On Sat, Oct 24, 2009 at 20:30, Philip Webb <purs...@ca.inter.net> wrote: > I've got my new toy to boot from USB with SystemRescue 1.3.1 , > which comes up beautifully with Gentoo using 'Altker32' > (the 'default' kernel boots into some kind of emergency mode); > despite what the intro help says, the desktop manager is Xfce, > which is started via 'wizard' & offers basic useful apps, > eg Terminal Emelfm Firefox Geany Gparted . > > There's 1 problem : you hold F2 down to get BIOS, > then use Esc for a boot menu (you have to go in/out of BIOS first). > However, this doesn't work when I first switch the machine on : > M$ XP starts regardless & I have to reboot from there to get BIOS, > the boot menu & the USB (I've disabled 'quiet boot' in BIOS, > but POST msgs still don't appear). Is this because it takes a few seconds > before the USB stick warms up & gets recognised (its light blinks) ? > > This is important: if that's correct, I can wipe out XP > & the machine will still recognise the USB stick & boot, > but if the problem is something else (I don't know what it might be), > I fear risking an unbootable box without even the M$ option remaining. > > Can anyone reassure me ? >
I have a couple of EEEs and my brother have the same model you have. All three work the same way, you hold ESC while booting (you can just keep it pressed after you power it on) and a boot menu comes. This usually list every device (including USB devices connected). Sometimes you have to try a different USB port or even just plug out and in again and try again, but still, no need to go into windows. -- Daniel da Veiga
