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Inspiron 620 won't boot from DVD
Inspiron 620, Win7 SP1, latest BIOS A10 02/22/2013, Optical drive: PLDS DVD+/-RW DH-16ABS ATA device.
I would like to install Win8 on a secondary partition on Disk 0 to make the machine dual boot.
Neither Win8 full install nor Win8 upgrade DVD's will boot from DVD, although both disks will boot up on my other Dell Studio XPS machine. Yes, on the Inspiron 620 I did change the BIOS to first boot from DVD and also tried F12 key at initial bootup to select the DVD as the bootup device. It still went straight to the HDD.
The DVD **will autorun** on the Inspiron 620 when inserted after Win 7 bootup. But it will not bootup, as I would like. After the autorun, it proceeds as if to **overwrite** the existing Win7, with the option to "Choose what to keep": [1] "Keep Windows settings, personal files, and apps," or [1] "Keep personal files only," or [3] "Nothing." [Interestingly, if you proceed, it gets to the point where it wants to uninstall Dell Stage app - incompatible. 8^) ]
Obviously, that will presumably negate a dual boot setup, right? Any advice, please?
osprey4
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September 7th, 2013 04:00
Hi Geelia,
There is a way to install Windows 8 from a flash drive. I'd look into that.
Mary G
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September 7th, 2013 09:00
Changing the boot order has no effect on newer computers. The boot order is dynamic and changes at each boot depending on what boot device is available. Also win 8 is an upgrade and you cannot dual boot with win 7 since the win 8 install replaces the win 7 license. You lose all rights to use or transfer win 7 after the upgrade.*
If you want to dual boot with win 7, download the iso file for the 8.1 preview--that is a full version-- and make a bootable disk. Save the win 8 upgrade to install after the final version of 8.1 is released in Oct. You must have a licensed win 8 version to get the free upgrade to 8.1 and win 7 must be on the drive to upgrade to win 8. If you cannot boot to the dvd, it might not be bootable. Use win 7 to burn the iso file image to dvd.
*License terms of the upgrade to win 8--
The software covered by this agreement is an upgrade to your existing operating system software, so the upgrade replaces the original software that you are upgrading. You do not retain any rights to the original software after you have upgraded and you may not continue to use it or transfer it in any way.
geelias
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September 7th, 2013 10:00
Thanks. I have seen but not read thoroughly how to create a bootable flash drive for win8 on the web.
However, an issue remains for me, how am I going to use a system repair disk, if needed? It must bootup to be useful.
I wonder if you can convert/transfer a system repair disk to a flash drive!? 8^)
rdunnill
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September 7th, 2013 12:00
Newegg has a Lite-On burner available for $18 shipped and a 15%-off code good through today. If it's your DVD drive that's at fault, this is a cheap way to fix it.
Regarding booting from the USB drive, the drive is prepped using the DISKPART utility so that it is bootable and then the Windows install files are copied over.
geelias
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September 7th, 2013 12:00
I guess I don't understand your post, or I didn't make myself clear.
My primary computer, a Win7 Dell Studio XPS Core i7, a fairly new computer, allows me to specify the boot order either by a setting in the BIOS or by pressing the F12 key during power-up. The boot order is **not dynamic**, not arbitrary, per se; it boots from the device I pre-select, e.g., CD/DVD, for example as in the case of booting from a system repair disc - if the DVD is loaded in the DVD/ROM, of course. This Dell Inspiron 620, however, will not boot from any manner of bootable DVD, such as a newly created System Repair Disc, created on the very same DVD RW device -- bootup failure on three separate bootable DVD's.
And I do have both a "purportedly full version Win8" (bootable) via TechNet subscription, as well as an upgrade Win8 DVD (bootable) via Microsoft download. I tried the latter only because the former didn't boot. My problem is **not a license issue**. At this point I'm guessing it is either a faulty DVD/ROM device or a faulty BIOS (I have the latest version A10). Unfortunately I didn't test this feature while under warranty.