GA P31-DS3L can't seem to boot from usb flash drive

[adrivetest]

I can't seem to boot my usb flash drive (Apacer AH323 *8GB*) running Puppy Linux on my motherboard. I don't understand why???

1. on "hard disk boot priority", there is only one hard disk and add on cards options, and my usb isn't even listed on it.

2. with usb stick still plugged in, rebooting the computer until a part in the bios where it tests for any devices plugged, (where it also checks for hard disk etc) it says USB FLASH DRIVE too. That means during later part of the BIOS, it knows theres a usb being plugged in.

3. because the usb isn't detected on "hard disk boot priority" list, there is no way to force it to boot from there, as the other booting options will be ignored. I even set USB-HDD as my 1st boot device (this is on another menu).

i can confirm my thumb drive is okay, it boots up my puppy linux on my old pentium 3 mobo, and also even on laptops, -BUt- it just doesn't seem to boot from P31-DS3L motherboard!!! Even my old 128mb apacer handy could run puppy properly on this mobo...it's really weird!

I used unetbootin to create my puppy linux, and also used syslinux. Both seems to be the same.

Can anyone help me out????

 

[Shadow703793]

Boot up PC and hit <F12> select USB Flash drive or HDD.

 

[adrivetest]

well yeah, it doesn't work.

if i select HDD, it'll give me a choice similiar to 'hard disk boot priority' menu, and in there, i cannot see my usb flash drive in the list at all.

if i select booting from usb itself, it'll just ignore it and go straight to my windows.

 

[adrivetest]

hey guess what..SOMEHOW i managed to make it detect my apacer usb in a very peculiar way.

I downloaded HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool to format my usb instead of using windows xp's formating tool (both were formatted to fat32) and guess what...

since then, my mobo can see the usb drive and is able to boot from it! What's really going on?? HP's usb format tool does something different? because after that, i kept formatting it with windows xp's format tool, and it makes no difference anymore...I can always boot!

can anyone shed some light?

 

[adrivetest]

soo...no one's gonna help me out??

could it be that HP's formatter actually changed my MBR?

 

[o1die]

Nope. I use the hardrive software utilities (such as maxblast) all the time to set up hardrives. Whatever works, works.

 

[hendrik lie]

used the hp utility and booted up succesfully. but...
i don't know what i've done... suddenly my usb drive is now not detected by my phoenix bios. i'm using abit ix38guadgt, updated the bios to the latest one long before this experiment.
i think i have seen my bios detecting it, showing menus for removable drives including the emulation options which i need badly now cuz i'm reinstalling windows xp and planning to use the F6 installation to load the drivers for my raid chip from emulated floppy drive.
could someone please help?

 

[Guest]

Hit f12 and choose +HDD and then a next screen apears with the option to choose the usb key!

 

[bilbat]

My guess - whatever 'put' the linux onto your key formatted it in ReiserFile, or one of the various 'flavors' of the EXT filesystem; for a GB to boot from a key, it must be FAT-32, and must conform to the standard conventions for a bootable MBR (master boot record)... I have the beginnings of a procedure in my 'scratch' (to test formatting and whatnot...) post, IGNORE THIS POST, toward the bottom, before the final 'memory junk' that I'm working on, using the HP tool - just haven't gotten 'round to hauling out and setting up a camera to shoot BIOS screens for the remainder of the article...