No Boot Device Detected, Insert System Disk and Press F1 to Continue

This error is driving me crazy. I know there is something small I must have missed, but I can't think of it. Here's the situation.

I installed a new 500GB hard drive in my Dell Windows XP system as a slave. I also installed a 512MB memory chip to replace the 256MB that was there. Upon boot, I entered BIOS and made sure everything was recognized correctly and they were. I exited BIOS and went to Disk Management to initialize, format, and partition the new drive. Everything went smooth and the drive was left as one partition. I am able to access the drive and copy folders/files to it without a problem. There are no errors regarding the drive anywhere, including Device Manager.

Upon a reboot, I get the message about "No Boot Device... ". I Ctrl-Alt-Delete to get into BIOS and check all the settings. My boot order is Primary Hard Drive then Floppy then CD-ROM and then my second CD-ROM. The Hard Disk Boot Priority is Primary Master, Primary Slave, and then Bootable Add-in Cards. I exit BIOS and it boots normally.

Another restart and the same message. I can't get away from it. Since my other XP system has the same setup (2 hard drives), I checked the BIOS in that. It matches what I have on this system. And with no errors at boot.

I shut down and remove the new memory chip and disconnect the new drive. Upon booting, I get the same message. I also tried removing one new item at a time and I still get the same error message.

I have also tried resetting the BIOS settings to their default with no luck. Still the error message. For some reason, I am forced to enter BIOS to get the system started. I don't even have to change anything, just enter and then exit.

I'm not sure what to try next. I have added several slave drives before without any problems. I'm not sure what I missed this time. Any thoughts? TIA!

Mike

 

Not meaning to talk down, but we're going to assume this is an 80 wire IDE cable with 40 pin headers. First suggestion would be to rejumper both drives to cable select and then make sure your old drive (system) is on the terminating connector and the new drive is on the intermediate connector. Lets also confirm that you didn't reverse the cable - blue header connects to the motherboard. After re-jumpering, verify HDD Boot priority in the BIOS again and F10 to save settings. Any relief?

 

Rockster2U,

I knew I would leave out a bit of info. Both drives are IDE drives with the 40 pin, 80 wire cables. When I first installed the drive, both drives were set for cable select. I change both after trying other things and it made no difference. Since my original IDE cable was for one drive, I purchased a cable for two drives. The cable is well labeled and is connected as you suggest. Thanks for your thoughts and no need to apologize for anything. Any other thoughts?

Mike

 

Steve and Tony,

The drives are both Western Digital. I would give you the model numbers, but the system is booting normally now. I also changed the the jumpers to CS when I shut down to check the drives. I've booted the system a couple times and no error messages. I don't know why it stopped with the message nor do I know why having them on CS didn't work the first dozen times I booted the system (if the CS was the problem). As long as get the messages anymore. Thanks for the suggestions!

Mike

 

Nice to hear. The one's that were especially finicky were the older (pre-Hitachi) DeskStars which had to be CS.

 

I had a Deskstar drive once. I didn't like it. It died within a year of installation. The WD drives have never given me a problem so I stick with them now.

 

Go figure. The problem is back. Here are the drives that I have:

Western Digital WD2000JB (main)
Western Digital WD5000AAKB (new)

Any thoughts? Could this be a cable problem? I bought a new round cable because the original could only handle one drive. I rechecked all the connections and in BIOS. Everything is tight and shows up correctly. Not sure what to check now. Thanks.

Mike

 

Tony,

No go. Same results. It's strange that this setup will work on one Dell, but not the other.

Mike

 

Was Windows ever installed onto a drive other than C:? I might wonder if the boot files are on the "primary" drive, but they don't point to the C: drive or the C: drive is changed to another letter when the second HDD is added. The boot files will be on the C: drive and point to the drive where Windows is located.

Mike, you might want to get the Ultimate Boot Disk for Windows (UBD4W). It is a big download. When it loads it should tell you which drive letter is which. [It's a handy tool to have anyway.]

Look around in the BIOS (or read in the manual) if there is a way to "identify hard disk drives ". Branded computers use a "quick boot" system, where they just load the last known hardware configuration. If a new HDD is added, it might confuse the BIOS unless you make it actually identify the new HDD.

Dell have a "hidden" DOS utility drive on their factory/original HDD. That might cause a problem if the boot HDD is a factory set up.

The system wants to find the boot files on the C: drive, that is, Drive 0 on the primary IDE controller. Look at why it can't find them.

Matt

 

Definitely food for thought. I believe the older Dells (don't know the age of this puppy) also had configuration information stored on the board which sometimes required a jumper change to release. While I don't know much about this and haven't researched it, I remember encountering similar issues many moons ago but it manifested itself more in not being able to consistantly recognize a second (not primary) HDD. You may find relief by heading into the BIOS and re-detecting both drives but if my memory serves me correctly, there was a seperate (call it "holding area" for lack of proper terminology).

 

mattman & Rockster2U,

No, my C: drive is the only drive with Windows on it. Once in Windows, I let it format and initialize the new drive for use. As far as the drive letters, everything stayed the same and the new drive was given the next available letter. This "puppy" 6 1/2 years old. Wow, typing that makes me realize how fast time is flying by! Although the drives are fully, and correctly, identified in BIOS, I have re-detected them several times with no change. I have the new drive listed 4th in order of start up drives. I have also not listed it in the order. The hard drive priority lists the new drive as second and the original drive as first. Although I have been through every setting in the BIOS, I will check again because you never know if I missed something. The main drive is listed as Disk 0 and the new is Disk 1. I will also check through my other Dell's, a 2400, BIOS and see if I see a difference there. As you remember, that system also has a slave drive and has no problems booting.

Do you have a link for the UBD4W? I'd rather go to a trusted site instead of just picking one. I will try that if you still think I should.

Mike

 

Oops, it's the "UBCD4Win ".
http://www.ubcd4win.com/downloads.htm
How to build
http://www.ubcd4win.com/howto.htm

 

Dare I say this.....

Well, I think it's fixed. After comparing the BIOS in my two systems, there was one thing that was different. Under IDE Configuration on the "working" system, the IDE Primary Slave was listed as None. I checked the problem system and it was set to Auto. I changed to None and have had no problems with the start up yet. I have shut down and started the system 4 times with out a hitch. Hopefully, that was all that was needed. I'll post back if that didn't help. Thanks for the suggestions!

Mike

 

mattman,

Thanks for the links!

 

Yes, you should get that boot disk, very handy.

Sounds good that it seems to be working now.

Matt