No Boot Device: System Halted

[logic_789]

HELP! I recently changed my hard drive from a 40gb MAxtor to a 250GB Western Digital. I installed XP on my 250gb, but i recently heard about dual booting hard drive and wanted to boot both hard drives so i can get back all of my files. Trying that it didnt work and got that error. Only boots up with the 250gb installed. Running Xp sp2 from both HD. Dell Dimension 4400. please help me in booting up two hard drives using the 250 as master.

[EzyStvy]

Would be easier to make the old drive the "Slave" drive so you can copies files.

[logic_789]

how do i do that? thats what i want to do but it give me the error no boot device system halted.

[EzyStvy]

Are both drives IDE (older ribbon style) drives? If so, they have jummper pins on the back side.

[logic_789]

yes both are ide, the 250gb doesnt have a jumper but the 40gb has one in as the slave.

[logic_789]

im running on the 250gb right now without a jumper.

[EzyStvy]

The drive should have sort of chart/diagram showing you how to jumper it as Master.....If you're missing the pin you'll need to get one.

Setting Both drives to CS (cable select) should also work.

[logic_789]

when ever i tried to use a jumper wit hthe 250gb it doesnt work. but if i take it out it works and boots up fine, still i cant get the 40gb to boot up.

[logic_789]

another thing i just noticed was the the hard drive is reading 127gb as the total size when on the outside sticker it reads 250gb.

[Les28]

Hi there, it sounds like you've hit the 137Gb limit for large hard drives with your new 250Gb Western Digital drive, maybe you can get a bios update from Dell to support larger hard drives, or use a hard drive PCI controller card or partition your new drive into 2 X 125 Gb drives but this can give problems some people have found.
Have a look at this site, particularly section 7. Think you need to sort this out before using your old drive in a dual boot system.
http://www.buildorbuy.net/bioslimits.html

[logic_789]

thanks, i still cant get the 40gb to boot up by it self or even dual. i've tried with the jumper in all places and still nothing. a funny thing is that im using the 250gb right now and it has no jumper, when i put it in, in any places it always reads no boot device system falted.

[EzyStvy]

Making the 40gig drive a "Slave" drive isn't the same thing as being able to boot off of it...

Do you have the 250gig drive on the end connection to the ribbon cable.

[logic_789]

yes i believe it is.

[Les28]

Regards the jumperless 250 Gb WD working OK, that seems to be the correct setting for WD as single device master, ie jumperless. See first reply here 3rd paragraph
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/...sterslave.aspx

and 3rd item down here
http://www.xpcgear.com/hddcaseinstall.html

[logic_789]

yes i get that but my problem still exists that i cant get the 40gb to boot up together with the 250gb without getting the error: no boot device system halted.

[Les28]

just looking at WD's page here, you've set the jumper on the WD as master have you and the old 40Gb jumper as slave on the same IDE ribbon, the master WD on the end of the ribbon? As it's not a dual boot system is it, but booting from the WD and accessing the old drive from the WD.

http://www.wdc.com/en/products/index.asp?cat=3

The jumperless WD setting is only if it's the only drive on the IDE ribbon, you do have a jumper for the WD and a diagram of where to set the jumper to make it master? I've just downloaded one PDF installation sheet of one of the WD's and it shows where to set the jumper as master. The WD doesn't need a jumper if it's the only drive in the pc but it does if there's another drive on the same ribbon.

I still don't like that 137Gb plus on an old bios and slaving another 40Gb to that, so whether that's causing the problem if all the jumper settings are correct, I don't know but maybe someone with more experience of this will.

[logic_789]

so what am i supposed to do? the only reason why i wanted to boot both HDs was to get my files from that HD.

[EzyStvy]

You DO NOT WANT to boot off the 40gig drive. You WANT TO SLAVE it.

You want to boot off the 250 drive....The other drive should show up in Win Explorer when both drives are jumpered correctly.

[logic_789]

ok i tried almost all combnations of the jumpers and none work. i dont know why this is happening because it was working before i swapped it.

[Les28]

Have a look at this site and find out what your bios is
http://www.largeharddrivesupport.win....com/winxp.htm

then have a word with dell technical online support about upgrading the bios in your pc for 48bit LBA for your larger hard drive, so that the full 250Gb is seen.

This workaround might work in the event of there being no bios upgrade available
http://www.wimsbios.com/phpBB2/topic8931.html

see the part under XP about " Install your OS into a partition within Bios limits and allocate space above Bios limits within the OS" I guess that means from within Control Panel/Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management.

Still can't get the 40Gb to boot by itself when it is set as master jumper position and at the end of the primary ide ribbon, had a look in the bios for hard drive auto detect or reset the bios to default settings and then tried or tried it as slave in another pc?