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Have any advice to this temporary computer issue.?

The computer boots to CMOS error then prompts for install with safe mode.

All the options yeild zero results .

Attempts at reinstalling the windows result in the computer not detecting its CD or DVD drive and sugguest it should boot from HDD or Floppy.

12 Answers

Relevance
  • 1 year ago

    May be a stupid answer/question, but have you tested your power supply? 

  • ?
    Lv 7
    1 year ago

    Something's broken, hard to tell what exactly but my guess would be the hard disk.

  • Try replacing cmos battery if not flash bios if you can

  • 1 year ago

    Do you have the drivers installed for the CD or DVD drive?

  • Anonymous
    1 year ago

    BIOS error……………………..

  • 1 year ago

    sounds as if the BIOS/UEFI is corrupt. Another possible is that the HDD's boot sector is corrupt. This may require a technician to sort out

  • Dick
    Lv 7
    1 year ago

    You need to go into the BIOS. If you're using a DVD and it's not seeing that early on after the BIOS boot, then the settings in the BIOS are wrong. You need to enter the BIOS and go into the section generally titled Boot Sequence and change the sequence from the hard drive from first in the sequence, and make the DVD drive the first in the boot up sequence. In this way after the BIOS boot you should see a screen that says "hit any key to boot from CD/DVD drive". You hit any key immediately and it will launch the disk in the DVD drive. Hope this helps!

    Source(s): 33 Years Computer Experience & IT Support
  • Anonymous
    1 year ago

    Have you replaced the BIOS battery? And after you do that run the defaults in BIOS and save?

    If after you do this you're still having a problem unplug your CD drive and try it unplug any floppy and try it. If one of your peripherals are bad it will cause a CMOS error or a bios error if your hard drive is going bad it will cause the same problem but start with the battery!

  • User
    Lv 7
    1 year ago

    Possibilities:

    1 - BIOS setup has erased (due to battery failure or power surge)

    2 - hard drive cable has come loose (either the data cable or the power cable)

    3 - hard drive connector on motherboard (MB) has stopped functioning (unlikely)

    4 - hard drive total failure

    5 - hard drive boot sector data failure

    6 - MB drive controller chip has stopped functioning (unlikely)

    troubleshooting

    1 - try going into BIOS setup and detect hard drives. Hard drive should be detectable if it is functioning and properly connected and powered, even if it has been completely erased. If can't be detected, continue...If it can be detected but still doesn't boot, jump to 5

    2 - open case and disconnect hard drive power cable and data cable. Disconnect data cable at both ends. Reconnect cables, making sure that they are connected properly and fully inserted into their connectors. Again go to BIOS and try to detect hard drives. If it can't be detected, continue...If it can be detected but still doesn't boot, jump to 5

    3 - Try plugging hard drive data cable into a different MB connector. Again BIOS detect hard drives. If it can't be detected, continue...If it can be detected but still doesn't boot, jump to 5

    4 - try hard drive in another PC (if available). If working then it's not a hard drive failure and it's probably something on the original MB - i.e. MB failure. If it fails to work then we have a hard drive with "complete failure" and it needs to be replaced.

    5 - try reformatting the hard drive. Note that you WILL lose all of your data, but if it reformats successfully then you will have a functioning hard drive again.

  • L.N.
    Lv 7
    1 year ago

    If it's a desktop, replace the CMOS battery and reset CMOS to defaults. Some older computers did not have a replaceable battery, it was built into the CMOS/real time clock chip. 

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