[mdlug] "Damn Small Machine" startup problems

[David McMillan]

	A few weeks ago, I purchased one of these: 
http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/store/Mini_ITX_Systems/Damn_Small_Machine_No_Drive

	It would have been nearly perfect for what I needed it to do, but I 
can't get it to boot.  It has no onboard drive, but it seems as if I 
ought to be able to boot it from USB without any issues.

	I hooked up a monitor and keyboard, built a bootable USB drive using 
NetBootIn, and powered up.  The BIOS recognized the USB drive's presence 
and allowed me to change the boot order to the USB drive (which actually 
showed up as the *only* drive on the whole system).  But as soon as the 
BIOS POST cleared, all I could get was a "No Operating System" message.

	So, I tried several distros:  Ubuntu, Puppy, DSL, Clonezilla.  No dice.

	Tried two different USB drives (different brands and sizes).  Also no dice.

	Took the USB drives and booted other computers off them just to be sure 
I hadn't lost my mind.  Worked perfectly.

	I sent an inquiry off to the person at dsl.org who sold me the machine, 
asking if there was anything special I needed to do to get this unit to 
boot up, but got nothing but echoing silence.  So right now I'm trying 
to figure out if I need to try and get my money back, or if I just 
haven't found the right way to tickle this thing.