Question DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER

[_JJ_]

I know this is an old topic but so is this type of problem which doesn't seem to be well understood judging by the variety of answers I have seen here and elsewhere. Maybe we have learned something new in the last 10 years...lets try.

I have a well trod ASUS M2N SLI MOBO with an AMD Athlon 64-bit CPU. A 500W PSU, 3 IDE HDDs and 2 GB RAM. This motherboard does not have a built in graphics card, therefore I have plugged a Matrox 7003-0301 REV_A PCI card. I am now trying to re-purpose this machine for a relative by trying to install Linux Mint 17.03 on it. I really need the 64-bit version because of Skype (the only hard requirement I have for the new install). So far, I have failed due to (you knew this was coming) "DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER"

This is what I have tried so far:

• Disconnected all HDD and left only DVD/CD reader as master (remember, this is IDE)
• Reset all BIOS settings (but changed boot devices so that only DVD is enabled and first on the list)
• Successfully installed Linux Mint 16 32-bit (to HDD) and upgraded it to Mint 17 32-bit
• From Linux Mint 16 32-bit, I confirmed that the CPU installed is 64-bit
• Successfully installed Fedora 20 64-bit

This dreadful generic error message appears when I try to boot from either CDs or DVDs containing:

• Linux Mint 64-bit versions 15, 16 or 17
• Debian 9 64-bit
• Windows 7

All disks were tested on another machine and they work, so "bad media" is out of question.

What is most disconcerting here is that I also tried Linux Format (who remembers that?) disk 181 and, after starting up, the menu offers only Linux Mint 16 32-bit but also Fedora 20 64-bit. This disk supposedly checks your hardware and offers only those OSs that could be installed.

To me it looks like the installer for each OS is checking something on the hardware to decide whether it can be installed or not. But what exactly? Whatever it is, clearly it is different for Fedora than for Mint or Debian. In this case, I need Mint because of its closer similarity to Windows. Aside from that requirement, I am really curious about what exactly these installers could be checking for.

 

[Murissokah]

This brings back memories. Does the issue happen when you try to install the OS or after the install, when you try to boot into it?

If it happens before, the issue should be with the installation media, if not, something is missing for the OS to use the device. Either way, the first thing that comes to mind is a storage controller driver, which could be present in 64-bit form in some distros but not in others.

The logic here is that the OS cannot load the storage controller driver, hence it cannot "see" the disks, hence the message.

 

[_JJ_]

Thank you for your reply @Murissokah! However, as explained in my original post, I have already proven that neither the media nor the controller nor the DVD reader are the problem. The issue must be with the OS installer itself. From what I can see, each distro may have its own installer and these must be performing some preliminary checks. This is the only way I can explain a successful install of Fedora 64-bit but a failure with Mint and Debian (and all disks were checked on another computer).

 

[Murissokah]

However, as explained in my original post, I have already proven that neither the media nor the controller nor the DVD reader are the problem. The issue must be with the OS installer itself.

You have proven the media works in another computer, but unless that computer also uses an nForce 560 SLI chipset this is not quite the same thing. The reason i suggested this is that it could be the case that the media lacks those specific drivers in 64-bit, which would explain why it works on 32-bit and also why the media works in another computer, provided the controller is different. The PATA/IDE port is controlled by this chipset and back then it was pretty common to require additional drivers, specially nforce which is a bit of a niche chipset.

One thing you could try, if you hadn't already, is setting the controller to PIO mode in case the issue is with DMA from the controller. This could also make sense as during boot many OS's default to PIO, then change to DMA for performance after installation. This can be set for the master disk at the BIOS main page (under ACCESS MODE), or for the entire controller at IDE Function Setup > IDE DMA Transfer Access.

As for the installer, the one thing I could think of that it could be checking for is secure boot, but that is way too recent for that computer to support it.

 

[davesnothere]

Some IDE dvd/cdrom drives don't have the interrupt handle for the boot. They can only be configured as a slave on the primary port because of this. Also, make sure you are using a real ide cable instead of one that the cable select wire has been cut out on the cable. Make sure you are using "master" and "slave" jumper settings and not "cable select"

With bios to auto on the drives. The drives should appear in bios.

then install your linux.

I would suggest you try lubuntu. Its one of the flavors I like of ubuntu. Ubuntu studio isn't bad either. http://cdimage.ubuntu.com/lubuntu/releases/19.04/release/lubuntu-19.04-desktop-amd64.iso

I think skype isn't a 64 bit only program. Because its available for 32 bit linux distros too.