Compaq Presario 900 can't boot USB, invisible SD card

Hello
I am trying to run a persistent skinny puppy Linux OS on a USB stick.
Live CD works just fine
There is no boot from USB in my bios options, just floppy, hard drive
and CD.

Can I add USB boot as an option? possibly upgrade the bios (WITHOUT
FRYING IT!!!)

also I can see my 14 MB camera SD card when I plug it in but my 4 Gig
SD card is invisible?
Running Ubuntu 8.1 i386 ....probably a question for the Ubuntu forum
By the way if you have a laptop like mine stick to 8.1 i386 Fiesty Fawn
distro...Jackalope is too much for it.

Thanks for your time
Peterthinks

On Sun, 03 May 2009 01:12:17 -0500, Peterthinks wrote:

Hello
I am trying to run a persistent skinny puppy Linux OS on a USB stick.
Live CD works just fine
There is no boot from USB in my bios options, just floppy, hard drive
and CD.

Can I add USB boot as an option? possibly upgrade the bios (WITHOUT
FRYING IT!!!)

also I can see my 14 MB camera SD card when I plug it in but my 4 Gig SD
card is invisible?
Running Ubuntu 8.1 i386 ....probably a question for the Ubuntu forum By
the way if you have a laptop like mine stick to 8.1 i386 Fiesty Fawn
distro...Jackalope is too much for it.

Thanks for your time
Peterthinks

* * *
Peter,

Found Mepis runs better for me than Ubuntu in my Compaq Armada 1500c,
matter of taste Gnome or KDE... But if the USB boot is not in the bios
update you are out of luck...

Have not liked the KDE 4 releases yet, something new to learn in the near
future...

Puppy runs great in my Toshiba 490XCDT but the Toshiba and Armada are
both to old to enjoy any longer... Any netbook is superior as a coffee
Cruiser in speed and weight... Have not toyed with a Linux replacement
in any of the Netbooks, just can't find a reason to purchase one...

I am addicted to my widescreen and 600 to 800 pixels vertical screens are
not for me... I want 1200 vertical as the minimum now, guess I am
spoiled with this quad system...

Have you tried the "hardinfo" software instead of enjoying lshw-gtk or
lshw details...

Hardinfo with synaptic

hardinfo (0.4.2.3-4)
libsoup2.2-8 (2.2.105-4)
zlib1g-dev (1:1.2.3.3.dfsg-12)

Then type hardinfo in a terminal window as root - Exceptions it does not
provide the CPU details, motherboard ID, and the installed Memory
particulars... (maybe lshw-gtk or lshw)

[email protected]:~$ su
Password:
[email protected]:/home/green15# lshw-gtk

Provides good graphic, but only Motherboard info...

[email protected]:~$ su
Password:
[email protected]:/home/green15# lshw

A bit more reading, and output is not as well organized as Hardinfo, but
lshw provides considerable more detailed than hardinfo...

But difficult to match the Benchmarking, that is a nice detail in
Hardinfo...

JR