Ubuntu

can't boot cdrom

Asked by LocalHero

Greetings,
I am unable to boot from a CDROM. I am trying to repair win XP. Windows repair disk doesn't boot, ubuntu live cd doesn't boot, kubuntu live cd doesn't boot. I have ubuntu 7.04 installed with all the latest updates on a Toshiba laptop dual booted using GRUB. When I set the bios to boot the cdrom first and/or explicitly select the cdrom to boot using f12 key it always comes up in the GRUB menu. The CDs have been booted on another machine OK. The CDROM drive is accessed (spins up) during the boot process but result is always grub menu. Once I boot ubuntu via grub I am able to access the cdrom and see the files there.

I am able to boot into win XP but it is completely non-functional. I am unable to access any user accounts or perform any commands there. Entering the administrator account gets message that xp must be activated and clicking yes to activate just returns me to the login screen.

Any help appreciated.
JB

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LocalHero
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Revision history for this message
LocalHero (opensrc) said : 		#1

Since installing ubuntu I have added and since removed a 1 Gbyte RAM module. I saw somewhere else someone that had a similar problem and had added RAM.

JB

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Witold Krakowski (wkrakowski-gmail) said : 		#2

Try entering the BIOS and check the order of devices using to boot. Cdrom should be set as first.
You usually enter the BIOS by pressing DEL key after powering on the computer. The key to press might be different depending on your computer's BIOS.

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LocalHero (opensrc) said : 		#3

As stated in my original message, I have already set the CDROM as the first boot device in the bios. No joy.

JB

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Prashant Vaibhav (mercurysquad) said : 		#4

Can you simply remove all boot devices and leave the CDROM as the only bootable device in the BIOS? It's possible that either the CD has small scratches or the CD drive lens is unclean, and the BIOS does not have the persistence and errorchecking required to read past those errors. Thus it falls back to the harddrive for booting up. If you set the CD drive as the only available booting device, the BIOS might give you some sort of error message which will help you diagnose further.

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LocalHero (opensrc) said : 		#5

I'll see if I can remove the other devices from the bios list.

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LocalHero (opensrc) said : 		#6

I just looked at removing all but cdrom but I can only re-order the devices. Can't take any of them out of the list. I pushed the hard disk to the bottom of the list but still cdrom didn't boot.

JB

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pitwalker (pitwalker) said : 		#7

It's easy
:-)

Boot from floppy with Smart Boot Manager:

http://www.sysresccd.org/FAQ#I_have_a_very_old_computer.2C_and_my_CD-drive_cannot_boot

In the CMOS setup boot order you disalbe everyting, let the only one boot media: FDD

best regards: pitwalker

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pitwalker (pitwalker) said : 		#8

Or this is the issue:

https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/5325

Revision history for this message
LocalHero (opensrc) said : 		#9

I was able to boot the xp repair disk under the following circumstances: An ethernet cable was connected from the system to the router; an allegedly bootable thumb drive was plugged in to the computer (it didn't boot either); the cdrom door was closed as the initial bios screen was coming up; an incantation and some pixie dust were also believed to be involved.
Just for info I tried to boot several cdroms that I had previously used on this computer and others. They would not boot here.

After xp was reinstalled, I looked at the back cover of the recovery disk package and noted that one is to press and hold the "c" key as the computer starts to force it to boot the cdrom. Failure to read the "manual" seems to apply here. My bad. It doesn't explain not being able to boot live disks of ubuntu or kubuntu though.

In summary, thanks for all your thoughts and time. Much appreciated. The laptop is now permanently a dual boot system with Ubuntu/xp. When a few issues like mouse failing to function are worked out, I hope to run Linux exclusively. This report from the Ubuntu side.

Best wishes,
JB