Old PC won't boot

[johnb35]

If you don't get the message where it says "press any key to boot cd" then the cd isn't bootable.

 

[Jaan]

Yes it is.. I tried it with my laptop, both USB and CD are

 

[Darren]

It is the first option.. when I tried to boot from the CD..
When I tried to boot from HDD I chose Hard Disk as the first one
and when I tried from the USB then I chose USB-HDD

Ok just checking. No need to get snippy. Some people that come through for help are much less knowledgeable so we ask what some might not have thought of. Obviously you don't need that.

 

[Jaan]

Hehe, yea I know some things about the computers I have been messing with them 10+ years.. but this time I have absolutely no idea what's wrong and I'm in a hurry too.. I need to have it fixed for today and it's 2:42 at night here

 

[Jaan]

I was wondering.. maybe there's something wrong with the CD reader.. because yeah it shows up in BIOS and when in the beginning system searches for IDE devices.. but maybe that little optical eye is broken

 

[johnb35]

It very well could be. Do you have access to a different bootable cd?

 

[Jaan]

Not really.. I don't hold on my stuff on cds..
Well that CD reader does weird sounds so I guess there's the problem.. maybe I should open it and clean it..

Also.. I wonder why it won't boot from USB because I installed previous Windows to that machine via USB

 

[Okedokey]

Reset the cmos yet?

 

[Jaan]

Well, I have done it multiple times over the past few days.. nothing has happened.
Now I found another working old pc.. and I installed Windows XP onto this hdd..
but.. it won't go past "click here to boot from cd.." and when i click on any key.. it goes into windows setup again.. also it wont boot without the cd

 

[johnb35]

You need to a fresh install of XP on that machine. Is this cd a genuine microsoft install cd or a burnt copy?

 

[Jaan]

It's a burnt copy.. I broke my original XP years ago and yes it is a clean install

 

[johnb35]

Seems as though there is something wrong with the cd.

 

[Jaan]

Ok I downloaded latest Ubuntu desktop and put it onto my USB.. now it booted well. I saw that violet screen and now it's stuck on black screen and that little dash is blinking..

 

[Jaan]

Woohoo, Ubuntu loaded.. now I hope I can see what's up with this PC.. maybe I can find out some hardware errors or whatever

 

[Jaan]

Ok.. I installed Ubuntu onto this HDD.. andit won't boot as well...
So basically there's something wrong with the hdd.. because it won't boot even in another PC