Ok, ive been through all the other messages about boot failures, but nothing has helped. After WinXP froze, I rebooted the PC, and it tried to boot from CD, Floppy and SCSI, failed all, and just sat there saying boot failure. I have fiddled with the boot order, and no luck. I have used the Windows XP CD, but after loading all the files, it tells me I have insufficient memory to run Windows, and I cant get to the recovery console. I then tried a WinXP bootdisk, but when trying to do a chkdsk or an fdisk, it tells me i have no fixed disks. Does this mean that the IDE cable is broken or the hard drive is broken? I suppose it could be the power cable to the HDD too. Any suggestions or help?

start with the basics. re-seat the power and IDE cables to the harddrive. If that doesn't help then download a diagnostic file from the HDD manufacturer. These usually create a bootable floppy when you run them from the downloaded .exe boot using the diagnostic floppy and see if you can do basic checkup of the HDD.

http://www.cpubuilders.com/support/cbbb02/guide/101.html http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb;en-us;q309459 http://howto.lycos.com/lycos/step/1,,139+24365+17466,00.html Primary master hard disk fail . No Fixed Disks Present . Check Hard Disk Drive(s) Connections Make sure that the IDE cable is correctly connected to the Hard Disk Drive Make sure the IDE cable is connected to the motherboard's IDE controller Make sure that the Hard Disk Drive is connected to the Power Supply Try connecting to a different Power Supply connector Do not connect to a Power Supply connector from an adapter (i.e. case fan Power Supply adapter) Check Hard Disk Drive(s) Jumpers Make sure that the Hard Disk Drives jumpers are set correctly If your drive has a "single drive" setting, then disconnect all other IDE drives and test using this setting Check BIOS IDE Detection Make sure that all your IDE devices are being correctly detected by the BIOS Test Using Alternate Components Try a different IDE cable Try a different Power Supply Try a different Hard Disk Drive ====================================== Hard Disk Problems Cause Error Messages When You Start Your Computer http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;812446 SUMMARY When you start your computer, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following: Hard disk drive failure When you start your computer from a Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk, and then try to use the Fdisk.exe program to view partition information, you may receive the following error message: No fixed disk present CAUSE This issue may occur if any of the following conditions exist: The hard disk is not installed correctly. The hard disk is not configured correctly in the computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS). The hard disk is damaged. RESOLUTION To resolve this issue, contact your computer manufacturer for help and for more information about how to troubleshoot and resolve this issue. For information about how to contact your computer manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;65416 60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;60781 60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;60782 MORE INFORMATION For additional information about how to troubleshoot startup problems in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 308041 Resources for Troubleshooting Startup Problems in Windows XP The information in this article applies to: Microsoft Windows XP Professional Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

Thanks for that guys...i hadn't yet verntured into the physical side of the matter, but i will tommorow. I had forgotten that in CMOS u cud see HDD diganostics, and therefore don't know whether BIOS can see the HDD or not. I will post again when ive either solved the problem (for furture reference or solution) or if i need more help. Thanks, Nick

Just read your messages, I'm trying to solve a similar problem. When loading i get the following message "boot failure insert BOOT diskette in A:", I've had the side off and fiddled, the cables andplugs seem tight enough. I've now downloaded win xp sp1 set up disks, copied to floppies and trying those, eeeek

gailmusgrove , these may help . BootMaster Partition Recovery http://bootmaster.filerecovery.biz/ BootMaster is currently available for download in four formats. All are offered as freeware: Corruption of the Master Boot Record (by whatever cause) is easily the most common problem in data recovery for PC compatable systems, and in the majority of cases it will be found that damage is limited to the Master Boot Record. ========================================= Fixing Windows 2000/XP BOOT.INI Files http://www.goodells.net/multiboot/editbini.htm HOW TO: Edit the Boot.ini File in Windows XP http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q289/0/22.asp&NoWebContent= The information in this article applies to: * Microsoft Windows XP Professional * Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition Repairing Corrupted or Missing Boot.ini Files http://sft-cyber.com/Bootini.htm Repairing the Boot Sector http://sft-cyber.com/Re%20Boot.htm If WinXP will not start, it may be due to a damaged boot sector or a missing or corrupt ntldr or ntdetect.com files. To replace, access the recovery console and enter: 1. Copy X:\i386\NTLDR C: (X is your CD ROM drive letter) 2. Copy X:\i386\NTDETECT.COM C: Try using the FIXBOOT command from the Windows XP Recovery Console to write a new boot sector on the system partition, and then use the FIXMBR command to repair the master boot record. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.asp?url=/WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/bootcons_fixboot.asp http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/productdoc/en/default.asp?url=/WINDOWSXP/home/using/productdoc/en/bootcons_fixmbr.asp