Boot Priority Problem

Gillor

Can anyone help? I am trying to set my XP desktop to boot in the following sequence - USB, then CD, followed by Hard Disc but I can't get it to recognise the USB drive.

There are two USB options in the Advanced BIOS Features, USB-FDD and USB-ZIP. I have tried both but neither works.

I have even gone into the Boot Settings menu but that doesn't allow me move or change anything and I can't even escape from that menu without rebooting the computer.

I can set CD-Rom to have priority over the HDD without any problem so apart from the USB setting I seem to be doing everything else OK.

debitcardmayhem

Has the USB stick/drive got a boot sector on it and boot program, and let everyone know what the PC make / model is . What is on the USB stick/drive ??

Figment

It doesn't look like you have the option to boot from a USB-HDD/Flash Drive (Memory Stick). The options listed in your BIOS are:

USB-FDD = Floppy Disc
USB-ZIP = Iomega ZIP Drive

There are ways of fooling the BIOS into seeing your memory stick as a ZIP drive under Linux. Not sure if the same applies with Windows. Try Googling 'USB-ZIP'

Gillor

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

Has the USB stick/drive got a boot sector on it and boot program, and let everyone know what the PC make / model is . What is on the USB stick/drive ??

Computer is a Soltek QBic SL-B9A-FGR running XP Home 32-bit SP3 with 2Gb RAM, AMD Athlon 64 3000+ CPU, and NVidia nForce 250 motherboard.

I am wanting to trial Linux Zorin which I downloaded via Pendrivelinux's Universal USB Installer which is supposed to create a ready to run bootable flash drive.

Gillor

Figment wrote: »

It doesn't look like you have the option to boot from a USB-HDD/Flash Drive (Memory Stick)

Now I know what the two USB terms mean I think you may be right. USB-HDD doesn't appear in the list of bootable options.

debitcardmayhem

Gillor wrote: »

Computer is a Soltek QBic SL-B9A-FGR running XP Home 32-bit SP3 with 2Gb RAM, AMD Athlon 64 3000+ CPU, and NVidia nForce 250 motherboard.

I am wanting to trial Linux Zorin which I downloaded via Pendrivelinux's Universal USB Installer which is supposed to create a ready to run bootable flash drive.

Looks like a CD/DVD boot only then

Gillor

debitcardmayhem wrote: »

Looks like a CD/DVD boot only then

Yep, although as Figment suggested there appears to be a way round it. Just found this on Google for starters

http://www.partitionguru.com/manual/MakeBootableUSBDisk.php

Figment

Gillor wrote: »

Computer is a Soltek QBic SL-B9A-FGR running XP Home 32-bit SP3 with 2Gb RAM, AMD Athlon 64 3000+ CPU, and NVidia nForce 250 motherboard.

I am wanting to trial Linux Zorin which I downloaded via Pendrivelinux's Universal USB Installer which is supposed to create a ready to run bootable flash drive.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/booting-linux-from-usb-zip-on-older-systems/

Gillor

Figment wrote: »

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/booting-linux-from-usb-zip-on-older-systems/

Thanks Figment, I had a look at this last night but (a) it seemed complicated although it probably isn't, and (b) it warns that "....this tutorial is old and may be outdated. We have not tried this on USB Flash Drives larger than 1GB."

I am going to take a closer look today at Partitionguru mentioned in my previous post.