CA> Won't work here. Either it's my BIOS (Award) or my boot
 CA> manager but something gives me a "DMI pooling data"
 CA> message and the boot process stops before ever accessing
 CA> the bootmanager's files on the hard drive. :-\

a quick google on that phrase seems to show that it has to do with the BIOS
and that resetting it and/or clearing the DMI data area (usually a setting
in the BIOS) may cure the problem...

HTH

)\/(ark