Bug#692309: installation-guide: 3.6.2. Boot Device Selection: Booting debian-installer from a USB stick

[Brian Potkin <claremont102@gmail.com>]

Package: installation-guide
Severity: normal
Tags: d-i


As 3.6.2. Boot Device Selection says:

 Unfortunately some computers contain buggy BIOS versions. Booting
 debian-installer from a USB stick might not work even if there is an
 appropriate option in the BIOS setup menu and the stick is selected as
 the primary boot device. On some of these systems using a USB stick as
 boot medium is impossible; others can be tricked into booting from the
 stick by changing the device type in the BIOS setup from the default
 “USB harddisk” or “USB stick” to “USB ZIP” or “USB CDROM”. In particular
 if you use an isohybrid CD/DVD image on a USB stick (see Section 4.3.1,
 “Preparing a USB stick using a hybrid CD or DVD image”), changing the
 device type to “USB CDROM” helps on some BIOSes which will not boot from
 a USB stick in USB harddisk mode.

Whatever the reason, some computers will not boot from a USB device, So,
in addition to the present advice, why not offer something which does
not involve fiddling, very often without a positive outcome, with the
bios. Namely, the Plop Boot Manager:

   http://www.plop.at/

Advantages:

   * It works.
   * It is actively developed.
   * There is no other comparable software.
   * Users are better informed.