Invalid sytem disk

My system starts to bootup and it stops with an error message of.... "Invalid system disk, replace the disk, and then press any key ".
What does this mean. It booted to a disk in my DVD burner, but it was blank. No other disks in the other two drives. I power off and on, and it says the same. Please help me!

Windows XP

 

Hello rgn,

What happens if you take out the blank disc?

What's your BIOS boot order?

 

Same thing happens with or without a disk in the drive. I tried to boot to the system disk, same thing....error message.
I don't know what the boot order is or how to find out.
Bob

 

Hi Bob,

It depends on what brand computer. On a Dell the way to get into the BIOS is to tap the Delete key on boot up.

Starting to sound like there is something wrong with the C drive. There may be something wrong with the boot record(s) or a hardware failure.

Do you have a XP CD? If so, have you tried to boot into the system using it?

 

I think I have all the disks from Dell. Pretty sure I have a recovery disk. I have a XP disk from my Gateway. Would that work? I tried to boot from the recovery disk, but it didn't work. Just the same error message. I've been having issues with this system, so your probably right, it's in the "C" drive. I had the "Blue Screen ", a little while back. Would like to do a file recovery some how. Would re-installing windows wipe out the hard drive? Might be better off bringing it in for a recovery.

 

rgn

Is this computer under warranty / customer support?
If yes, I think you should contact customer support and let them guide you. This way they can determine if you have a hardware problem and they can fix it.

 

Yes, it would tell you if the C drive is bootable at all.

Yes it would. Unless you have your data backed up, you'll loose it.

At this point I'd take Dennis's advice if that's possible or to a shop.

 

No, it's about 5 yrs old. Could I try it as a slave drive?

 

Yes if you can hook it up to another computer. You mentioned a Gateway.

 

NO !!!!

Not if you boot from something other than the HD to do the install. And make sure the the new install goes into the the existing directory.

BillyBob

 

If I use it as a slave, and I don't see anything from the slave drive, does that mean it's toast?

 

It would mean your chances are slim at recovering any data without having some expert (expensive) help. What that would be telling you is that it wasn't the Windows operating system that failed, it was the hard drive or the file table that went south.

Aside from that, you could have a loose or defective IDE cable or even a bad MOBO.

Slaving it will help diagnose the problem.

It would also be helpful if you could get into the BIOS setup and see if the settings are intact. While there you can set the boot order for allowing the CD drive to be polled first before the HD.

If you can verify that the boot sequence is set to boot the CD first and it still won't boot to the XP install CD, it will mean that there is a problem with the BIOS or other MOBO issues.

 

I'm not sure about that Dell (you did say Dell Right?) Five year old Dell might not have this ability yet.

During boot up when the Dell logo appears hit Ctrl and F8, it should go to recovery mode. Hit F8 only once. I don't remember when recovery was installed in all Dell computers.

If it has recovery, it will restore the computer to the when shipped date.

It might be Ctrl + F11, I need to look it up. It was in all Dimension computers made in 2004 and some upper end Dells prior to that date.

 

I found the problem! It very embarrassing! My daughter left a floppy in the drive. I didn't see it, until I stopped at Best Buy for a new HD. Had it all undone and, I was outside with my can of clean air, to get the dust bunny's out of the box. That's when I saw the disk in the floppy drive. OH MY GOD!! I never use floppy's! In fact, I forgot I even had one. Sorry for all this! But, all is well again.
Thanks everyone!
Bob

 

Bob, I've done dumber things but I generally manage to lie out of it.

Thanks for the feedback so that other can benefit from your experience.

 

Hi Bob,

Glad that's all it was We've all been there

You could change the BIOS boot order to bypass the floppy and keep the ROM as the first boot device - doubt very much you'll ever need to use it as a boot device. As you wrote, you even forgot you had one.

 

That would be a good idea, except, I don't know when my daughter might need to use it again. I will share my experience with her!

Thanks again for all the help!
Bob

 

Hi Bob,

Taking out the floppy from the boot order would not affect anyone's use.

The system just wouldn't look for a disk in the floppy on boot up.

 

How do I change the boot sequence?

 

Different way on different computers. It's a matter of pressing the proper key during the early bootup period while the initial POST logo is on the screen. Choose from the following:

del during boot AMI, Award
Esc during boot Toshiba
F1 during boot Toshiba; Phoenix; Late model PS/1 Value Point and 330s
F2 during boot NEC
F10 when square in top RH corner of screen Compaq
Ins during boot IBM PS/2s w/ Reference Partition
Reset twice Some Dells
Alt Enter Dell
Alt ? some PS/2s
Ctrl-Esc General
Ctrl Ins some PS/2s when pointer at top right of screen
Ctrl Alt Esc AST Advantage, Award, Tandon
Ctrl Alt + General
Ctrl Alt S Phoenix
Ctrl Alt Ins Zenith, Phoenix
Ctrl S Phoenix
Ctrl Shift Esc Tandon 386
Shift Ctrl Alt + Num Pad del Olivetti PC Pro

Try F1 first and if no joy, try Delete. Those are the most common. Sometimes it will be indicated on the boot screen as to which key is needed.

After you manage to get into the Setup routine, look for a heading named BOOT or similar. Follow the screen directions for changing the boot sequence to CD/HD/Floppy.