How to boot from CD drive on Dell Precision 3630

Question

My Dell Precision 3630 Tower cannot boot from CD/DVD. The drive works under Windows 11, and I tested with several disks that boot on other machines.

These are some things I tried:

1. A bootable FreeDos DVD with SpinRite on it^*

• Does not work when booting without intervention
• If I press F12 for the one time boot menu, it does not show
• In the setup I added the CD-ROM to the boot options ('Change boot mode settings'). This then shows up if I press F12:
  
  If I then select it (arrow + Enter) I get small text suggesting to use either
  F1 to retry boot
  F2 to reboot into setup
  F5 to run onboard diagnostics
  and with each I go to places I've been before
  
• I changed boot modes from the default 'UEFI: Secure boot on' to the other available ones, without success:
  
  • UEFI: Secure boot off
  • Legacy external device boot mode, Secure boot off
    

2. A Macrium Reflect recovery CD created from Windows on the same PC

This immediately shows up in the boot options after pressing F12 (no setup changes):

but I cannot boot from it. The 'Press any key to boot from CD or DVD....' does not do anything, and I have the same F1/F2/F5 messages:

How can I make my PC boot from CD (regardless of what's on the disk)?

Background info:

BIOS version 4306.18 (up to date)

The BIOS sees the drive as:
OEM: PLDS, product DVD+-RW DU-8a5LH, revision: 6D1M2016
S/N: PNDVV[snip], type: ATAPI

Diagnostics are all good.

No fancy drive hardware/software. Just an SSD that Windows boots from. PC was delivered with Win10 and upgraded to Win11. UEFI boot.

^{* The SpinRite executable has a built-in option to create a ISO containing FreeDos and itself, which I then burned with ImgBurn}

Answer 1

BIOS

As I see you already updated to BIOS Rev. 2.20.0
But there is a new one: BIOS Rev. 2.21.0 (marked as critical)

I don't expect this update will change the current behavior related to your CD-boot, but one never knows.

FreeDOS

FreeDOS is not capable to handle UEFI: http://wiki.freedos.org/wiki/index.php/UEFI

You have to switch to Legacy boot mode.

In your screenshots/comments you mention the "Legacy boot mode" but the following screenshots you're still in UEFI boot mode.
=> Verify that you are really in Legacy boot mode, please.

I suspect that FreeDOS does not support the GPT partitioning system (but don't know it for sure). The hint is the development wish list at FreeDOS.

If GPT-support is really required when using a lowlevel harddisk tool is another thing, as the access is below the level of the partitioning. But I mention it just for leveling the expectations and sending the warning not to expect FreeDOS to handle the disk properly when the boot succeeds.

I don't know how old your setup of "SpinRite" is, the WebSite shows Version 6.0 in a Windows XP layout and a copyright of 2004.

I would suggest:

1. Get the current version of FreeDOS
2. Install it on a USB pendrive
3. Test the booting (by using Legacy mode)
4. On success copy from the DVD the filestructure of SpinRite and the probably existing autostart configuration in the AUTOEXEC.BAT; This file and CONFIG.SYS you should compare with the FreeDOS default ones.

Then you have the best chances.

If you are not comfortable in creating bootable USB drives, get Rufus to install FreeDOS.

A warning:

Just an SSD that Windows boots from.

If SpinRite is really a tool of the zero decade, it has no knowledge about SSD — Also the idea of "defects on a HDD surface" of SpinRite is specific to storage disks, but not storage chips.

Update: You obviously tested the tool with SSDs successfully.
But as a general hint I keep the warning about good old tools:

Using old low level tools that do not know anything about SSDs might wreck the SSD by this or produce unnecessary wear on the limited write cycles of the memory cells. — In the best case, the firmware will prevent unnecessary write cycles.

---

UPDATE:

Having a look at your (currently) second last image showing the options:

Press [F1|F2|F5] key to [retry boot|reboot into setup|run diagnostics]

the interesting thing is the text:

Press any key to boot from CD or DVD......

This text proves, that the CD has been accessed successfully. This text is part of the CD/DVD!
=> Any error after this point is an issue originating or triggered by the CD/DVD.

Do you have more detailed information about this event? i.e.:

• The type of CD (RO / RW / rewritable / ...)
• The software that's asking to boot
• What happens afterwards? (is the PC SDD currently in a bootable state?)
• any more and less relevant information?

I asked you to burn the ISO with an alternative software to CD:
https://cdburnerxp.se/en/home
Seeing this is screen this has become more relevant as a not correctly burned and finalized CD might have such problems and symptoms might vary depending on the CD/DVD reader.

When newly burning the CD/DVD:

• Do not use maximum burning speed.
• Perhaps it is possible to use a different CD writer hardware?
• Cleaning of the lenses might also be relevant
• Prefer a RW disk. Rewritable disks typically have less contrast.

Here we might have physical constrains, so such hardware details might hit the point.
Perhaps you have the possibility to test alternatively with a separate USB-DVD reader.