New PE 2950, cannot boot from CD - Code 4

Question

Trying to install Windows 2003 onto a brand new PE 2950 machine that has the combo DVD-ROM reader/CD-RW writer drive in it, and it refuses to boot from any of my Windows 2003 install CDs no matter whether the factory-made ones from Microsoft (that don't have SP1 imbedded in them) or my slipstreamed CDR disks that do have W2K3 with SP1 integrated in them. I only get a 'cannot boot from CD - Code 4' message. All of these disks boot just fine in my PE2850 server, and in two older PE2600's. The only disk I can get the 2950 to boot from is the Dell Server Assistant disk that came with the machine, but I don't really want to use that because it seems to be buggy in that it wants to wipe out the existing Dell utility partition on the drive array with no ability to preserve it or recreate it when going thru the wizard for installing the Windows o/s. I've found the utility partition to be very useful in the past, and I'd prefer to keep it intact and not run the server 'naked' without it residing on the disk array, since it only occupies a tiny amount of disk space.

Murr · Answer

Is there a BIOS update for the 2950 (I know it is new but...)   Maybe.   Here's another follow-up on a subject that has irked many: The bizarre 'Error Code 4' problem that many people experience when they try to boot from a CD, and which I cited as one of the main stumbling blocks with being forced to install Whistler from a bootable CD. The problem, reiterated: Some people have reported that when attempting to boot their computer from a CD-ROM, they are confronted with a cryptic error message reading: 'Cannot boot from CD. Code 4.' No other information is available. People have come close to tearing their hair out over this. The solution seems to rest with a solution to a lot of common problems: a BIOS upgrade. Apparently, the Code 4 error is a reference to a BIOS that needs to be upgraded to handle proper CD booting. If your computer doesn't have a BIOS upgrade available, however, then the problem becomes much harder to fix.

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