Invalid system disk... press any key

[jmpWashDC]

I've read the FAQ's and tried to search for some answers, didn't quite find what I need, so here goes:
The PC looks like it's booting ok initially, says Verifying DMI Pool Data, then stops and says "Invalid system disk
Replace the disk, and then press any key
It doesn't look at the disks I put in the 1.44 floppy or CD/RW.
I have done ctrl-alt-del and then del to enter setup.
Whta should the CMOS BIOS settings be?
I have tried f6 to use fail-safe defaults, that didn't work.
I tried using the cd/rw and/or floppy as First Boot Device,
that didn't work.
the IDE Primary master says 10248 MB and IDE Secondary Master says 'None'
After f10 to exit, I see Arrtec WRR-4848 1.0 1.0 as Secondary Masterand Fujitsu MPF3102AT 0028 as Primary Master
Any ideas?

 

[Dreamland]

jmpWashDC-

You're on the right track by changing the First Boot Device in your BIOS to the floppy or CD. Assuming you have a good bootable floppy or bootable CD [have you checked?], this *should* have worked. The CD may be affected by the way the drives themselves are configured, so concentrate on getting the floppy booting first.

Setting the 'F6' Fail-Safe defaults changes a number of BIOS settings and should have made your floppy drive the first boot device. Makes no difference if it was changed by the 'Fail-Safe' method or if you set this yourself - same effect - just make sure it's set thsi way.

There's an additional problem with the way your BIOS is seeing the hard drives (and possibly the CD), but this shouldn't affect it's ability to boot from the floppy drive. Has the floppy drive [ever] worked in the past? Do you have more than one boot disk to try? Are you using the 'middle' connector (vs. the 'end' connector) on the floppy drive ribbon cable? Does the light on the front of the floppy drive come on at all during boot?

If you're confused about which device the "Non-System Disk or..." message is coming from, you can just unplug both IDE ribbon cables from the motherboard for now - the CD and HDDs are not needed at all to boot from the floppy drive.

I would get the floppy issue resolved first even though you still have work to do with the CD and hard drives.