Disk Boot Failure, Insert System Disk And Press Enter

csnann

I have been getting that message a couple of times recently when I have turned on my computer. I am able to get the computer to work by turning off the power and then turning it back on again but I would like to know what to do about this ( I don't have a system disk, only a reload disk). I have been googling the problem, one suggestion was to "enter BIOS on start up and prioritize boot sequence Disk C" but I don't know how to do that. Is there an idiot proof guide somewhere that I could follow step by step?
I have a 6 year old Time computer with Windows XP home.

torquey

My guess is that the hard drive is either not properly connected or about to die.

Either way you may want to back up your important data at this point.

You can ensure it is properly connected by taking the side off the case and reseatting the 2 plugs connected to the hard drive. Also try reseating the IDE cable on the motherboard. There is a good chance this will fix the problem.
follow http://whp-java.extweb.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/fastFaqLiteDocument?lc=en&dlc=en&cc=uk&printable=no&docname=c00365278 step 5

OR
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/MIGR-50794.html

If it doesnt fix your problem then all you can do is wait for it to die or buy a replacement.
(Re-installing windows on the new hard drive will be another thread.)

csnann

The thought of poking about inside the computer gives me nightmares! I wouldn't know a motherboard from a breadboard. Would it be expensive to get someone in to do this?
UPDATE: I decided to try checking the connections, after putting the computer back together it booted up much faster than it has in ages! Hopefully that will sort it out. Thanks to you both for your advice.

Conor_3

Hard drive takes 10 minutes to swap over. It's transferring everything from the old one or installing Windows which takes the time. For a guide, I charge 1.5-2hrs for the job and that gets you a fully installed and tweaked Windows (and MS Office if you have a licence) with all updated drivers, Windows updates and a list of free software I always install on every PC.