Forcing a CD Read ?

Robert11 · 04 Dec 2017

Hello,

Have a 2 yr. old Dell desktop.

When I first got the pc, I created what I think is called a Repair Disk, and Boot.
Think it also contains an Image of the OS, etc.

On a CD.

Having all sorts of trouble with pc, and thought I would like to run this CD.

Can't get my pc to run or recognize it on startup.

Is there a option key to "force" the reading of it on startup ?

I did go into the BIOS menu, and made, I think, the cd as No. 1 on the bootable items.

Any ideas ?

Question: e.g., if there is no CD, but the BIOS looks for a CD as No. 1, will it go to No. 2, which in my case
is the normal startup, totally automatically ?

Thanks,
Bob

EdTittel · 04 Dec 2017

If you update your specs so we can tell what kind of Dell Desktop you're running (model number is helpful) more accurate advice will be easier to dispense. Normally on Dell systems if you hit the F12 key during bootup, it will pop up a menu that lets you pick which device you want to boot from. If you drop your repair CD into the optical drive, reboot the system, then click F12 before Windows boot starts, you should be able to do this pretty easily. Let us know is this works or not, and we can provide other ways to get you where you're trying to go.
Good luck, and HTH,
--Ed--

spunk · 04 Dec 2017

If you have your bootable CD in the CD/DVD drive, and in the Bios at the Boot tab, the CD/DVD drive is the First Boot Device, or you press F12 and choose the CD/DVD drive as First Boot Device, you should see the message Press Any Key To Boot From CD/DVD. If not, either the CD/DVD drive is Not the first boot device, or the CD is not bootable, or the CD drive is not reading the disc properly. Try booting a different computer with the CD.