[SOLVED] PC won't boot from Windows installation disk

[IgnorantSwine335]

I installed a new HDD in my laptop, so I tried to boot the system from the disk drive with a Windows 7 installation disk in it (I set the BIOS to boot from the disk drive) and it doesn't work. The disk spins for a bit when the computer is turned on and then it stops. The startup screen displays this:

 

[mrmike16]

That error message is from the computer trying to boot to a non-existent network drive. Either the Windows 7 installation disk isn't bootable or the DVD drive isn't working correctly (Or maybe it's a CD drive - in that case, that is the issue). Try it with an external DVD drive.

 

[Chicano]

"Media test failure, check cable"
That means the BIOS WAS inadvertently trying to boot to a network device (where it would find a Windows installer) when one does not actually exist.

That would be a wrong or default BIOS boot setting which you already have set for the Disk Drive, so maybe you didn't save it before exiting the Bios(?)... Or possibly the Bios battery is discharged and doesn't provide the power to save Bios settings, and you'll have to replace the battery or try manually booting to the disk drive as follows.

1) Check the Bios time and date, if it's off, set it correctly and restart the computer, if it saved the setting, the battery is probably ok, check the First Boot Device setting and save the settings before exiting the BIOS.

2) If that fails, As you switch the computer on and the Bios starts to load, try taping the F12 key about twice per second, and stop when it has loaded and makes the pause before going to the Boot process. A window listing the Boot devices will open, there you can manually select the Disk Drive, and next press Enter... it should boot to the disk drive.

3) If it still fails, access the Bios again and in the boot device settings disable all other devices, leaving the Disk Drive as only boot device.

4) Repeat step 2, booting with F12 from the Bios Device Menu.

Cause for Media test Failure

 

[mrmike16]

"Media test failure, check cable"
That means the BIOS WAS inadvertently trying to boot to a network device (where it would find a Windows installer) when one does not actually exist.

That would be a wrong or default BIOS boot setting which you already have set for the Disk Drive, so maybe you didn't save it before exiting the Bios(?)... Or possibly the Bios battery is discharged and doesn't provide the power to save Bios settings, and you'll have to replace the battery or try manually booting to the disk drive as follows.

1) Check the Bios time and date, if it's off, set it correctly and restart the computer, if it saved the setting, the battery is probably ok, check the First Boot Device setting and save the settings before exiting the BIOS.

2) If that fails, As you switch the computer on and the Bios starts to load, try taping the F12 key about twice per second, and stop when it has loaded and makes the pause before going to the Boot process. A window listing the Boot devices will open, there you can manually select the Disk Drive, and next press Enter... it should boot to the disk drive.

3) If it still fails, access the Bios again and in the boot device settings disable all other devices, leaving the Disk Drive as only boot device.

4) Repeat step 2, booting with F12 from the Bios Device Menu.

Cause for Media test Failure

I think that this error showed up not because it is the first on the boot order., but because the computer already went through the first 2 and found no bootable media, so it checked for a network drive since that is likely the last on the boot order. I don't think the OP put the network drive as the first on the list. By default, it is the last, so even if the battery fails it wouldn't be doing that unless the user chose to boot from the network drive.

 

[Chicano]

I think that this error showed up not because it is the first on the boot order., but because the computer already went through the first 2 and found no bootable media, so it checked for a network drive since that is likely the last on the boot order. I don't think the OP put the network drive as the first on the list. By default, it is the last, so even if the battery fails it wouldn't be doing that unless the user chose to boot from the network drive.

What I have observed is that the Bios displays the network drive when it doesn't find any other boot drive... and if the settings OP made in the Bios aren't saved, it generally is due to a weak Bios battery... In any case, the quick solution is the F12 key to display and manually select a Boot device.

 

[mrmike16]

What I have observed is that the Bios displays the network drive when it doesn't find any other boot drive... and if the settings OP made in the Bios aren't saved, it generally is due to a weak Bios battery... In any case, the quick solution is the F12 key to display and manually select a Boot device.

Correct, I'm not disagreeing with you there. Just that the default settings are not to look for a bootable network drive before a hard drive, USB, or a CD/DVD. And if the battery is indeed failing, the computer would come up with an error message that the time is not set. But it doesn't hurt to check.

 

[Chicano]

Correct, I'm not disagreeing with you there. Just that the default settings are not to look for a bootable network drive before a hard drive, USB, or a CD/DVD. And if the battery is indeed failing, the computer would come up with an error message that the time is not set. But it doesn't hurt to check.

Default Bios settings are probably as varied as Bios brands and types... that because I have seen the Bios default to a Network Drive, while having at least one available local boot drive, that it probably couldn't detect due to delayed Bios settings being applied, and probably due to a weak battery. Disabling all except the preferred boot drive made the Bios boot it.

And BIOSes are not as dependable as expected, they can be slow in applying settings and take several reboots to do it, and sometimes even require a reset before setting new configurations and applying them. Also, I have never seen a Bios warning of time not being set, they have warned of a general error without particularly naming one.... the best way to find out, is probably the Windows clock because it also fails to keep accurate time (not date), while the Bios instead reverts to release of motherboard manufacture date.

 

[IgnorantSwine335]

Thanks for the help guys, mrmike16 was right. Apparently it was a problem with the disk drive, because when I tried to boot it with an external USB disk drive it worked just fine, and Windows 7 got installed. The BIOS and its battery seem to work just fine. I don't know why the laptop's disk drive didn't work though because it can read DVDs.

 

[Chicano]

Thanks for the help guys, mrmike16 was right. Apparently it was a problem with the disk drive, because when I tried to boot it with an external USB disk drive it worked just fine, and Windows 7 got installed. The BIOS and its battery seem to work just fine. I don't know why the laptop's disk drive didn't work though because it can read DVDs.

If the DVD drive read other disks, the Windows disk Installer was not recognized... If you burned it yourself, that would be a likely burn error and if it's an original Windows disk, I'd suggest testing it on another computer to know if it can boot or not... and maybe you can try getting it replaced.

 

[mrmike16]

Thanks for the help guys, mrmike16 was right. Apparently it was a problem with the disk drive, because when I tried to boot it with an external USB disk drive it worked just fine, and Windows 7 got installed. The BIOS and its battery seem to work just fine. I don't know why the laptop's disk drive didn't work though because it can read DVDs.

That is strange, but I guess that the DVD drive in the laptop is not successfully working upon boot, until a later stage, and therefore the laptop can't boot from a DVD in that drive. I've never seen that happen before, so it is really just a guess. I am glad it worked in the end.
I don't think the problem there is the disc as you have said the computer successfully booted to the Windows 7 installation disc from an external DVD drive.

 

[IgnorantSwine335]

I opened the laptop to replace some RAM before trying this, so maybe I accidentally messed up the disk drive while I was looking around in there. The error message did say "check cable".
There's no problem with the disk itself though, it's an official one.

 

[Chicano]

I opened the laptop to replace some RAM before trying this, so maybe I accidentally messed up the disk drive while I was looking around in there. The error message did say "check cable".
There's no problem with the disk itself though, it's an official one.

So, there's a good chance the cable is the cause... either if you accidentally mess it up or not, you should probably replace it… if the BIOS detects something wrong with it, it's for a good valid reason. Providing it's not loose that is.

 

[IgnorantSwine335]

Oh crap I forgot to reply.
The drive still seems to work, I used it to install some programs and it didn't have any problems then. But yeah I is really old so it could just be because of age.

What mrmike said about the drive not working until a later stage might be right too. The laptop I'm using is an old Thinkpad, and the disk drive is in an expansion port called an Ultrabay. Ultrabay expansions can be removed at any time and switched out, even when the computers on (I think, the only Ultrabay thing I have is the disk drive so I've never done it). For example I think I could take out the disk drive and switch it with a hard drive. So maybe the Ultrabay isn't booted right at the start.

 

[Chicano]

Oh crap I forgot to reply.
The drive still seems to work, I used it to install some programs and it didn't have any problems then. But yeah I is really old so it could just be because of age.

What mrmike said about the drive not working until a later stage might be right too. The laptop I'm using is an old Thinkpad, and the disk drive is in an expansion port called an Ultrabay. Ultrabay expansions can be removed at any time and switched out, even when the computers on (I think, the only Ultrabay thing I have is the disk drive so I've never done it). For example I think I could take out the disk drive and switch it with a hard drive. So maybe the Ultrabay isn't booted right at the start.

The Ultrabay is the Laptop equivalent to a Desktop's CD/DVD Disk Drive Bay, and any CD/DVD Disk Drive can be set in the Bios as First Boot Drive the same as a CD/DVD Disk Drive, so it can boot as fast as the Bios finishes the initial report, and just as fast as the OS starts loading. So, the only issue I can think of is the disk drive was not making good contact with the laptop's contacts in the ultrabay.. it may be all it needed was a slight push of the disk drive, to make good contact between pins and receptacle contacts.

ThinkPad UltraBay
Ultrabay HDD Caddy