TI11 USB flash drive won't boot on this one computer

Justin,

Are you sure the flashdrive is being booted? Have you set it as the first drive in the BIOS or selected it from a BIOS boot menu? (I assume you've tried both already, but it doesn't hurt to make sure.)

Is the flashdrive properly recognized by the BIOS? It it listed by its name or as a "generic" title?

Have you tried a different flashdrive? Some computers don't like booting from large flashdrives. You might try a 1GB or 2GB flashdrive if you're using something larger.

Have you tried using different formats (FAT16, FAT32, NTFS)?

Will the computer boot properly from a USB hard drive?

Is there a BIOS update available for the computer that provides better support for booting from flashdrives?

Have you tried using a different booting method on the flashdrive (Grub4DOS, SYSLINUX, etc.)?

MudCrab,
The flash drive must be being booted since I get an error when I tell the BIOS to boot off the USB-HDD. (It doesn't show in the HDD list, but it does display specifically in the list of drives during POST.)

I first tried with a 4GB SuperTalent and a 4GB ScanDisk, using FAT32 as instructed. I don't have a USB HDD to test with. BIOS version is current.

I tries SYSLINUX and get the same error. I guess I'll try a smaller flash drive next, but I can boot off of an 8GB Ubuntu OK.

Justin

Have you tried a larger flashdrive (like 8GB) with Acronis? Maybe it's having a problem because it's being seen as too small. In my experience, a computer that's showing the flashdrive as a "generic" USB-### type device is much more likely to have booting problems than one that displays the actual name of the flashdrive.

What choices do you have in the BIOS? Perhaps it would work better with a different formatting style (USB-ZIP, for example).

This is what I learned. I've been using my Vista32 laptop to do the diskpart stuff, but the boot problem is with my desktop. On the laptop I have only TI installed, but on my desktop I have both DiskDirector and TI installed.

If I format with FAT16, it boots on both computers (but slow on the desktop).

If I format with FAT32, it boots only on the laptop.

If I use Bootable Rescue Media Builder from the laptop I can boot both machines (if FAT16). If I use Bootable Rescue Media Builder from the desktop I get the non-system disk error on both machines.

Even if I format FAT32 then use Bootable Rescue Media Builder from the desktop it won't boot on the laptop (even if previously working from laptop Bootable Rescue Media Builder).

Why would using Bootable Rescue Media Builder from the desktop mess up the drive?

The only diff between them is I have the SnapAPI on the laptop.

Justin

Are they both using the same build of TI?

It's possible that the flashdrive isn't being seen exactly the same on both computers.