[Solved] USB Boot Capabilty Issue

NateLee

Commendable
Jul 9, 2016
7
0
1,510
Hello all,
This is my first thread and first forum so I apologize if I leave out any tags. The Tom's community helped me enormously during my first gaming PC build so I figured I'd turn to the pros!

So I'm trying to boot Linux (Porteus) from a USB flashdrive (NTFS) onto my 2012 Asus V550C, but in the BIOS my booting options aren't listed like "HDD 1, HDD 2, USB", etc. I have to specify a pathway and a "filesystem" to pull the EFI file from. I have no issue with the pathway and the syntax, but my internal HDD is the only location/storage device I can select for the BIOS to look for the file. Is my USB not a bootable device or is my computer not capable for some reason? And is there a work-around other than using a LiveCD and Plop?
 
Solution
Hi

It maybe the USB should be formatted at FAT 32 not NTFS which is something you can try

What program created the bootable usb stick
there are some utilities specialising in creating bootable Linux distributions on usb
[Rufus or Unetbootin]


Many BIOS/UEFI have a F key you can press to give you a choice of boot device when starting UP PC
(before Windows starts)
F12 for Dell's or F11 or F8

I would expect a bootable USB memory stick to show up twice
(one labeled UEFI which is usefull if HDD has or will have GPT partitioning)

but if you already have Win 8 or 10 installed you have to pursuade Windows to do a FULL shutdown & restart to boot from USB or DVD

press Shift key & click Restart and follow procedure for booting from...

01111111

Respectable
Jun 7, 2016
179
0
1,860
Well BIOS doesn't care weather or not it's boot able, the problem comes after. Can you change the drive order (your USB stick is considered a hard drive)? Not just in the boot options but in the drive options.

I highly doubt it but I have seen USB boot disabled from time to time.
 

NateLee

Commendable
Jul 9, 2016
7
0
1,510


I couldn't find anything in the drive options other than changing the SATA mode. Could it be a usb configuration issue?
 

01111111

Respectable
Jun 7, 2016
179
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1,860
Pulled from the Asus site, might work? I know I had a fun time with the asus transformer books, ugh!

Please enter the BIOS (press and hold F2 key when power on). Switch to “Boot” and set “Lunch CSM” to Enabled. Then switch to “Security” and set “Secure Boot Control” to Disabled. Press F10 to save and exit. Press and hold ESC key to lunch boot menu when notebook restart.
 
Hi

It maybe the USB should be formatted at FAT 32 not NTFS which is something you can try

What program created the bootable usb stick
there are some utilities specialising in creating bootable Linux distributions on usb
[Rufus or Unetbootin]


Many BIOS/UEFI have a F key you can press to give you a choice of boot device when starting UP PC
(before Windows starts)
F12 for Dell's or F11 or F8

I would expect a bootable USB memory stick to show up twice
(one labeled UEFI which is usefull if HDD has or will have GPT partitioning)

but if you already have Win 8 or 10 installed you have to pursuade Windows to do a FULL shutdown & restart to boot from USB or DVD

press Shift key & click Restart and follow procedure for booting from USB device
see guidance here
https://askleo.com/how_do_i_boot_from_cddvdusb_in_windows_8/

regards

Mike Barnes
 
Solution

NateLee

Commendable
Jul 9, 2016
7
0
1,510
It was a simple matter of drive formatting. I found out that FAT32 is more stable and more widely recognized than NTFS when it comes to booting from a USB. Once my thumb drive was formatted correctly, I was able to set it as the first boot priority without having to specify a particular path.