Unable to boot from USB CD drive

[SteveBallmer]

Hey, I'm using a Thinkpad X41. After my decision to install another OS, I plugged in my HP cd-writer 8200 series CD drive via a USB cable and rebooted, hoping to boot from CD. However it did no such thing. I pressed F12 and looked at the boot device menu, and the CD drive wasn't even there. I went into the BIOS setup, and configured USB CD to be the primary boot medium. But still, nothing. I know for sure that this CD writer works fine, I've used in windows several times. I've tried swapping USB cables and tried every USB port on my laptop. It really baffles me as to why I cannot boot from this device. Help!
Thank you

[christopher_wolf]

Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums....Steve Ballmer

*secures all the chairs to the floor*

What OS are you trying to boot from the Optical Drive? First off, the BIOS has to support booting from a USB device/interface. The X41 should support this (I only know that my T43 supports USB boot). If you cannot see it in the BIOS list, however, than it sounds like an issue with the BIOS.

Is your BIOS up to date?

HTH

[pianowizard]

Even my X20 can boot from a USB CD drive, so I am sure the X41 can do it too. Is the drive USB1.1 or 2.0? I once tried to boot my X40 from a USB1.1 CD drive and it didn't work, so I got a USB2.0 drive and it worked. Perhaps you also need a USB2.0 drive for the X41?

[christopher_wolf]

Even my X20 can boot from a USB CD drive, so I am sure the X41 can do it too. Is the drive USB1.1 or 2.0? I once tried to boot my X40 from a USB1.1 CD drive and it didn't work, so I got a USB2.0 drive and it worked. Perhaps you also need a USB2.0 drive for the X41?

This is probably it, as I was pretty sure that the X41 can boot from USB. Most modern systems, including laptops, have the ability to do this.