USB Liksys wireless adapter - preventing boot

I bought a new HP desktop with Vista this month and in setting it up I bout a
new Linksys USB wireless adapter (the new N compatible one). Beyond the
lousy wireless signal (max is 54 versus 108 with the XP MIMO card), plugging
in the USB adapter in any USB port prevents the computer from starting up.
It hangs at the HP BIOS page and won't respond to any f keys. If i remove
the USB card, it proceeds to startup.

One of our IT guys said he thought it might be trying to boot from the USB
card. Has anyone else had this issue and is there a solution other than
removing the network card on every reboot (and reestablishing connectino to
the router)?