Computer won't boot or won't even enter setup

Step 1:
There are many good reasons for booting your computer from a USB drive. For instance, if you want to try out another operating system without disturbing the main hard drive on your computer, then installing the new OS on an external drive is a great way to run the system through its paces and decide whether you like it.

This approach will offer you the flexibility of being able to run both operating systems on your computer. However, before you can boot the new operating system from the USB drive, you will need to change the boot order for your computer in the system BIOS.

Connect the external USB drive or pen drive to the computer before you power it on. Press the "Delete" key as the computer performs the "Power On Self Test" (POST) to enter the BIOS area of the computer firmware. The POST performs a diagnostic of components on the motherboard and does a cursory check of the hard drive, memory and processor. The POST only lasts a few seconds; therefore, press the "Delete" key quickly. Enter the administrative BIOS password if prompted to do so. Once you enter the correct password, you will see the main BIOS screen. Use the right-arrow key to navigate to the "BOOT" menu option at the top of the screen, and press the "Enter" key. Press the down-arrow key until the cursor is on the "Boot Device Priority" label. Hit "Enter," and press the down-arrow key again to highlight the "1st Boot Device" option. Press the "+" or "-" keys to scroll through the available boot options until the "USB Drive" or "USB-HDD0" label is the highlighted option. Press the "F10" key to save changes and exit the BIOS setup program. When the computer restarts, wait for the "press any key to boot from external drive" prompt to display, and then press any key on the keyboard to boot from the USB drive. Award or Phoenix BIOS Connect the USB drive to the computer. Wait for the POST to display on the screen, and press the "Delete" key to enter the BIOS. Enter the BIOS password if prompted to do so. Tap the right-arrow key until the cursor is over the "BOOT" menu option. Press the "Enter" key. Press the down-arrow key until the highlighted cursor is on the "Removable Devices" option. Press the "+" key until the "Removable Devices" label is on the top of the boot device list. Press the "F10" key to save the changes for the boot order in the BIOS and to exit the utility. After the computer restarts, press any key on the keyboard to boot from the USB drive when prompted to do so.

During the boot process you will see on the screen to press a certain key to enter setup usually the Delete or F2 key this will vary depending on your operating system and computer Press and hold that key during the boot up process to enter BIOS the scroll down to advanced bios features press enter Change the first boot device to your hard drive.
The BIOS is AMI. Under ADVANCED SETUP:
The options listed for 1st,2nd ,3rd Boot device include:

IDE-0 means Pri master ?
IDE-1 means Pri slave ?


IDE-2 means Sec master ?
IDE-3 means Sec slave ? Hope this helps.

Restart your computer

During the boot process you will see on the screen a certain key to press usually the Delete or F2 to enter setup this may vary depending on your computers bios other possible keys

Acer: - Ctrl+Alt+Esc

ALR PC: (F2) or (Ctrl)(Alt)Esc)

AMI BIOS: (Del), (F1) or (F2)

AST, Advantage, Award, Tandon: - Ctrl + Alt + Esc

Award BIOS: (Del) or (Ctrl)(Alt)(Esc)


Press and hold that key during the boot up process to enter BIOS using the arrow keys navigate to Advanced Bios features press Enter you will see what the boot order is set to.

IDE-0 means Pri master ?
IDE-1 means Pri slave ?
IDE-2 means Sec master ?
IDE-3 means Sec slave ?

If you are unsure on what the boot order should be you can load failsafe defaults or load optimized defaults press escape then press f10 to save to cmos to restart.

This will set the boot order.

Maybe you are not giving it enough time to get into the setup.

Let it sit for a while and see what happens.

During the boot process you will see on the screen to press a certain key to enter setup
Press and hold that key during the boot up process to enter BIOS the scroll down to advanced bios features press enter change your first boot device to cd,press escape then press f10 to save to cmos to restart
(note after you have loaded the operating system you should go back and change the first boot device to your hard drive)
The BIOS is AMI. Under ADVANCED SETUP:
The options listed for 1st,2nd ,3rd Boot device include:
IDE-0 means Pri master ?
IDE-1 means Pri slave ?
IDE-2 means Sec master ?
IDE-3 means Sec slave ?

if you need more help with this post a reply

hope this helps

It is important to isolate the cause of the "PXE-E61 Media Test Failure, Check Cable" error and solve it. To do this, follow the steps below:

1. A loose or improper hard disk cable connection can be the cause of the error. This typically happens if the hard disk has recently been installed or moved. Check all of the hard disk's cable connections before trying anything else to solve the error.
2. Make sure that no other storage device is connected to the computer. If there is a storage device connected, remove it.
3. When computer start up is being attempted, enter the BIOS to see if the hard disk has been set up correctly and detected in BIOS. To enter the BIOS, follow these steps:

a. The key that must be pressed to enter the BIOS varies depending on the computer model. The key is most likely the Del key or one of the F keys. Many computers refer to this as Entering Setup and Setup is just another term used for the BIOS.
b. Try setting one's BIOS to any safe default settings. That might fix the error.

1. Verify that the boot options in CMOS are setup correctly. Follow these steps to do this:

a. Enter the CMOS by pressing one of the following keys: F1, F2, Del, Esc, or F10. Press one of these keys when trying to start up the computer. If these keys do not work, try holding one or more keys on the keyboard when the computer is booting. This may cause a Stuck Key Error, which should allow the user to enter the setup.
b. If the CMOS setup shows an option to boot from the LAN, disable this option.
c. Try to set the CMOS settings to any safe default settings, then save and exit. After changing any settings, reboot the computer.

1. It is possible that physical failure caused the error if the hard disk cannot be detected. If this is the case, replace the hard disk and restore one's data if a good backup is available. If one does not have a good backup, contact a company that provides data recovery services. These companies perform hard disk recovery and securely retrieve one's valuable data.

Check that the drive is detected in BIOS:

1. Press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
2. Go to the Boot menu.
3. Check the Boot Drive Order.
4. Press F10 to exit BIOS Setup.

If Boot Drive Order shows No Boot Drive:

• Check that the drive is properly installed in the computer.
• Try installing a different known good drive.

If PXE Boot is enabled in BIOSTo check the BIOS option:

1. Press F2 during boot to enter BIOS Setup.
2. Go to the Boot menu and check for Boot to Network.
3. Press F10 to exit BIOS Setup.

If you do not plan to boot to a network, disable this option.

If you do want to boot to a network, check that the network cable connection is working properly.

Power on the computer and enter the BIOS menu. It will tell you which button to press to enter setup. Generally it will be F1, F2 F10 F12 or Del.
At this point you can insert your operating system disc.
In BIOS navigate the menus and look for Boot Order, or similar Make sure CD/DVD boots before anything else
Press whichever key the menu states to save and exit (Probably F10)
When the computer boots it should either start booting to the installation setup or ask you to press any key to enter installation. Do so and follow the prompts to install your operating system.
Post if you need more info.

First open cpu cabinet.
Then disconnect power cable and sata or ide cable from harddiks then connect agagin.
Also check your ide or sata cable which connect to hdd works fine.
Refix your RAM memory to.
Then when you power up the computer press F! or F2 or "del" key to enter in bios.
Then check in bios that your hdd is detected?
Then if detected set first boot device in boot optionj in hdd then check.

Let me know if you need more assistanse.
Thanks.

open cpu and reconnect both connection to harddisk power cable and sata ir ide cable.
When u power up the computer press F1 or F2 or 'del" key to enter in bios then check your harddisk is detected .
This error comes when yourr hardidisk is not detected properly.
So detect your harddisk then check.

Dear Don't worry, there are some options you will have to press or check one by one "F1or F2 or F8 or F10 or F12 or del. Now, You can enter in CMOS setup.