Booting Problem

[Joshua Isom]

On 1/29/2013 10:25 PM, doug at safeport.com wrote:
>
> What is the system you are using? What external devices does it have
> built-in support for? In the absence of any data - how about trying an
> external hard drive?
>
> Why not remove the hard drive, use another system to put FreeBSD on the
> drive, and put it back. From that point on you should be able to use the
> network to upgrade.
>

I had to do something like this to try out PC-BSD years ago.  I had one 
computer that wouldn't boot the install CD.  I moved the hard drive to a 
computer that would boot the install CD.  The catch was the computer 
that could boot the install CD wouldn't boot PC-BSD from the hard drive. 
  Sometimes you just find hardware that doesn't behave.  I'd also double 
check your BIOS settings for USB emulation.  Most external CD drives are 
just an IDE or SATA drive with an adapter.  If you take it apart, you 
can put the drive into the computer and see if skipping the USB helps it 
to boot.  It's also a nice way to find a cheap drive.