Vista computer wont boot to CD

Hello,

You have to go into your BIOS and set the bot priority to CD ROM before Hard Drive.

Cheers,
Mak
 
Are you sure it's a genuine Vista installation disk ?
Vista comes on a DVD not a CD.
 
My mistake then, its a DVD, not a CD. But its the Vista OS DVD that came with the computer. So I know definitely that its the one for this machine.
 
Have you got access to another PC you can try booting it on ?
As far as I can see there are only two possibilities
a) the DVD is duff
b) your BIOS boot sequence isn't what you think it is.
If you can verify that it boots elsewhere and eliminate a), then you can concentrate on the BIOS and work out why you're not finding it before the HDD.

Stupid question I'm sure, but were you watching as it booted, or did you just leave it and come back to find the normal system had booted ?
The reason I ask, is because the Vista DVD requires a "press any key" intervention to continue the boot, and without it just goes straight into normal Vista.
 
You could also try activating the boot menu as you start the computer. Some brands allow you to do this such as Dells F12. This is a one-time menu showing you all of the devices you can boot from.
 
Terry, I sat and watched as the machine booted up with the Vista DVD in the drive. No screen came up asking for anything, simply booted directly from the C Drive. I went into the CMOS Settings, and changed the sequence for CD/DVD first, and HD second. Still ignored the Vista DVD. Im stymied.
 
Disable your disk drive in the BIOS and see if you can then boot from the DVD. If you can, then its an issue with the disk drive itself.
 
If it's a custom Vista installation disk for your OEM, it's possible that it's not a bootable disk.

Try borrowing a genuine retail (as in, made by MS) Vista DVD from a friend (the flavor/edition doesn't matter so long as you use your own serial key with it) and see if it can boot from that.
 
Back
Top