Reinstall Windows or Intel based server

[Guest]

hi i have an old windows intel based server unsure of the model but it has a 2ghz intel celeron processor and 512mb of ram and Raid 5 stack drives, my issue is i cant get it to boot from a windows CD anybody have any idea how i can get it to reinstall?
thanks

 

[Emerald]

did you change the boot order in the BIOS to 1) CD 2)hard drive

 

[Guest]

did you change the boot order in the BIOS to 1) CD 2)hard drive

wont let me boot into a cd, my cd is set to the secondary boot device and the third being my usb hdd but simply tries to load straight from the internal HDD

 

[Emerald]

cd needs to be primary boot device

 

[corc]

Hi you need to set the 1st boot device in the bios to your CD. It sounds like the system is probably seeing some boot/system files still on the hdd.Then it just tries and fails.Change the boot order.

 

[Guest]

ok let me put this clearly the boot order is set 1 CD 2 CD 3 USB HDD, but its like it doesnt understand the CD is there all it does is ignore the CD drive and if i unplug the HDD it just brings up a notice asking me to insert a boot drive and still ignores the CD drive, it doesnt even give me the option to press F8 or F12 or whatever to see the boot list while the computer is loading.

 

[Emerald]

does the OS CD work on another computer?

is the OS CD a CD or DVD?

if it is a DVD, does the server have a DVD drive?

 

[Guest]

does the OS CD work on another computer?

is the OS CD a CD or DVD?

if it is a DVD, does the server have a DVD drive?

The Os CD works fine in my friends laptop and boots and goes to the setup and it is a DVD but im using an external USB device which is supported by the motherboard for boot

 

[corc]

If the CD drive cabling is seated correctly on m/b and drive,maybe you could borrow an external usb CD drive and try it.

 

[Guest]

If there's a hardware switch or jumper on the motherboard for BIOS reset you should try that first, and then try booting to optical media after setting the boot order. If that still fails, perhaps use a tool like Rufus or the HP usb tool to make a bootable flash drive and copy the latest BIOS update onto it. Boot to that, run the BIOS update, and try again. I've had a similar issue with an old Intel SE7501BR2; it refused to boot from optical media until I updated the BIOS, even though I could set it to do so in the boot order.