[syslinux] CF boot stops after version and date output

[John Hohm]

H. Peter Anvin wrote:
> OK, then you probably have a buggy BIOS which returns a different
> geometry than it's actually simulating.  Try upgrading your BIOS
frist;
> then try using "USB-ZIP" or "USB-FDD" as the simulation mode (assuming
> you have "USB-HDD" now) and using an unpartitioned device.

Unfortunately there is no newer BIOS for the board (an Intel SE7501WV2).

The BIOS appears not to be using a simulation mode; the adapter I am
using claims to be an IDE hard drive (it should put the CompactFlash
into TrueIDE mode) and the BIOS seems to recognize it as such.

I made a hacked MBR that dumps out the int13h ah=08h results, and it
reported the normal parameters for a 128MB CompactFlash: 978/8/32 C/H/S.
The partition table and the FAT16 partition also have that geometry.

> Other than that I probably can't help you.

Just for debugging I'm going to try some completely different boot
loaders, but I eventually want SYSLINUX because I'm going to use LEAF.

Do you know of any other software that can assist in debugging a boot
problem like this?  Something like isolinux-debug but for hard drives?

Regardless, thanks very much for your help so far, and for writing
SYSLINUX.

-- 
John K. Hohm
ProviNET Solutions
<jhohm at provinet.com>