Syslinux - Nov 2008 - Syslinux on USB not seeing any files

I've got a bootable USB pendrive with Syslinux 3.72, and while it
usually works, there are a few computers, where I get the syslinux
prompt, but it neither loads the configuration file, nor I'm able to
boot anything. The only message I get on screen (apart from boot:) is
"Could not find kernel image: linux".

The configuration (and kernels) are in syslinux directory, but even
moving them to root (or naming one of them linux) doesn't help. The
pendrive is SanDisk Cruzer Contour 16GB, FAT32 formatted with
mkdiskimage.

One board where this happens is Gigabyte GA-8ST800 (both with BIOS
versions F3 and F4).

Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this?

-- 
< Jernej Simon?i? ><><><><><
http://eternallybored.org/ >

Some people have one of those days. I've had one of those lives.

Jernej Simon?i? wrote:
> I've got a bootable USB pendrive with Syslinux 3.72, and while it
> usually works, there are a few computers, where I get the syslinux
> prompt, but it neither loads the configuration file, nor I'm able to
> boot anything. The only message I get on screen (apart from boot:) is
> "Could not find kernel image: linux".
Presumably you also get the Syslinux banner screen.  Does it say CBIOS
or EBIOS?
> The configuration (and kernels) are in syslinux directory, but even
> moving them to root (or naming one of them linux) doesn't help. The
> pendrive is SanDisk Cruzer Contour 16GB, FAT32 formatted with
> mkdiskimage.
> 
> One board where this happens is Gigabyte GA-8ST800 (both with BIOS
> versions F3 and F4).
What BIOS vendor?
> Any ideas on how to troubleshoot this?
If you have multiple USB modes, make sure you try both USB-HDD and
USB-ZIP, and that you format your pendrive with zipdrive geometry (64
heads/32 sectors.)

	-hpa