- More complex problems

In order to start faster, today's systems are usually set in BIOS to boot from hard disk drive first. Check boot sequence in BIOS setup. If boot sequence starts with letter of a hard disk drive (like C:), and that drive is having a problem, system will never even attempt to boot from floppy disk drive. Go to BIOS setup, and set boot sequence to start with A.

In some companies, floppy drives are disabled for security reasons. This is done by either disabling onboard FDD controller in BIOS setup, or by removing power cable or data cable from drive inside computer.

- Weird problems

Sometimes when a technician is working inside a computer, they will temporarily remove data cable from floppy drive in order to get easier access to another component. They may fail to replace cable properly, or put cable on backwards. If floppy drive's LED is always on, data cable may be reversed.

Sometimes a floppy disk can be read on system that it was originally formatted on, but cannot be read on another system and vice versa. This is usually caused by fact that head of floppy drive on one system is out of alignment.

=> As with all Windows(tm) systems, sometimes operating system gets confused. If your system can't recognize floppy drive or can't read any floppy disks, try rebooting system.

If you are having a problem with a floppy disk, remember they are made super cheap and are not meant to be reliable, but they can still serve a very utilitarian purpose. ---------------------------------------------------------- Resource Box: Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on Web visit http://bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blank email to bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com ----------------------------------------------------------

If you do not receive any beeps, error codes or messages and your computer still will not boot, then problem is Windows will not start. Note: POST makes a single beep to test speaker; this is not an error.

If you have a damaged partition table, boot record, or FAT, you can use Nuts & Bolts Disk Minder or Norton Disk Doctor to make a repair. You must have utility on a bootable floppy disk and execute it from floppy. Or you can install a new hard drive and load Windows and one of above utility suites on new hard drive. Then configure old drive as slave and repair it from new drive.

Note: If your hard drive makes a loud whining noise when you first start your computer, you need to run out and get that new hard drive now.

The first step to repair a computer that won't boot is to find out what "it won't boot" means. If during boot you did not receive any of errors mentioned above, that probably means Windows won't start. How to repair that problem is covered in another article. ---------------------------------------------------------- Resource Box: Copyright(C)2002 Bucaro TecHelp. To learn how to maintain your computer and use it more effectively to design a Web site and make money on Web visit http://bucarotechelp.com To subscribe to Bucaro TecHelp Newsletter Send a blank email to bucarotechelp-subscribe@topica.com ----------------------------------------------------------