Bug#1033678: installation-reports: Unbootable install: MBR partition unusable with UEFI
Hi. Thank you both for replying.
Tim Bell <raekuul@gmail.com> writes:
> Just to confirm - you were not able to configure the USB Drive for EFI
> boot?
Correct. For whatever reason this wasn't possible in this BIOS, at least
not in any way I could figure out. Possibly I created the install media
incorrectly? I downloaded this:
debian-bookworm-DI-alpha2-amd64-netinst.iso
from here:
https://cdimage.debian.org/cdimage/bookworm_di_alpha2/amd64/iso-cd/
and I wrote that .iso to /dev/sde. There was no obvious "usb image", but
just using the CD image appeared to work. I could boot and run the
installer, at least with UEFI turned off.
Cyril Brulebois <kibi@debian.org> writes:
> For the avoidance of doubt: which one? Alpha 1 or Alpha 2.
> Also, which image did you use?
Alpha 2. The link is above.
>> This is an amd64 recent-ish laptop. The disk is a PCIe SSD, not SATA.
>
> You have not given a single detail about that machine.
I'm trying to give relevant detail. This is a Dell Latitude 5420 rugged.
What else do you want to know?
>> I'm installing from a USB drive. To make this work, I had to turn off
>> secure-boot and UEFI in the BIOS.
>
> Why did you need that in the first place? How did you put the
> installation image onto that USB drive?
See above. Even if I didn't do this properly, installing an unbootable
OS is not very nice.
> In a nutshell, BIOS means MBR, UEFI means GPT. (This is a very gross
> oversimplification though.)
OK. Sorry, I managed to be blissfully ignorant for decades, and this is
the first time I'm touching GPT or UEFI. So I'm not well-versed in this
at all.
> I'm not sure why the firmware would allow running an installer in BIOS
> mode and not boot off from the installed system… in BIOS mode too.
You would expect the Debian installer to write an MBR partition and then
you would expect the machine (running with UEFI disabled) to be able to
use this MBR partition? I would expect this too, I think.
I'm reading Dell's notes a bit. This suggests that PICe SSD devices are
UEFI-only:
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132410/what-are-pcie-ssds-and-how-to-use-them-as-a-boot-drive-for-a-dell-pc
This makes me think that installing to an MBR on the SSD on this machine
is never correct. It also makes me think that creating my install media
in a way that would make UEFI boot with it would have avoided this. But
this failure mode isn't great. Can we detect these UEFI-only drives in
any way? Can I ask the installer create a GPT instead of an MBR somehow?
Thanks
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