Boot Disk Failure Insert System Disk And Press Enter

[4joey1]

Hi!I have a HDD with a problem such that when I boot my machine with boot sequence first boot device CD-ROM and second boot device HDD,the machine does not recognize any of the boot devices and indicates the error BOOT DISK FAILURE,INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER.Even if I re-connect the IDE and power cables for HDD and CD-ROM the same error appears.If I disconnect the HDD and boot with only the CD-ROM,the CD-ROM is recognized and when I put the first boot device as the HDD the error still appears..When I replace the HDD with another one,the replacing HDD is recognized by the machine.How do I solve my problem above and boot my HDD?

Please respond as soon as possible and I shall be infinitely grateful.Thanks in advance.

 

[Matthew DeCarlo]

The only couple of things that I know of which bring about the "Disk Boot Failure" error are:

1. The VBR can't find or load the system files or there was a problem loading them.
2. During the boot process, the BIOS checks the last two bytes in the MBR (first sector of the drive) for a signature value of 55AAh. If the last two bytes are not 55AAh, an Interrupt 18h is invoked, which calls the subroutine that displays something along the lines of "Disk Boot Failure..." etc. So, ultimately this would suggest that your MBR is corrupt or non-existent.
3. Your HDD has not yet been partitioned.

Try completing the guide here, running a repair installation of Windows or just flat out reinstall Windows.

 

[raybay]

Can you access the master hard drive when jumpered as Slave and the other as master... or when you change the cable locations for cable select?
If you can, run the drive fitness test of the hard drive manufacturer. I suspect you will find a failed S.M.A.R.T. test, and probably other errors in the extended test... Particularly if it is a WD, Hitachi, or Maxtor drive.
If the drive is failing a "REPAIR" windows may work, but it will not last for long.