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HELP!!! HELP!!! "No boot device available - strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"
I suspect there are many users out there that have seen this problem. I have replaced the previous HDD as it was faulty in my Dell Dimension 8400. I have been trying to boot from the Dell reinstall Windows CD and keep getting this error "no boot device available - strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"
I have promoted the optical drive to boot first and I do have the CD in the CD tray. I can see both optical drives along with the HDD in the BIOS. This should be a straight forward task but I have wasted best part of the day trying to get of first base!!!!
I have checked on a number of sites and there would appear to be lots of owners who have seen this problem but I am yet to see a solution that works. Is there anybody out there that can help? have replaced the previous HDD as it was faulty in my Dell Dimension 8400. I have been trying to boot from the Dell reinstall Windows CD and keep getting this error "no boot device available - strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility"
I have promoted the optical drive to boot first and I do have the CD in the CD tray. I can see both optical drives along with the HDD in the BIOS. This should be a straight forward task but I have wasted best part of the day trying to get of first base!!!!
I have checked on a number of sites and there would appear to be lots of owners who have seen this problem but I am yet to see a solution that works. Is there anybody out there that can help? :emotion-7:
PETER345
5.8K Posts
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June 7th, 2009 15:00
Generally only the "first" optical drive is bootable. Did you try the other drive?
Peter
RoHe
10 Elder
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43.6K Posts
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June 7th, 2009 18:00
If trying the other optical drive doesn't help, try clearing NVRAM (=resetting BIOS to factory defaults).
Power off and disconnect PC from the wall. Press/hold the power button for ~15 sec. Open the case and remove the battery from the motherboard. Press/hold the power button for ~30 sec. Reinstall the battery (right-side-up!). Reboot and press F12. You should be able to pick Boot from CD from the list (with XP CD in the drive).
Ron
dave51_2fe887
1.3K Posts
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June 7th, 2009 18:00
Press F2 at Dell srceen to enter System setup. Change "SATA Operation" to Raid / ATA Autodetect, exit saving settings. If neccesary reboot and at the Dell screen
Press F12 and check that you have a choice of "Onboard or USB CD/DVD Drive" in Advanced Boot Menu, if so highlight it and press enter. It should Boot from CD Drive.
dneicey
15 Posts
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June 19th, 2009 22:00
WHERE EXACTLY IS SATA OPERATION IN SETUP
dave51_2fe887
1.3K Posts
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June 20th, 2009 09:00
In the 8400 Setup Screen it is "Drives>Drive Controller". Link below.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
dneicey
15 Posts
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June 20th, 2009 13:00
I put the battery in, unfortunately it's doing the same thing, what am I doing wrong:emotion-7:
RoHe
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June 21st, 2009 19:00
What color are the 4 diagnostic LEDs on rear of the tower? If not all green, look up error code here.
<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>
It's possible the hard drive failed. Are you still unable to boot from your XP CD?
Ron
digitalmark007
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August 14th, 2009 20:00
Hey Ricky, I see you posted this problem a couple months ago. I hope you've figured out the problem by now, but in case you havn't, I may have the solution for you. I had the same problem about a month ago. After wasting several days unseccessfully searching the internet for a remedy and messing with every bios setting I could think of, I eventually discovered (by dumb luck) that it was necessary to install a driver from the ResourceCD that came with your dimension 8400. The 8400 won't be able to recognize your SATA drive as a hard drive untill then. I booted the computer with the ResourceCD in the cd rom, the cd loaded and stated that I needed to create a boot disc to install the driver for the SATA drive. I bought my 8400 with a 3.5" floppy drive so I used that to create the boot disc. I can't remember if it was an option to create a bootable cd there or not. I then took out the ResourceCD, left the 3.5" boot disc in the drive and restarted the computer. The driver for the SATA was installed, I took out the 3.5", put in the Windows XP reinstall cd and rebooted. I was then able to install Windows on my SATA hard drive without any problems. I hope this helps you out...
RoHe
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August 15th, 2009 21:00
The easier way to do it is to run BIOS setup and change the SATA Operation setting to RAID Autodetect/ATA. Save the change and exit setup.
That way you don't have to load the SATA drivers before installing Windows.
Ron