Nothing happens when I press a key "Insert boot media in selcted boot device and press a key"

[jacobb1291]

Just built a new computer. Have windows 7 installer in CD drive. When I start up computer, it keeps saying "Reboot and select proper boot device, or insert boot media in selected boot device and press a key." When I press a key, it doesn't do anything. I have the CD drive as my main boot startup. I have unplugged and re-plugged SATA cables. When I hit f8, it shows that the CD drive and the HDD are both connected. I have spent hours trying to figure out the answer but can't. Please help.

FYI, this is not a laptop. There was no category option for Desktop Software

 

[Saga Lout]

If you can clearly hear the optical drive spinning the disk it may be a BIOS setting that needs changing. Restart and tap whatever key you need to get into BIOS then look for a SATA setting that offers AHCI, IDE or Legacy IDE. Whichever it's set to now, swap for one of the others and see if it flies.

 

[jacobb1291]

I have changed the SATA options to IDE, then RAID, and back to AHCI. None of them work.

The cd drive is ASUS DRW-24 ATAPI. I've built a computer before and never had this problem. I'm mind boggled as to why it won't start up the disk to install the operating system.

 

[Saga Lout]

For absolutely no technical reason whatever, try swapping round the SATA connections at the board end. If one or other is failing, it's the only way to find out.

 

[jacobb1291]

I changed them from SATA 1 and 2, to SATA 5 and 6. I still get the same error. What I have noticed is that if I put in the disk that came with the mother board,it says
"A Bootable DVD/CD is detected. Press ENTER to boot from the DVD/CD. If no key is pressed within 5 seconds, the system will boot from the next priority device automatically.boot:

Booting from local disk...

Reboot and Select proper Boot device
or insert Boot Media in selected Boot device and press a key"

1. When I hit Enter within the first 5 seconds, nothing happens.
2.When I just put in the windows 7 disk, it just has the last paragraph.

Could it be a hardware issue?

 

[Saga Lout]

I don't know but I had a similar problem yesterday on a board just out of the box. W7 installation failed a dozen times part way through saying files were missing. I changed the RAM, used an external optical drive, tried three hard disks, each brand new, ran a Linux OS live from a disk, swore a lot and made the BIOS changes I suggested to you. I left the setting on IDE in the end and changed the optical in case the lens was cloudy - it worked.

Why it failed on the external I know not or why Linux Mint flew straight and true using the original optical drive but I do know that sometimes, persistence pays.

One final point - is the Windows DVD an ISO you burned from a download or one of their issue? Can it boot the machine from which you're posting?

 

[jacobb1291]

The windows 7 disk is one I have used before on other computers and it runs fine. As far as booting from the machine I am talking about, the machine basically acts as if nothing is in the CD drive. Even if I put in the motherboard disk like stated above, it doesn't do anything. Normally, when I put in a disk and it tells me to hit enter, and I do hit enter, it starts up the disk. But with this machine, it isn't.

Should I put the operating system on an external hard drive and try to run it from that? Could the CD drive be defective, even though I can hear it starting up the disk?

I have yet to even start the process of installation of the operating system.

 

[Saga Lout]

Could be a grubby lens. The optical drive seems to be prime suspect right now.

 

[jacobb1291]

What is the best way to fix the lens?

 

[Saga Lout]

I've never done it because I was never convinced the product works but there are cleaning disks which spin line a regular disk and somehow impact on the disk.

 

[jacobb1291]

I'm pretty sure it was the cd drive. I put the operating system on an external hard drive and booted it that way. I was able to install the operating system. So now my question is, is the cd drive faulty or can it be easily fixed?

 

[Saga Lout]

They're so inexpensive these days, frankly I wouldn't bother. US prices are so much lower than ours in the UK and I can buy one here for £24.00 GBP.