BIOS problem Help please!

Okay well I am trying to reinstall windows on my custom pc I have tried to go into the boot sequence by hitting F12 when the comptuer turns on but for the life of me I can't change the the sequence to CD/ROM. when i get to the boot sequence it has a little start next to HD i want to change this to CD/ROM so that I can reinstall windows from my OEM windows cd can someone help me with this. If i hit del when the computer starts i can get into the bios and change stuff in there but i can't change the boot sequence as a matter of fact the boot sequence isn't in the bios its in a separate option when the computer starts but i can't change anything in that menu i hope this makes sense. i did just try putting the windows disk in and reinstalling windows which worked but now i have no desktop icons other than the recycle bin what happened to the icons? also in my c drive i have a folder called windows.old when i reinstalled windows it actually said that there would be file created named windows.old and that is where my previous windows install would be so that is not a big deal. what is a big deal is that i can't seem to put a clean version of windows on my computer. i tried to format my hd and it won't let me do that b/c that hd is where the current windows install is. help please.

Are you 100% positive that the BIOS does not have a Boot Sequence setting? I have worked on many computers over the years and they all have had that option. Even 5 or 6 year old HPs and Dells have that option...and we all know how limited the BIOS is in those machines

What motherboard and what BIOS are you running exactly? Sometimes you can Google the motherboard model and BIOS and get some information from other forums and sometimes even Youtube videos that will walk you through the BIOS for that model.

ScOuT said:

Are you 100% positive that the BIOS does not have a Boot Sequence setting?

Click to expand...

He said it does, but he cannot change it
Likely cause: Password protected
He may need to reset the Bios manually on the Motherboard

He said it is in a separate option...not the BIOS.

On my Asus P5N-E motherboard...it was the same way...F2 enters the "Boot Menu" but you could not do anything from there. All you could do is hit enter and boot the computer. It was soo stupid to include a "Boot Menu" but not be able to do anything. I would have to change it manually in the BIOS.

Reminds me of stupid HP boot menu > F8
Why on earth they chose that key is beyond me, I've been stuck a few times trying to get Safe Mode, and then I get this silly menu

Edit:

By the way I don't like HPs anyway
Back to topic

my guess it that the cmos needs to be cleared and re-set.. should take care of the boot option being locked problem..

schw32m said:

my guess it that the cmos needs to be cleared and re-set.. should take care of the boot option being locked problem..

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That's a great idea...clear the CMOS. It looks like a little battery on your motherboard. Power the system completely down and unplug it. Pop that little battery out for about 20 seconds and put it back in. Then fire it up and enter the BIOS and see if that option is enabled.

make sure you unplug the power cord and push the power button with the battery out to prevent any chance of the password staying.

spartikus said:

i did just try putting the windows disk in and reinstalling windows which worked but now i have no desktop icons other than the recycle bin what happened to the icons? also in my c drive i have a folder called windows.old when i reinstalled windows it actually said that there would be file created named windows.old and that is where my previous windows install would be so that is not a big deal. what is a big deal is that i can't seem to put a clean version of windows on my computer. i tried to format my hd and it won't let me do that b/c that hd is where the current windows install is. help please.

Click to expand...

Congratulations, you've successfully reinstalled Windows.

The Default Windows Start Menu contains all your Icons, that's why they're not on your Desktop anymore.

Okay two more questions and i will try resetting the cmos later on. When i go to bios it does give me a boot sequence but its strange because hitting f12 takes me to a specific boot sequence menu anyways from bios i try to change the sequence of booting up meaning i change the first to say cd/rom but when i restart the computer it says dmi something or another then says boot from cd/rom i try to push yes or enter nothing happens after a few seconds it says push any key to boot from cd/rom i try to push buttons again nothing happens and then it just boots windows i am assuming from the hd what the hell. could it be because i have a wireless keyboard? i tried plugging in a wired keyboard and mouse and it still didn't work. also for the person who said my icons are hidden how do i make it so the desktop looks like it did when i first installed windows for the very first time? thanks for all the help so far guys.

Yes try a hard wired keyboard
Also change the Bios setup to allow USB Keyboard support (or use a PS2 keyboard)

The message "press any key to boot from the CD" actually comes from the CD itself, I made my bootcd the same way
Therefore it is working, your keyboard isn't

As for putting your icons back (to how you like it, as Windows default install is without them)

Right click any blank area on Desktop (just on the wall paper)
Select Properties
Select Desktop tab
Select Customize Desktop button
In there you can enable the default Desktop icons