Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
inthebootsequencewerefoundtocontainsignaturebytesindicatingavalidMBRintheir
first physical sectors.
Compaq BIOS Messages
With no valid MBR or bootable device found, systems with a Compaq BIOS display the
following message:
Non-System disk or disk error
replace and strike any key when ready
This is another confusing message because this same (or similar) error message is con-
tained intheDOS/Windows9X/MeVBRandnormally isdisplayed ifthesystemfilesare
missing or corrupted. So, if you see this message on a Compaq system, you can't be sure
whethertheproblemisintheMBR,VBR,orthesystemfiles,whichmakestrackingdown
and solving the problem more difficult.
Award BIOS Messages
With no valid MBR or bootable device found, systems with an Award BIOS display the
following message:
DISK BOOT FAILURE, INSERT SYSTEM DISK AND PRESS ENTER
So far, this appears to be the least confusing of these messages. You don't need a secret
decoder ring to figure out what it is really trying to say.
Phoenix BIOS Messages
WithnovalidMBRorbootabledevicefound,systemswithaPhoenixBIOSdisplayeither
the message
No boot device available -
strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility
or this one:
No boot sector on fixed disk -
strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility
Which of these two messages you see depends on whether no boot devices were found or
readable, or a boot sector could be read but was found not to have the proper signature
bytes.
MBR Boot Error Messages
If the BIOS has successfully loaded the MBR and checked the signature, and if the signa-
turebytesarecorrect,theBIOSthenpassescontroltotheMBRbyrunningtheMBRcode.
The program code in the MBR performs a test of the partition table (also contained in
