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March 3rd, 2009 13:00
Dimension 2350 Trying to boot using USB floppy
I was trying to use a USB floppy to boot the computer in DOS for a scan and repair of corrupt sector on hard disk. The boot priority on the setup menu does not give an option for a floppy boot unless in the advanced setup menu under "diskette configuration" Drive A is set at 1.44M 3.5 In. If this is done then the "floppy" in the boot menu is enabled and chosen as first priority.
However, the external USB floppy is designated as Drive B by the system so it is not used by the system for boot-up. Can the system be forced to only select Drive A when the floppy is connected to a USB port ? OR Looking into REGEDIT -> SYSTEM-> MOUNTED DEVICES it contains both A and B devices, is eliminating the B device the way to go? Has anyone tried this successfully?
Larry R
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1.7K Posts
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March 5th, 2009 11:00
If you are using a USB floppy drive I believe you want to tell the computer to boot from a USB device and not a floppy.
Larry R
2 Intern
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1.7K Posts
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March 5th, 2009 12:00
D'oh. Sorry, I meant to include that in my other post. In the BIOS (F2 at the Dell splash screen just after powering on) you can get to the boot order/boot devices menu and set what devices the computer tries to boot to. There should be an option for USB devices, in addition to hard drive, optical drive, network and floppy (and they don't all have to be enabled).
salbruno
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March 5th, 2009 12:00
Thanks for the response Larry, unfortunately in the Startup Boot menu there is no option for choosing a USB device, as a matter of fact there is also not an option to choose FLOPPY. The only options are CDROM, Hard Disk and LAN. Any ideas on how to introduce these options on the dimension 2350?
salbruno
11 Posts
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March 5th, 2009 13:00
I did access the startup menu at the splash. I have BIOS version 02. The only options offered in the boot menu are CDROM,Hard Disk and LAN. The USB and floppy options are not offered in any of the boot priorities. How can I possibly activate these options?
DELL-Chris M
Community Manager
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March 5th, 2009 15:00
Do you see USB Emulation in the bios? Make sure it is Enabled and NOT set for No Boot.
salbruno
11 Posts
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March 6th, 2009 05:00
To Chris M, there is no USB Emulation in the BIOS.
salbruno
11 Posts
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March 6th, 2009 05:00
Yes, the USB floppy is attached at power up. In the boot menu the available choices for first Boot Device selection are only CDROM,Hard Disk, LAN or Disabled