USB booting :: Install successful but won't boot from USB-ZIP



I have a 1GB Kingston DataTraveler 2.0 pendrive.
I installed DSL using Apps > Tools > Install to USB Pendrive > For USB-ZIP Pendrive

It seemed to work okay.  I had no reported problems and I checked to see that all of the following were installed:

boot.cat
boot.msg
f2
f3
german.kbd
KNOPPIX
ldlinux.sys
linux24
logo.16
minirt24.gz
syslinux.cfg

which they were.

The USB pendrive has the following filesystem:

Disk /dev/sda: 1026 MB, 1026555392 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 978 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 2048 * 512 = 1048576 bytes

  Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sda1   *           1          50       51184    6  FAT16
/dev/sda2              51         978      950272    b  W95 FAT32

I used 'USB-ZIP' because my Phoenix AwardBIOS shows USB-ZIP as a boot option but there is no boot option for 'USB-HDD'.  Despite this, I did try  Apps > Tools > Install to USB Pendrive > For USB-HDD Pendrive as well.  Nothing worked for me.

My motherboard is a VIA EPIA N10000 (that's 'N' not 'M').  It's the nano-ITX form factor mobo.

Can anyone help me out here please?
On some machines, you have to enable usb keyboard even if you don't have one. Also, sometimes you have to have the pendirve in a rear usb port and not a front port or usb hub. It has been reported on some machines, you cannot have fast boot enabled either.

HTH
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On some machines, you have to enable usb keyboard even if you don't have one.

Thanks, I had already noticed that on the forum.  I had tried it and it didn't solve the problem, unfortunately.

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Also, sometimes you have to have the pendirve in a rear usb port and not a front port or usb hub.

I tried it in every USB port I've got.  Still no joy.

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It has been reported on some machines, you cannot have fast boot enabled either.

I disabled fast POST but, again, to no avail.

Any further thoughts, or do you think my BIOS is just really gimp?  btw, I am running the current BIOS from VIA.
If you have floppy and usb on some pc then try to boot with usb-bootfloppy, if that works then the problem is not on usb.
usb pendrive booting is never clear cut. you have to try all sorts of combinations.

some bios's have a sub menu for hdd (since they treat the usb drive as a hard disk) and you can change the hdd boot order in there, see if 'usb-hd0' truns up there.
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