No usb boot support
Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:53 pm
Hi, maybe someone could help me out with this please.
My laptop, a gericom ego (it's the one that's NOT a rebranded MSI) is in need of a re-install of windows xp, been over a year since it was last done. However, the internal DVD-RW drive no longer works at all, so I am using an external USB DVD-RW drive. The BIOS will not let me boot from this, there are three options in BIOS - hard disk, internal cd rom, or network boot.
Because I don't have a working bootable cd rom I can't flash the BIOS, or install some other bootloader. Using a usb floppy would be pointless because the BIOS doesn't have the option to boot from it anyway. I can't just insert the windows xp disc into windows because I want to go from pro to home (my home version is authentic you see), and even if I put the pro cd in it still has issues because the version installed has service pack 2 etc etc and so is newer than the version on the disc.
And because I want to install home and not pro, I can't do a network install.
So, I know this is going on a bit of a tangent to BIOS issues, but if it were possible to have a general BIOS installed (with lots of options, like on a PC) with usb support it might sort everything. Firstly, is there one I could install, and secondly, how might I do it without a bootable CD or floppy drive?
My laptop, a gericom ego (it's the one that's NOT a rebranded MSI) is in need of a re-install of windows xp, been over a year since it was last done. However, the internal DVD-RW drive no longer works at all, so I am using an external USB DVD-RW drive. The BIOS will not let me boot from this, there are three options in BIOS - hard disk, internal cd rom, or network boot.
Because I don't have a working bootable cd rom I can't flash the BIOS, or install some other bootloader. Using a usb floppy would be pointless because the BIOS doesn't have the option to boot from it anyway. I can't just insert the windows xp disc into windows because I want to go from pro to home (my home version is authentic you see), and even if I put the pro cd in it still has issues because the version installed has service pack 2 etc etc and so is newer than the version on the disc.
And because I want to install home and not pro, I can't do a network install.
So, I know this is going on a bit of a tangent to BIOS issues, but if it were possible to have a general BIOS installed (with lots of options, like on a PC) with usb support it might sort everything. Firstly, is there one I could install, and secondly, how might I do it without a bootable CD or floppy drive?
