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Formatting SCSI HDD and Installing OS

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10 replies

by dana grantham

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After verifying that my SCSI HDD was toast I sent it back to the manufacturer and they replaced it (still under warranty for a change!). Now I have installed the replacement into the CPU and need to format and install an OS. However, when the computer boots it does read the A drive. I have changed the boot sequence in the BIOS and still cannot get it to read A. This computer was used as a CD-Server and booted directly to the SCSI drive. It does show that it sees the CD ROM as a Primary Master but that is all before it tries to boot to the SCSI drive. I do not know how to get it to boot to the A drive so I can run fdisk, format and install Win98SE. I am relatively new at this and would appreciate any suggestions.

I have dealt with IDE HDDs several times with no problems but this is my first dealings with a SCSI HDD and I know nothing at all about it. Thanks for your input.

10 replies

by mphoffar

Just because there's a scsi device installed shouldn't make your floppy go like that.

If you need to remove the scsi card and then set your bios to boot from a floppy. This should at least confirm for you that the resides with the floppy or the something configured with the card.

A lot of scsi cards have a bios setup you have to enter to set to a floppy boot or not.

Mark

by trurod70

Check the floppy drive cable. Maybe it came loose when you were pulling out the hard drive.

by dana grantham

Thanks for the suggestion, it wasn't the cable but the power cord was bad. I just took a chance and changed the power cord and it worked. I probably wouldn't have thought to try that if I didn't have your suggestion to get me to look in that direction. I appreciate it.

by freetech

the win8se disk is bootable. make sure your boot sequence is set in the BIOS as: floppy, cd-rom, hard drive (your bios make use different names, but you get the point). then put the win98se cd in and turn your computer completely off then on again.
at the first menu, highlight "boot from cd-rom"
at the second menu, choose start computer with or without cd-rom support--it doesn't matter.
at your next prompt, just type 'fdisk' and return.

by ralphg_hoo

First of all, what scsi controller are you using?
In the scsi cards bios:
Check the options for bootable CD-turn it off.
Some scsi bios also have boot order settings.
If you turn off the scsi bios, it should not interfere with your boot process.
Is your CD IDE or scsi?

With the scsi bios off, and your mb bios set to boot floopy first, hopefully you can boot.
unfortunately you must turn the scsi bios back on to access the disk for format!
Get it to boot first, then start working with the scsi bios settings.

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