Dimension 8400 will not boot from cd or dvd drive

Hi,

Well, you tried changing the boot sequence in the BIOS.  Please make sure that your cd drive is working with other medias (i.e. other cds or dvds), if it is so, then try the following;

1. turn off the computer and then unplugh the power cable and all other external devices from your computer

2. push and hold the power button for 30 sec. (without power connection)

3. plugh the keyboard, mouse and monitor cable and then the power, turn on the computer and then check whether your computer is booting from os cd.

Regards,

Kamal.

I tested my cd and dvd drive once booted all the way into the operating system (Windows XP). Neither of them had any problems reading the cd. I have booted from the cd i'm trying to use many times in the past as well.

Hello

I have the same exact problem as you do.

After i turn the dimension 8400 on ,i receive no booting device available and when i try to boot from cd-rom i receive the same message.

in booting sequence shows  usb cd-rom boot enable,but when i try to boot from it ,it says no booting device available.

I even tried to boot from hard disk (normal booting ),again the same message,"NO BOOTING DEVICE AVAILABLE".

Please ,help.

thanks.mike

I also have this issue with a Dimension 8400.  I can't boot from a bootable CD or bootable DVD despite having the optical drive as a priority in the boot sequence, and have the same issue where accessing the boot menu via F12 and choosing the optical drive just gets me "Strike F1 key to continue, F2 to enter setup utility". 

I have one optical drive on the IDE cable, being the only device on the IDE cable, set as master, at the end of the cable.  I have another optical drive on a SATA cable.  Both work fine within windows.  Neither works for booting from an optical disc.

I read somewhere that one user was able to boot from a DVD by disconnecting one of his optical drives -- the other one was then able to boot from a DVD.  I haven't tried this yet but it seems like a rather imperfect way to go about it if you have to open up the case very time you want to do soemthing like restore off a backup.  I'd appreciate hearing a real solution.

Same problem here. All dell diagnostics pass from F12.  There seems to be many people with this same issue.  The machine I am now working on for client started this about a year ago and no the client has told me  2 repair shops were not able to fix it.  I am not giving up, but it would be nice if someone would reply from Dell.  The system is out of warranty so I do not want to pay Dell for support.

Exactly what bootable CD or DVD media are you all trying to boot from?

Perhaps my previous post was a little ambigious and just wanted to clarify a few things. I said that I had booted from the cd I was trying to use many times in the past. This is true, but not from this computer. I could never get this computer to read any bootable cd's (Windows xp, linux, etc...).

Here's how I ended up working around the problem (luckily I wasn't trying to install a different operating system or it would have never worked):

- Removed the hard drive

- Hooked the hard drive up to a computer running linux (via removeably hard drive enclosure)

- Backed up the data

- Put the hard drive back in the machine...

- Used the bult-in dell system restore (I forgot what button you press, something like F4, or possible F8 while booting)

- Removed the hard drive again...

- hooked the hard drive up to the linux computer (again) to restore the data

- put the drive back in the dell

Just wanted to say thanks to dell for all the help and for making a seemingly simple job become such a chore.

In my case I was referring to backups made with both Acronis TrueImage Home Edition from this machine and and older one made on this machine with Nero Back It Up.  I've successfully used both programs numerous times before to make images of and and restore other machines.

  Interesting. I'm wondering if there's some issue with the particular models of optical drives the people who have posted in this thread have in their 8400s that could perhaps be fixed with a firmware update. I've successfully booted a number of Dimension 8400 systems to various flavors of Windows & the Dell Resource CD in years past so experience makes me think there's nothing inherent to this system model itself that would cause the kinds of problems you've been having with Linux, TrueImage, etc.

In my case it may be due to modifying the configuration since I replaced both optical drives, and while one of them is IDE, the other is SATA.  Still, there's no reason this issue should occur as a result.  Since my first post here I haven't had time to go unplugging things to check it out but I did see someone else comment on another site  that disconnecting one of his 2 optical drives worked.  Tha's not an acceptable solution but isn't the worst temporary workaround.

Hi Experts,

My HDD corrupted so bought a new, when I tried to install Windows XP BIOS shows "USB or Onboard CD ROM Drive Not Present"

Optical IDE drive is  Toshiba Samsung CD-RW (Model SW-252)

1. Optical Drive, IDE Ribbon cable, and Power cable are working properly (Checked them in another computer)

2. Jumper is on 'Cable Select'

3. Both ends of IDE Ribbon Cable are correctly installed on Drive and Motherboard

Motherboard failure?

This might help.  I have been trying to install Windows 7 to my Dell 8400 system when I realized that I could not boot from the DVD drive.  Not matter how I set up the Bios, the computer just would not boot from the drive.  I tested the disk in another computer and had no problems booting from the DVD so I know the issue was with the Dell 8400. 

I updated the Bios version to A09 and updated the latest driver for the Phillips DVD drive.  Both drivers came from Dell but did not have any affect.

My computer has 1 CD/RW drive and 1 DVD/RW drive.  Out of desperation, I decided to use the Bios to turn off the CD/RW drive leaving only the DVD/RW turned on.  And for whatever reason, this worked.  I had no problems booting from the DVD.  Now when the computer boots it asks me to push any key to boot from CD.  Pushing any key will boot from the Windows 7 DVD.  I am currently installing Windows 7 as I write this. 

I am not 100% sure why this works, but my guess is that either a conflict was occuring, or the Boot sequence was just looking at the CD Drive and ignored the DVD Drive.  I am, howver, certain that this is 100% safe and very easy to accomplish.  To turn off the CD/RW drive in the Bios, restart the computer and hit F2 to enter setup.  VIew the drives on the menu tree and hit enter.  Now find the drive that controls the CD/RW drive.  This information is found on the right hand portion on the lower half of the screen.  It will tell you what the manufacure is ect.  Once I identified the drive I hit enter and then used the arrow key to turn it off.  This will disable the drive until I turn it back on in the bios.  Save and exit, and now the DVD should boot just fine.

Well Windows 7 is about done installing now, so I have to go check it out.  Good Luck to anyone with this problem.

I am not 100% sure why this works, but my guess is that either a conflict was occuring, or the Boot sequence was just looking at the CD Drive and ignored the DVD Drive.  I am, howver, certain that this is 100% safe and very easy to accomplish.  To turn off the CD/RW drive in the Bios, restart the computer and hit F2 to enter setup.  VIew the drives on the menu tree and hit enter.  Now find the drive that controls the CD/RW drive.  This information is found on the right hand portion on the lower half of the screen.  It will tell you what the manufacure is ect.  Once I identified the drive I hit enter and then used the arrow key to turn it off.  This will disable the drive until I turn it back on in the bios.  Save and exit, and now the DVD should boot just fine. Well Windows 7 is about done installing now, so I have to go check it out.  Good Luck to anyone with this problem.

In your case the bold portion of the first sentence is exactly why you couldn't boot to the Windows 7 DVD. Dell configures systems that have two IDE optical drives with the CD or CD-RW in the master position and there's no option in BIOS to make the system boot to an optical drive in the slave spot. You have to either disable the master optical drive in BIOS or physically unplug it to boot to a DVD drive. I think niq000's issue wasn't the same thing since s/he indicated at least some of the discs s/he attempted to boot to were actually CDs.

Ok, hi...here I go again. I just wrote a lengthy post only to have it disappear, I'm so bummed, as this new post will certainly not match the clarity I think I had in the post I just lost. Thanks, in advance, for any consideration and reply to my issue.

Anyway, I seem to have similar issues as described above,and I am sorry if this is all redundant, but I just have gotten pretty confused by all the research and readings I have made regarding my current issue and the upcoming issues about re-installing a new HD and a fresh XP OP system,

and I'm a bit of a tech novice, so any dumb-downed help, steps or advicewould be greatly appreciated.

I have a Dimenision 8400, and apparently my hard drive has died.. All diagnostic tests say 'failed' return code 7, and all that. So, I tried to use my Dell XP install dvd disc to maybe get into Recovery or repair to perhaps get the drive and system up for a bit longer, to save stuff, before the inevitable total HD failure. I guess I'm too late, but I also seem to have this same boot up issue. I go to BIOS, get to the boot list, up/down to choose cd/dvd boot (#4), highlight , enter, and try again. It never seems to change the order, #1 is always boot floppy. I have no floppies for this, but hope I won't need them in the next process. I then called friends and considered how I might get some floppy boot disks and such, but perhaps this is not needed, especially since I think I am convinced that the present HD is dead dead dead, and I should just accept that I need to do a complete new install on a new hard drive.  So, this is where I am presently:

I received, today, new DELL INSTALL XP 2005 MEDIA CENTER operating system discs, and I have ordered a new 500gb  WD hard drive that is compatible with my 8400. I am very concerned that when I start from scratch in a day or two , that I will run into this boot up issue where my dvd's will not be bootable. All of my drives are the original equipment installed by DELL, The cd and dvd optical drives are I guess IDE, and my HD is Sata, and I've read in various forums that I may need to play around with the optical drive hook ups, etc.., to get the DVD drive in place for booting sequence. Is this really the case? , Is there something i'm doing wrong in the BIOS? I did not 'remove' anything on boot list, and just tried to do what the menu says, but I guess it just didn't work.

Do you think that when I install the new HD and put in the new DVD install disk - everything will go smoothly, like it did when first purchased this rig? Any clear, dumb-downed advice on what to do about possible boot up issues would be greatly, greatly appreciated.  IS there a chance that floppies will be the only way to get things going, and that after getting new dvd's, new hd, I WILL not be able to go further without floppies. What a pain, as I have no other rig to make these. Maybe the new HD install will make the boot sequence work where somehow my install dvd's will boot up  without pain? I guess, from my forum and readings and all the pages i've put in favorites about this issue, that I'm almost convinced that it will NOT work unless I change the boot sequence succesfully, or start uplugging and mixing around the optical drives, etc..., that I read about. It's all very confusing, and the more I seem to look into this, the more I get confused. HELP please....

Also, I am interested in partitioning my new HD as well, thinking that maybe I'd like to split it up between 2 to 4 drives so to speak. I understand that I can do this with a windows utility, so any help on that would be wonderful too. Can I do a partitioning after the XP op and hard drive are working and installed and i'm back in business? Should I do it during install, and what advice can you give?

Of course, the primary issue is being able to have my DVD install disks actually work and boot up.

My plan is to install the HD, with power off of course. THEN insert the new XP OP system DVD in the DVD TRAY, and hit power on. If it works, I guess I'll go on, but, if not, then i'm prolly having the boot sequence problem. I'd also like to partition at some point. Is my procedure so far correct, install both hd and xp disk before turning rig on for the first time. Do I need the fresh 'vital' drivers that I got from a Dell download, or will these be on the new disks and I don't have to worry about that issue?

If any kind soul out there can give my particular problem consideration and provide any advice, steps, help, or procedures that I can readily understand, all I can say is: thanks, thanks, thanks, it is all greatly appreciated to the nth degree. I want to get this system up again primarily for my kids who are starting school next week, and it would be great to have this issue all finished.

THANKS FOR READING, and thanks for anything and everything you might supply me with to assist me in some sort of hopefully smooth process that I can understand, be prepared for, and actually accomplish. I will check back often. Again, .... THANKS !!!     - hazenworld   August 25, 2009 3:05pm p.s.t.