>From my experience, when setting boot order to boot from USB, it should
show that a device is plugged into the target port.

If it just shows [USB Key], the BIOS is probably not recognizing the
USB device on that port. Try a different port and re-enter the BIOS.

Or if, during boot, there's an option for a one time boot menu, that
should list anything available. Again, if your USB device isn't listed,
try a different port and reboot, re-enter the one time boot menu.

I have had trouble with some systems, I just try different ports and
boot modes (UEFI / BIOS (Legacy) ) until something works.

Bracham

On Tue, 2025-11-25 at 02:21 +0000, Erik Christiansen via Dng wrote:
> Apologies. The dumb ISP-provided MUA sent on a <TAB> in the middle of
> a text line. !!??
>
> Though mostly happy with Beowulf, compatibility with new stuff is
> crumbling, so I've bought a little Geekom A5 for switching horses to
> the latest Devuan, and:
>
> Downloaded: devuan_excalibur_6.0.0_amd64_desktop.iso
>
> $ sudo dd if=~/Downloads/devuan_excalibur_6.0.0_amd64_desktop.iso
> of=/dev/sda bs=512k
>
> Plugged the iso into the left front USB socket on the A5, powered up
> & tapped <delete>, to invoke the BIOS.
>
> In the "Boot" menu, have selected:
> "New UEFI OS Boot Option Policy":   [Place First]
> "Boot mode select:"              [LEGACY]
>
> "FIXED BOOT ORDER Priorities":
> Boot Option #1:     [USB Key]
> The remaining boot options then auto-organised, with:
> Boot Option #2:      [Hard Disk]
> Boot Option #3:      [NVME]
> etc., but relevant only after I manage to boot off the USB stick.
>
> F4: Save & Exit
>
> Despite some blinking of the USB stick's LED, there was no boot -
> instead a return to the BIOS.
>
> In an effort to effect a legacy boot, I've tried in the "Security" -
> >"Secure Boot" menu to switch to:
> "Secure Boot"          [Disabled]
> thinking that might be needed to kill the UEFI gumpf. But I'm still
> stuck in the BIOS loop - no boot. It does display "Not Active" with
> either setting, so it doesn't look like the problem.
> That menu does display at the top:
> "System Mode"      User
> but its parent "Security" menu states "In Setup the User will have
> Administrator rights." and the changes I make are remembered across
> BIOS reentries, and there's no objection to the changes I make.
>
> There were no such issues when I installed Beowulf on an Intel NUC a
> few years back. I'll keep googling, but any hints from those who
> update a bit more often, and have some of this stuff tamed, would be
> most gratefully received.
>
> (I really need to upgrade gcc-avr and kicad beyond what's on Beowulf,
> and a newer firefox would be a boon.)
>
> Erik
>
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