Invalid System Disk Error in Vista

bigemw28226 · #1 July 6th, 2007, 04:38 PM

Hey all,
I just recently started getting the "Invalid system disk...Replace the disk, and then press any key" error at bootup, and I can't seem to figure out how to fix this. What is interesting is if I change the boot order to boot from the CD-ROM first, and put the Vista install disc in, Windows will boot fine. It says to "Press any key to boot from disc"...I dont press anything, and then Vista boots up. Here is what I have tried so far:

-Made sure all IDE cables are hooked up properly and that the system detects my hard drives in BIOS(it does)

-Tested the Motherboard battery by saving new settings in the BIOS and seeing if it remembers them on the next boot up (it does)

-Put the Vista Ultimate install disc in the drive and running the startup repair test (it passed saying it could not find any errors)

-System Restored back to a previous day (Only boots if the Windows disc is in the CD drive)

-For fun, I defraged my C: drive (the drive with Windows on it)...still doesn't work.

It seems to me like one of the system startup files may have gotten corrupted because Windows boots fine from the disc, so I dont think its the hard drive. Any ideas on how I can fix this problem. Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide!

System Specs:
OS: Windows Vista Ultimate 32 Bit
CPU/RAM: AMD 64 3000+/1 GB
Manufacturer: Homemade

Let me know if you need any more info...thanks in advance!

**AnnMarie** · #2 July 7th, 2007, 04:11 AM

Hi bigemw28226. Did you have any other drives connected when you installed Vista? If so, try installing Vista to your harddrive while all other drives are disconnected.

It has been reported that if more than one harddrive is connected at the time of installation, Vista will write some of the boot code to that drive.

bigemw28226 · #3 July 7th, 2007, 02:51 PM

I actually was able to fix this problem last night. For some reason....my USB flash drives decided that it was a good idea to take precedence in the BIOS. So every time the computer started, it tried to launch Vista from one of the Flash drives. This was weird because ive had these flash drives in there for like a month and half and this was the first time it decided to act up.

**AnnMarie** · #4 July 7th, 2007, 02:57 PM

Yep weird if the flash drive was not plugged in when you installed Vista but thanks for updating us and I'm glad all is well now.