I have Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG and i google a lot but can't find either the update or the info about USB add feature.
Hope that anyone can help

Thanks in advance

Check your motherboard's Official home page

Thanks for reply.

i check the motherboard website and find this.

i also check the BIOS in the page of motherboard and i can't find if the upgrade will add feature of USB storage boot up or not !!

:/

maybe, yours pc motherboard is too old to support that option. Because last bios update is 4 years old.

I checked the Gigagbyte F7d BIOS and have determined that it should support USB boot devices (where the boot order is selected).

Yes, it support USB boot but from HD or other devices but flash USB not working so that i'm looking for update for my BIOS.

The Gigabyte BIOS also supports "Boot other device" but its interface to change its setting is disabled and its default value is "Disabled". The "Boot other device" may be enabled by modifying the flash BIOS file.

To boot to the flash drive, the flash drive should be partitioned like a hard disk with its boot sector written to launch an operating system usually DOS or a variant) from the flash drive.

I already try it. I try it with both Linux and Windows PE and it was the same i.e. no boot

Maybe you did not try hard enough.

Read FAQ's #4 and #10 here:
http://home.graffiti.net/jaclaz:graffiti.n...SB/USBfaqs.html

Please note that there are TWO versions of the "HP" USB formatting utility around, the elder one (2.0.6) appears to always make the partition active, the newer one (2.1.8) appear to be failing to do so.

In case use Beeblebrox:
http://students.cs.byu.edu/~codyb/
to set it as active (replace 00 with 80 in boot field)

It is also possible (but yours would be the FIRST report I've ever seen ) that the BIOS checks for the "Removable" bit on the device controller, depending on manufacturer and model of your USB stick (actually of it's controller) it may be possible to "flip" that bit in such a way that the USB stick will be seen as USB HD ("Fixed" device).

jaclaz

@ jaclaz,

I am so sorry for my delay on reply as I was too busy in the last 3 months due to my study and my graduation project. Anyway I am BACK :-)


I read the whole Questions and try what is suggested in the Q#5 but non of them working with me
1. Motto Hairu► This method is used to add USB support to DOS so that you can access and use these USB under DOS NOT to boot from !!
2. Grub4Dos ► I read diddy Tutorial and I can't find any reference to boot from USB also I find these lines in the Tut


btw, Q#4 is trying to make USB boot like CD/HD.

I check my USB controller and find it OHCI (not so bad for this old PC

How could this help? My problem is with my BIOS !!


It is True man, but how can I do the flip stick<->HD ?

Thanks in advance for your help

Ah you have an OHCI, aka Open Host Controller Interface. It is possible that your USB controller is USB 1.0, in which case booting off USB probably isn't a good idea.

So, Is there a solution/way to boot from USB instead of buy new Motherboard ?!

xtremee's USB controllers should be USB 1.1.

xtremee, try UltraISO ( http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/download.htm ); its image write formats seem to be supported by your BIOS (make sure the device is set to boot in Boot Order). The trial mode is limited to 300 MB documents (limitation may only be regarding saving of image files; I am uncertain whether writing image files greater than 300 MB is limited).

To write an image to a USB mass storage device with UltraISO, do the following:

Open UltraISO.
Open the image file to be written.
From menus, select "Bootable -> Write Disk Image...".
Select Drive to write image and write method if necessary.
Select "Write" button.

@ Ascii2,


UHCI --------------► older USB 1.x
OHCI --------------► Newer USB 1.x
EHCI ---------------► USB 2.0
So I think mine USB may be 1.1 !!

.
I don't have the problem with making my USB flash driver a bootable one. The problem is my BIOS don't support boot from USB flash driver so it is not available in the boot order.

xtremee,
sorry, I had misunderstood your original question.

You have ONLY two choices available (apart a new motherboard):
1) Edit your BIOS, VERY, VERY, and I mean VERY risky, NOT recommended
2) Try using PLoP boot manager:
http://www.plop.at/
http://www.plop.at/en/bootmngrusblog.html

Try #2) above, if it does not work we can try to find an app for "flipping the bit" of the stick, though before this you should be sure that your BIOS actually boots from "fixed" USB device (another already "flipped" stick or USB Hard Disk).

jaclaz

Well at least VIA, SIS and ALI Open Host Controllers were USB 1.0. I remember battling them when I worked for Iomega.

@ jaclaz,

1st I don't know what to say to you?!! my words can't appreciate all the help and support you give to me
Thank you man.

2nd as usual Questions

Even If I am going to try this option, there are not any new version of BIOS for my PC that support USB !!


This working with me. yeah finally I boot USB
But the boot process is not complete
I have Live Linux in my USB stick. When I boot from it
1. vmlinuz -------------------- OK
2. initrd.gz ------------------- don't complete the loading and it [►restart◄] !!

So, what may the case of this problem?


I have some Qs about this page.
Q1. In the [Features] there is No extra partition for the boot manager.
I don't hear about any need to make a partition for boot only!! and If this is right, Why should I do that? as I have a primary partition that I can use it for boot, What will be its size?

Q2. In the [Linked partitions - hotkeys] section
You select, what partition you want to boot with this profile. The boot manager set a bios drive number automatically. It's possible to change it with another key. How this could be? If I load/use a profile it will have the path for the OS to load it.



for the seek of knowledge, How this can be done? also Is that will going to change some bits in the assembly of the stick controller ?


==============
@ Tripredacus,


What are you mean by that?!!


--
Xtreme

xtremee,
please note that I wasn't talking about flashing your current BIOS with an updated one released by the motherboard manufacturer, something, that given that the proper procedure is followed is NOT risky.

I was talking about EDITING your BIOS code, basically get from another motherboard manufacturer or from the same manufacturer (for another board), a Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG, for the same MB chipset, with the USB booting enabled, than edit/copy/paste/modify the binary to make it work on your motherboard. This is VERY, VERy, VERY risky.

About PLoP, I don't get you.
Why the heck are you trying to do "all at once"?
It is very possible that your current Linux on USB stick is NOT "compatible" with PLoP, and something needs to be modified within it.
You have alredy been very "lucky", and you should thank PLoP Author for this, that the program starts booting!

Try using PLoP at first with good ol'DOS, if it works, try with a very "simple" Linux, and if it works, try again with a more "complete" one.

jaclaz

Jaclaz


Very interesting
Is there is any tut for that?! and Is this process done using assembly language or C ?

I already have a linux on my stick as I use it on the laptop. So it was the first thing that I give it a try till I prepare another OS on the stick.


---
Xtreme

Those are chipset examples. VIA did end up being better later on, but SIS and ALI were highly suspect. For example, they didn't work with USB Drives of any sort.

If you are using a BIOS acquired from your motrherboard manufactured BIOS dowloads, then your BIOS should support booting to USB. If it does not, a defect in the BIOS or motherboard exists.

BIOSes are not written consistently to support a method for boot of a USB flash device. Method of setting the drive bootable should be chosen compatible with BIOS (often, it is not obvious which method).

@ Ascii2


ًWhy are you saying that?!

Because it's true. Some BIOS sees USB flash as a regular hard drive, some see as USB HDD, some see different and some not at all. There is no standard to define how a BIOS should see a UFD unfortunately.

Because it seems like you are not correctly identifying the issue you may be experiencing. The statement was intended to help you rethink the issue (like identifying the method(s) compatible with your BIOS to make a flash drive bootable).