# IBM ThinkCentre



## iridius

My housemate just purchased and IBM ThinkCentre, 2.8 gHz, 512mb ram, 40 gb harddrive. Upon receiving it, tried to install an OS (Win XP Pro).

Was unable to get it to boot from CD, reset the BIOS and tried again. F12'd at startup to enter the temporary boot sequence to boot from CD. Does not work. This is what displays on the screen:

Intel Base-code, PXE-2.1 (build 083)
PXE-E61 media test failure, check cable
PXE-M0F: Exiting Intel boot agent
1962: No operating system found

We have checked the following: 1) the cable to the CD-ROM, replaced with new one, not the problem 2) installed a different harddrive, also not the problem.

Does the above error apply to the cable to the harddrive, possibly? We haven't tried replacing that...

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thank you.


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## Houndog777

HI,
Have a look at this.....
http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/cs-002860.htm


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## iridius

Thanks Houndog777, but that doesn't apply.


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## Houndog777

Hi,
Enter the bios setup at start-up and check if your cd-drive is being recognized. Name, model, number etc.
Check you are using an 80-wire cable for connection to the motherboard.
Check the disk you are using is clean.
Borrow and try another windows disk.


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## iridius

Okay I entered the BIOS setup and I am unable to determine how to ensure it recognizes the CD-ROM. It's the original CD-ROM. It comes up in the BIOS startup as CD/DVD ROM.

It's definitely an 80 pin cable.

I've tried two separate WinXPPro CDs. Neither works and they work in another computer, so I know they are fine.

I've just removed the battery from the motherboard to ensure the BIOS is reset to factory default. Will replace in 20 minutes.


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## Houndog777

Hi,
If it's listing cd/dvd rom on start-up then it should be ok.
In older bios you will have a list of your drives, some give you details of cd under the hard drive info of size, heads, cylinders etc., which you can highlight then press Enter to auto-detect if a cd drive is indeed installed.

What is the full title of the ThinkCentre? I just went to look for a manual and discovered there are many different types.
Example: Family-Thinkcentre M50 Type-8187 Model-34T

You say you entered temporary boot config to set order; try entering bios proper and setting the boot sequence to cd rom first, save and exit.


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## Houndog777

Please also disable the boot to network setting; Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE).


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## ronniewb

Does anyone know how to change the boot sequence in an IBM ThinkCentre. I'm not finding this option in the BIOS. Thanks,

Ron


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## worldlibrary

Turn off computer.
Press f12 keep depressed and start computer.
When boot option comes up release f12.

Hope this helps,

W.L.


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