booting problem

[dani82]

for some reason, part of the time, i can't seem to get my pc past the "Del to setup" screen; i can't remember if this occur before or after the overhaul of my pc

about 6 weeks ago, i'd replace my mobo/cpu and upgraded to win2k sp4 from winme, i'd also spent about 2 hours configuring the jumper for 4 cd/dvd-drives so there won't be any conflict and would boot by themselves (still no luck)

i have 4 drives on the onboard ide controller, and 2-3 hd on a promise 100xt controller running on a 350 antec psu (not really worry about overloading the psu)

since not all cd/dvd drives are needed, mostly 2 are ever plugged in

since there is no needed for cd/dvd drives when encoding or most of the time, i would like to leave them all un-plugged (obvious reasons), but i can't, cause my pc won't boot

can someone shed some light?

[GrofLuigi]

Hi,
about 6 weeks ago, i'd replace my mobo/cpu and upgraded to win2k sp4 from winme
Clean install is always recommended...
(not really worry about overloading the psu)
You should :) I had similar issues like yours when my PSU was dying. The computer would start once out of 5-6 retries. Also, check MB capacitors.
since not all cd/dvd drives are needed, mostly 2 are ever plugged in
How do you switch them on/off? Also, do you update BIOS settings to reflect reality (both MB and controller BIOS)?

GL

[dani82]

i did do a clean win2k installation; otherwise, i'd be stuck with a dual partition (waste of space)

i'm not worry, cause not all of my total drives are plugged it; not sure we have the same problem, my pc will boot, but only depending on which cd-drive(s) are plugged in

manually, i have the side panel left open, amazingly not alot of dust; i don't think the bios on the ide controller can be upgraded, only it's drivers

[GrofLuigi]

i did do a clean win2k installation; otherwise, i'd be stuck with a dual partition (waste of space)
Great. :)

i'm not worry, cause not all of my total drives are plugged it; not sure we have the same problem, my pc will boot, but only depending on which cd-drive(s) are plugged inThen, you just pull the cables? Make sure you pull both data and power cable of a drive. Usually, just the data cable is enough, but safe is safe... :)

manually, i have the side panel left open, amazingly not alot of dust; i don't think the bios on the ide controller can be upgraded, only it's drivers
Not upgraded, configured - like tell it there is no drive attached (if it is possible - I never had one), i.e. on MB bios you can (must?) set "primary master", "secondary slave" etc. to NONE.

GL