In case it’s useful for anyone, I solved my problem, I think. I installed to an old magnetic HDD and that was fine, so wiped the CF with dd and put it back: I then couldn’t get knoppix to boot. Remove the CF and it was fine. Put the CF back, knoppix boots.
This is a http://www.parkytowers.me.uk/thin/hp/t5570/, HP T5570 with a no-name CF adaptor, and a Kingston CF card.
I think the BIOS HDD detection is buggy. I updated the BIOS with no change, and each time, the failed boot- either knoppix, volumio, or the Debian install I tried , took me back to when I first played with Linux in about 1998 and LILO: boot failures were almost always HDD geometry problems. I’ve found this to work:
- Put Volumio image on USB stick.
- Install the CF. Enter the BIOS, view the HDD detection, set boot order to CD only.
- Boot knoppix from DVD with “knoppix 2” for text mode only.
- Mount the USB and write the image as described at the start of this thread.
- sync, sync, init 0
- Reboot, enter BIOS setup, view disk config again, set boot to CF card only.
- Exit BIOS. Allow Volumio to boot and set up the disk.
- Shut Volumio down, reboot, enter BIOS, view disk config yet again. Ensure boot is the CF only.
9, Exit BIOS, allow to boot normally.
I’m guessing viewing the disk detection updates something.
Updating the BIOS took me back too: I had to use a DOS boot floppy…