BIOS problems, booting from external USB on some older computers

[Andy Green]

Somebody in the thread at some point said:
> I have external disks and on systems where the BIOS allows one to boot
> from USB, I can start Fedora 7 on the external disk.  I've got all the
> Grub and other complications with disk labels and so forth worked out.
> 
> However...
> 
> I have run into a fleet of Dell GX260 systems and the BIOS does not
> allow USB to boot.  They do allow a CDROM to boot, however, and so I

Upgrade the BIOS to A07 or later (A09 is around).

''A07...
14.Updated USB code to fix system hangs with some USB multi-function
  printers, USB disk keys and USB CD-ROM drives. Improved USB boot
  operations for USB devices. Fixed USB bulk transfer end point checking.
  Enhanced USB support in Manufacturing. Fix issues with USB hard drive,
  key, CD and floppy booting when large numbers of bootable USB devices
  are present.
''

http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=oplex_bios&view=by_date_ascending&message.id=10052&c=us&l=en&cs=555&s=biz

-Andy