Frequently Asked Questions - disk boot failure

A disk boot failure can mean a couple of different things. It could be hardware or software related. I would first make sure your computer can see the drive. It should display the drive listing when you start up the computer on the POST screen. If you can't see it that way I would check the BIOS to see if it's recognized.

If it doesn't show up in the BIOS make sure your IDE or SATA cables and power cables are attached correctly and functioning. See if you can hear the hard drive power up when you turn on the computer. If you can you may want to try a different cable or port on the motherboard. Just make sure to adjust your jumpers appropriately if its an IDE drive. You may also have a bad hard drive. You can put the drive in another computer as a secondary drive to see if you can recover your data.