chris.shelton
December 22nd, 2010, 03:28 AM
First off, I apologize if this is in the wrong forum.
I am trying to help a friend set up his computer to dual boot Windows and Ubuntu. While the CD drive works (and can burn cds, rip cds, play cds, etc with no noticible impairment of function), it is unresponsive before the Operating System is loaded. What I mean is that when we put in a bootable cd (we've tried Ubuntu, Windows 7, Puppy Linux, gparted, Windows Recovery Disk) and go through the boot menu right after the computer manufacturer screen (HP), and select CD-Rom Drive, the screen goes black with the exception of a blinking white cursor. The computer will boot from the hard drive, and we managed to boot and install Ubuntu from a flash drive just fine.
Is there any reason why a CD drive might do this? It once, years ago, had a large amount of soda spilled in it, but I would imagine if anything was broken hardware-wise, the drive just wouldn't work at all. I don't know that much about hardware (or anything, really), but the only thing I could think of is that it could have something to do with an OS loading a more complete set of drivers than the BIOS. I have absolutely no idea if this is actually the case, but it's just a thought. Has anyone ever had a similar problem, or could anyone suggest possible steps to fix this (short of buying a new cd drive)?
I am trying to help a friend set up his computer to dual boot Windows and Ubuntu. While the CD drive works (and can burn cds, rip cds, play cds, etc with no noticible impairment of function), it is unresponsive before the Operating System is loaded. What I mean is that when we put in a bootable cd (we've tried Ubuntu, Windows 7, Puppy Linux, gparted, Windows Recovery Disk) and go through the boot menu right after the computer manufacturer screen (HP), and select CD-Rom Drive, the screen goes black with the exception of a blinking white cursor. The computer will boot from the hard drive, and we managed to boot and install Ubuntu from a flash drive just fine.
Is there any reason why a CD drive might do this? It once, years ago, had a large amount of soda spilled in it, but I would imagine if anything was broken hardware-wise, the drive just wouldn't work at all. I don't know that much about hardware (or anything, really), but the only thing I could think of is that it could have something to do with an OS loading a more complete set of drivers than the BIOS. I have absolutely no idea if this is actually the case, but it's just a thought. Has anyone ever had a similar problem, or could anyone suggest possible steps to fix this (short of buying a new cd drive)?