[syslinux] Trying to multiboot bartpe & puppy linux on a usb flash with syslinux

[Mr. X]

Hey list,

I have an older 2005 Uniwill 259ia3 with a Phoenix bios.

Flash booting is limited to keys 512 MB or less!

Here's my setup recipe:

used the HP utility v. 2.0.6 giving me this geometry
---------------- fdisk -l -----------
Disk /dev/sdb: 493 MB, 493879296 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 60 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 16065 * 512 = 8225280 bytes

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1   *           1          61      482272+   e  W95 FAT16 (LBA)
Partition 1 has different physical/logical endings:
     phys=(59, 254, 63) logical=(60, 11, 15)
------------------- unsnip -----------------

I copied over the 5 bartpe files known to work on another flashkey.
I include the bootsector, pe2usb.bin, renamed as pe2usb.bss, planning later
to chain boot with syslinux.

This works as-is and boots into bartpe.

Next I mount the puppy iso and copy over the isolinux setup. Then I change
isolinux.cfg to syslinux.cfg, edit, and add these lines for bartpe

------------- bartpe boot ---------
label bartpe
bss pe2usb.bss
append -
-------------- unsnip -------------

I test in qemu on Centos5 and it now multiboots both OS!

However when I try it on the Uniwill (with crippled bios), syslinux boots fine, but only puppy boots. When I enter bartpe at the prompt, I get the message:
Disk error
enter any key to restart

Worse yet, is this flashkey works on all 4 other boxes in my office! Only the laptop fails to boot the bartpe part.

Any advice is appreciated. I'm starting to think that the bios is the only thing working against me here. The OEM has made a low blow with the manipulated bios.

-- 
Mark