PC will only boot from USB and CD if I remove hard drive (Bios set correctly)

Question

As the title suggests i am trying to install windows (from USB and cd) to a blank HDD. And no matter what I do the PC loads the blank hard drive which can do nothing but say it's empty.

I have tried: - Changed BIOS boot order to CD,USB,HDD - Pressed f9 and manually selected CD and usb - starting PC with HDD disconnected then selecting boot device, which then boots to the correct device. I then reconnect the HDD and try to install windows but no drive appears during the installation process. It did appear once and said "windows cannot be installed to this disk the computers hardware may not support booting to this disk"

I am really angry over this so Amy advice is welcome

Thanks David

Answer 1

I had that problem a few times with so called "SMART" Notebooks or cheap-ass PCs. The SMART part is the BIOS scanning for any Operating System on the bootable devices and then - if any OS found - giving you the option to boot or not. The problem is that the system is garbage and rarely works.

The workaround which worked with most devices for me is 1. Reset BIOS to Default Settings and try it again. 2. If that did not work, wipe your HDD (at least the first 15% of all the blocks) 3. Connect USB and your HDD and try to boot from USB. If you do not know what tool to use, download Ultimate Boot CD (ultimatebootcd.com) and attach your HDD to another Computer and boot it there. Select HDD > Wipe > Dariks Boot and Nuke.

Make sure that there is no Master Boot record left on any of the Hard Drives as this usually tells the system NOT to boot from any bootable device.

I even encountered that problem with expensive HP Elitebooks and nearly threw them out of the window...

Answer 2

Problem solved. I was using a TV as a monitor and it didn't display the correct resolution or frequency . So the PC was working fine but the monitor did not show it