HP Compaq 8100 Elite SFF PC will not boot from USB

[lothian]

I have an HP Compaq 8100 Elite SFF PC that will not boot from USB.

Two BIOS revs exist for the 8100, both of which appear to support boot from USB--"Removable Media Boot" is enabled by default in both BIOS revs for the 8100. I flashed each BIOS rev and attempted to boot from USB--the 8100 does not boot from USB under either BIOS rev.

I confimed that the USB is bootable. I booted from the same USB drive using a different make/model of PC. I booted from the same USB using a different make/model of HP Compaq PC. 

I created three different bootable USB drives. I booted from each USB drive using a different make/model of PC and a different make/model of HP Compaq PC. The 8100 did not boot from any bootable USB drive I used.

The keyboard is the only USB device (other than the bootable USB drive) I leave plugged into the 8100 during boot-up.

How do I boot an HP Compaq 8100 Elite SFF PC from a USB drive?

BIOS rev 786H1 v1.13 main screen; current BIOS on PCBIOS recognizes presence of USBBIOS correctly identifies properties of USBBIOS' "Storage Options>Removable Media Boot>Enable" set properly to allow boot from USBBIOS' "Storage Options> Boot Order " set properly to boot from USB first

 

[ieee488]

Do you have any other device connected to any of the USB ports?

I have found that when I have another USB flash drive inserted while booting from Clonezilla, I can't boot.

[lothian]

The keyboard and the bootable USB drive are the only USB devices plugged into the 8100 at boot-up when I press F9.

[CF4]

Hi

In the screenshots you dont list the USB devices as bootable.

The listing has a "Triangle" there to suggest a drop down list.

Also I would disconnect the Sata stuff, the SSD only leaving the USB as a valid storage/bootable device.

I would try a linux OS if you haven't already.

What OS are you trying?

You are not giving the full picture, what BIOS revisions?

What removable media? DVD may fit the descriptor as well as usb, so a link to the page please.

[lothian]

"In the screenshots you dont list the USB devices as bootable."

Incorrect. The screenshots list all bootable devices detected by the BIOS.

The listing has a "Triangle" there to suggest a drop down list."

Incorrect. The listing has a "Triangle" there to suggest the indicated device may be moved elsewhere in the boot order.

"...disconnect the [SATA] stuff...leaving the USB as a valid storage/bootable device. ...try a linux OS"

I tried this. BIOS detects the bootable USB device (same Linus kernel on each), but will not boot from it.

"What BIOS revisions?"
786H1 BIOS' v1.05 Rev.A , and v1.13 Rev.A.

"What removable media?"

Sandisk USB stick; Kingston USB stick; and WD 'My Passport' xSSD.

[lothian · Accepted solution]

For grins, I popped in another USB that boots to Win7 installer--the 8100 recognized it as the primary boot device and booted from the USB.

Clearly there is something about this boot OS (Linux kernel) that is not recognized by either of the 8100's two BIOS revs.

[kazso2]

The 8100's BIOS can't boot from iSCSI or iPXE either, so this bios has some major bugs. Sadly, HP won't never ever create a fully functioning BIOS for these computers.

[lothian]

e'yup... definately crappy bios.

time to check out bios-mods.com for some experimentin'!

[RossIngham]

Is there an update on this? Is this a product limitation of HP? Any work arounds?

[lothian]

"Is there an update on this? Is this a product limitation of HP? Any work arounds?"

What do you mean by "update on this"?

 - Has HP updated the BIOS? Unknown.

 - Was I able to boot to USB? Yes, as mentioned in this thread.
 - Do any modifed BIOS' exist that work any differently regarding this issue? Unknown.

I created two USB drives using 1) the Win7 installer, and 2) the Acronis Recovery Utility. The HP8100 successfully boots from either USB drive with the OEM BIOS set as I illustrated at the onset of this post. I have no idea how these programs format a USB device differntly than, say, any other utility specifically intended for this purpose.