Topic: ASUS Laptop Booting Problem

[retro]

Sorry for the delayed response... haven't been on here in a while!

You need your boot priority to be correct to boot from the CD.  On the first page when you boot the computer, it should say hit *** to enter SETUP.  *** will be a key, or combination of keys.  Common is F2, F8, F10, DEL, CTRL+ESC.... it'll be something like that.  Go into that and you're looking for boot priority.  Without knowing which BIOS you have, I can't tell you exactly where that'll be, but it's often on the first screen or just about the last screen along.  It'll look something like:

1st: HDD
2nd: Floppy
3rd: CD-ROM

You want CD-ROM to be higher up than HDD (HDD might say Seagate and a model no.).

Alternatively, it might say on that very first screen - press *** for boot menu... or something similar.  This is a simpler way to do it - press that key and select CD-ROM.

Once you've done that, when you boot it should say press any key to boot from CD.... that, or it'll just boot from the CD.

If you definitely have the CD-ROM set to boot first and you can't boot the CD, either the CD is damaged or the drive is duff.

As for the rest.....

If it's a SATA drive, replace it with a SATA drive.  Doesn't matter what make or model.  Get a size that's enough for you.  You could use an SSD if you wanted and it will be very quick booting, although they are more expensive.

If it's an upgrade CD, it's unlikely that it'll install unless it sees a valid Windows installation... or it will ask for your Windows key.  Try the key that's on the sticker, if that's the case.

If you made recovery discs (i.e. there was a step-by-step process within Windows) then these should be good to restore your OS on the new drive.  You may need to partition the drive first, though.... I can't remember whether it's built into the restore process in 7, but it could well be.

Any issues, I could always take a look if you're ever in Kent!

Good luck!

[Garden Manager]

Just wanted to give an update on the problem. Havent done much about it since last posting but have recently got back to it again.

Current Situation; HDD aparently bust, recovery options no go. Bootable discs including manufacturer, home made recovery and a LINUX OS boot disc will not boot up the machine. Suspecting some other fault (with Optical Drive?).

Started looking into narrowing down the problems. Wanted to try in turn HDD and optical drives from another machine but both were incompatible. Thought about External Optical drives, either convering one from another machine or getting a ready made one. Got confused as to what to get so set aside idea for now.

I then remembered that Linux OS downloads could be installed on a USB stick drive and used to boot a PC. This would bypass the OD and get the machine booted. This i have done and it worked A1. The machine worked well booted from the stick and i was able to access the PC's HDD contents with no problem at all, so can easily recover the files at least.

This has left me confused though. If the HDD is kaput, how come i can access the files on it using USB booted Ubuntu OS? Does this mean the problem is not a HDD failure? What about the optical drive, does this test prove that is bust or again some other problem? Could the fault be software and not hardware?

Dont know what to do now. Should i try installing Ubuntu to the HDD and see what happens? Is there any way i can try to boot/reload windows without using the HDD or optical drive? Is it worth trying the drives (as external devices) on another machine?

Can anyone advise me please?

[BarriedaleNick]

There is a difference between your files being OK and the machine booting.  One or more system files could be corrupt and that can prevent the PC from booting.  What I would do is to take the HD, put in caddy and run checkdisk on it from another PC (worth running virus check as well).  If it still doesnt work when you put it back in your original PC then at least you know you can still get your docs etc off the disk.  When an hd goes down the pan it can do it gradually or it can just become instantly unusable - your HD may be on the way out (from initial symptoms) but most of the files might just be OK.

You can install windows 7 from a USB stick and there are many instructions on how to do this (just google it - plenty of onfo.. but it does require you to have a Windows 7 disk to create one (although if you look hard enough there are ahem various sites you can download disk images) but you need a HD in your PC to install on.  You cant really get past this. 

if you can get Windows 7 install files on a USB stick then try booting from the stick.  If you get that far then you should be able to reinstall windows or run the recovery tools..


http://www.pcworld.com/article/248995/how_to_install_windows_7_without_the_disc.html
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

[retro]

Think of it in other terms.... for example.....

My friend recently bought a vintage motorbike.  It was great, but made a rattling sound in top gear.  He took it to a mechanic, who checked various common faults.  All fine.  He stripped the gearbox, to find one of the cogs was disintegrating.  Had he kept using it, it would have got caught up in the other cogs, killed them, and killed the entire gearbox!

A SMART test is an early warning system telling you that your drive WILL fail.

If your hard drive is clicking, it WILL fail.

In both cases, you may be able to read the drive.  For now.  Copy it, then stop using it.

There are lesser faults, various corruptions, misalignment, even just a few bad sectors that are repairable and the drive will be fine.  SMART errors and clicking though - treat them as an early warning detection and deal with it immediately!

[Garden Manager]

Think of it in other terms.... for example.....

My friend recently bought a vintage motorbike.  It was great, but made a rattling sound in top gear.  He took it to a mechanic, who checked various common faults.  All fine.  He stripped the gearbox, to find one of the cogs was disintegrating.  Had he kept using it, it would have got caught up in the other cogs, killed them, and killed the entire gearbox!

A SMART test is an early warning system telling you that your drive WILL fail.

If your hard drive is clicking, it WILL fail.

In both cases, you may be able to read the drive.  For now.  Copy it, then stop using it.

There are lesser faults, various corruptions, misalignment, even just a few bad sectors that are repairable and the drive will be fine.  SMART errors and clicking though - treat them as an early warning detection and deal with it immediately!

Sorry dont understand this 'SMART' thing you refer to. What is it and how do i use it?

[BarriedaleNick]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

SMART is an agreed way of HDs reporting failure information - mostly an automatic process that takes palce without user input although you can get programs (http://www.ntfs.com/disk-monitor.htm) to actively monitor your drive.
As retro says your drive is likely to fail completely if it is clicking and you cant boot from it.  Get another HD - stick Windows 7 on a USB stick and install from there.

I see you are following Le Tour - do you think Wiggins can do it??

[retro]

Sorry for the delay!

Yes, SMART is a selt diagnosis.  It will probably be disabled in your BIOS, so you need to go into your CMOS setup (from the first black screen when you boot) and find the option to enable SMART if you want the SMART check to run.

Alternatively, the manufacturer's diagnostic disc may do a SMART check.