reloaded if turned on, then quickly turned off by holding the power buton closed. I did that. It changed nothing.

 

Hi Again,
Which particular model of the motherboard do you have, in general the user manuals are the same for multiple model boards, asus has 2 models & hp has 6 p4sd is the generic model name, there should be a way to disable the Bios Auto Configuration
Jac

 

Jacrabbit, I slowed down the cdrom data interface so the disk will be read. Next, I looked at the hdd configuration. It was set at bit shift for the offset. I changed it to LBA and it worked good enough to reformat the hdd. Luckily, there was nothing on it. I also used brand new cables. So it works! Thanks for the encouragement to stick with it.
benrath

 

Good to hear Benrath, I have played with half a dozen or so HP's and never came across the auto configuration problem.

Cheers Jac

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