My laptop Dell inspiron needs formating with XP. the cd reader is dead and the only way to make things work is for me to put an external cd burner by usb, insert the XP cd and launch it from there.
Problem is that i cna't seem to find a way to get the external CD drive to boot. I went to BIOS and tried to change the range of the boot drives, but the USB was not one of the choices even though it was on and was plugged in properly.
What can I do?
FYI: My laptop is still functional, i can still go into windows and work from there.
2007-03-02 00:53:08 · 4 answers · asked by ff9_terra 2 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Laptops & Notebooks
can u run a bios update & then try
http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&SystemID=INS_PNT_CEL_4000&os=WW1&osl=en&deviceid=744&typecnt=1&libid=1&releaseid=R52072&vercnt=17
select hard drive install
2007-03-02 01:31:55 · answer #1 · answered by sεαη 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
You didn't mention how old your computer is. It's only been within the last few years that you can choose to boot from USB in the BIOS settings. Look for a way to boot from USB in your BIOS settings, it's not in the Boot Sequence Settings until enabled.
If not a BIOS option on your PC, you could try to update the BIOS firmware yourself, but one mistake and you could turn your PC into a digital solid-state boat anchor. Pay someone else to do it, but only if the latest BIOS update supports USB bootup!
BIOS updates can be found on Dell's website.
2007-03-02 01:05:38 · answer #2 · answered by ELfaGeek 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You never said if you installed the external drive's installation cd.If not you need to do that or go to web site of drive maker and download program.
2007-03-02 01:47:21 · answer #3 · answered by Larry-Oklahoma 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Flash your BIOS, and if that doesn't work, you can't do it with that laptop.
2007-03-02 00:58:21 · answer #4 · answered by Greg 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋