Overhauled system, now it won't recognize windows CD

[porchjm]

I just upgraded my system from a LGA775 Core2 Duo-based setup to a LGA1366 system. The upgrade included RAM, Motherboard, and CPU. The build went wonderfully and I went ahead and tried to boot to Windows, having never upgraded a mobo in a build before and assuming that I could boot Windows and just let it detect the hardware changes, but ultimately it will not boot (BSOD right as Windows should be taking over the disks from BIOS).

Obviously I grabbed my Windows 7 disk and set about reinstalling it thinking that should be the end of my issues. I booted to BIOS and set the CD drive to have priority over HDD, but when it booted it simply skipped the CD drive and continued on to try from HDD, crashing again. So I removed the HDD entirely from the boot order and tried again, only to get a "disk boot failure, insert system disk and press enter" error. I checked the disk surface, no scratches, and checked the SATA connections and power to the CD drive. All seem fine, but I tried again with the same results.

What should I do to begin isolating the problem? I've run through basic troubleshooting before, but there has always been a part that flat out didn't work, so I've always been just locating the part that prevents booting. Now that things seem fine, I'm not sure what to begin looking at to isolate where the problem may lie. Any tips from someone who's seen this sort of thing before?

 

[rolli59]

Does it even prompt to hit any key to boot from CD drive?

 

[GhislainG]

What's the boot order and is the DVD drive detected at POST? The DVD drive has to be listed before the hard disk or you can press an F key (probably F8) to select the boot device.

 

[porchjm]

Thanks, your posts got me thinking that I didn't remember ever seeing anything that said which key to press for boot selection (I had tried F8 with no luck, hence setting it inside the BIOS instead). So I dragged out my old LCD monitor and hooked it up instead of the Samsung TV I've been using and was surprised to see an entire screen in the BIOS that I'd never seen before. Apparently my TV takes so long to start displaying an image that I'd never actually seen this first one. It told me to hit Esc to select boot device, and upon doing so I was able to select DVD drive and actually get the prompt I was expecting.

Additionally, all this rooting around inside my computer caused me to notice that one leg of my CPU cooler was not anchored firmly. I'm very glad I discovered that before actually putting the machine under a real load.

So thanks for your input, guys, and I think this one is now properly resolved.