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Thread ID: 73568	2006-10-25 02:34:00	Boot Up Question	Heather (11345)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
493829	2006-10-25 02:34:00	Hi All! I would like to pick your brains, if I may! Was working on a friends computer yesterday and noticed it is extremely slow to start up. It wants to boot up from the cd-rom (no disc in it) and spends a long time trying to start, my friend has found she needs to press a button on the cd-rom and then the computer seems to switch to booting up from the hard drive. Now my question, I know how to go into the Bios to change the boot up sequence, is it the norm for PCs to boot up from the HD. I would change it for her but didn't want to change anything unless I was sure it was ok. Also is there anything else I can do for her, to speed up the boot up process? Thanks, Heather	Heather (11345)
493830	2006-10-25 03:46:00	Hi Heather and welcome to PressF1! I always setup my machines to boot from the HDD first. Not very often you need to boot from another device first. A lot of machines now have an option to push something like F2 or ESC to choose a different boot device anyway.	CYaBro (73)
493831	2006-10-25 08:57:00	The boot order should not make any significant difference to the time taken to boot. I wonder if there is an incorrect setting in the CMOS? Usually it is fairly safe to reset to the defaults which may fix the problem?	johnd (85)
493832	2006-10-25 16:18:00	as you know how to enter the bios and change the boot order just do so ....theres no possible damage you can do......i often change boot order on machines i'm fixing to boot from cd for various reasons and this usually does not in any way appreciably slow the boot process....perhaps her cdrom isn't too healthy ?.......anyway change it to boot from Hdd first that's standard anyway...	drcspy (146)
493833	2006-10-25 16:25:00	I personally allow the instruction in my BIOS to look for a cd first and then go to the next . . which is my root harddrive with my Windows opsys on it . There are times when I want to boot from a cd to run a live version of something, and rebooting back to the BIOS just for that one time is a lot of time waste and trouble to me . So . . . I just let the BIOS search if I have a cd installed first, then go to the next likely place to find something to run . It works for me . I leave it that way for . . . just in case . I also have Ubuntu installed in the same drive as XCP-Pro via grub installer (a Linux device), and so far no real problems . (OK . . . I had that tiny, little problem at first where grub removed and reformatted too many of my hdds . . . but that is all fixed . . . . I don't know how I did it . . . fools and their tribulations!) .	SurferJoe46 (51)
493834	2006-10-25 20:04:00	I suspect that your friends computer may be a reasonably old one so perhaps the owner is lucky enough to have a floppy drive ('a' drive). All my computers have had floppies and the boot order on all has been the 'a' drive first. This is very useful if ever you run into bad problems and need to use a rescue disk in the 'a' drive. This advice will probably result in replies noting that I am a nutter. Agreed. No conflict. But those who reckon its bad advice generally have up to date machines and probably lots of experience and knowledge. For the rest of us a floppy drive is very handy. I noticed the other day in one of our accessory shops that floppy drives were on sale as an extra for your existing computer. Tom	Thomas01 (317)
493835	2006-10-25 23:47:00	I suspect that your friends computer may be a reasonably old one so perhaps the owner is lucky enough to have a floppy drive ('a' drive) . All my computers have had floppies and the boot order on all has been the 'a' drive first . This is very useful if ever you run into bad problems and need to use a rescue disk in the 'a' drive . This advice will probably result in replies noting that I am a nutter . Agreed . No conflict . But those who reckon its bad advice generally have up to date machines and probably lots of experience and knowledge . For the rest of us a floppy drive is very handy . I noticed the other day in one of our accessory shops that floppy drives were on sale as an extra for your existing computer . Tom What do you consider "old" in computer-ise? No, Thomas . . . I am running a pretty edgey computer with a fairly fast processor, lots of HDDs (8 - 200g, 1-40g root) and somewhat fast vid and sound cards etc . . . and I have both an A and a B drive, for a total count of 14 drives . . . none made by partitioning an existing hdd . I just don't use the processor and drives for gaming . . . I collect videos and mp3's . Floppies are good . . . albeit very dated and not available on most of the newer stuff; of that, I agree . Sad to say that is a short-sightedness by manufactureres to not include one for peace of mind for when things go thump in the night . If I were stuck with a newer tower without a floppy, I'd sure as heck install one anyway . I don't have an everyday need for one . . . but when I do . . . I am happy I have it . But I am old and not wont to learn to get along without the things of which I am used to using . Funny enough, I also have an old Iomega Zip-Drive installed for those times when I want to use it . . . not good for booting . . . or is it? Hmmmmm . Next thing I want to try is a USB Lexar Firefly with 98SE on it for those "other repairs" . Just not enough hours in the month for all the stuff I want to do . . . and besides, I am going trout fishing tomorrow in the local mountains for rainbows .	SurferJoe46 (51)
493836	2006-10-26 01:30:00	Hi All! I would like to pick your brains, if I may! . . . ything else I can do for her, to speed up the boot up process? Thanks, Heather Wish I could pick my brains, I'd pick a better one than this .	R2x1 (4628)
493837	2006-10-26 04:03:00	Making a comment like "Floppies are good" is like a red rag to a bull for me! Floppies are ancient technology, slow and unreliable. By the time you might need one to recover with, it is unusable for whatever reason. Manufacturers are doing the correct thing by retiring the ailing beast! What can't you do instead with a pen drive or CD-R? For recovery the tool of choice is Knoppix on a CD - does heaps more than a boot floppy ever could!	johnd (85)
493838	2006-10-26 08:57:00	Making a comment like "Floppies are good" is like a red rag to a bull for me! Floppies are ancient technology, slow and unreliable. By the time you might need one to recover with, it is unusable for whatever reason. Manufacturers are doing the correct thing by retiring the ailing beast! What can't you do instead with a pen drive or CD-R? For recovery the tool of choice is Knoppix on a CD - does heaps more than a boot floppy ever could! Yeah I more or less agree - but I have had so many problems with CDs especially rewritables (should be made illegal!) that comments about the unreliability of floppies sends me into gales of laughter. How many remember the good old days of DOS when Nortons could actually repair a defective floppy. It really worked too. And as for speed - well so often I have dropped a floppy in the drive and copied files to it in less time than it takes my CD drive to realise there is something in it and it is expected to wake up. Mind you if you have lots of files then the CD is superior. But I wonder if I am just unlucky or does everybody spend as much time as I do washing CDs (& DVDs) to make them work. Never had to do that with floppies - especially the old 5.25 version. Pen drives are terrific. But sadly not everybody has one and also I have found much to my surprise that some are not compatible in all computers (my Sony pen drive for instance). I like the sound of the Knoppix - I know nothing about this, and would appreciate some information. Tom	Thomas01 (317)
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