Re: Installing Debian on a Minnowboard Turbot with installer on USB stick?

[Rick Thomas <rbthomas@pobox.com>]

On May 27, 2018, at 3:12 AM, Pascal Hambourg <pascal@plouf.fr.eu.org> wrote:

> Le 27/05/2018 à 00:19, Rick Thomas a écrit :
>> Does anyone have experience installing Debian on a Minnowboard Turbot?
> 
> Not me.
> 
>> I have a dual-core, single ethernet, Turbot.  I’m able to install Debian (Buster) from a physical DVD, but when I dd the installer .iso to a USB stick, and try to install from the stick, the Turbot’s firmware doesn’t see the stick as a bootable medium.
>> If I install (using the physical DVD in a USB connected DVD drive) to a USB stick, that USB stick (the one I installed to) will boot fine.  So it’s not that it just can’t boot from a USB stick.
>> The documentation isn’t entirely clear, but I *think* the Turbot’s boot firmware is UEFI-only.  Would that make a difference?
> 
> Probably not, if the same image boots from a DVD.
> 
>> It seems odd that the exact same bits should be seen as bootable when presented on a DVD, but not when presented on a USB stick…
> 
> No, it is perfectly normal. The expected boot structures on a DVD and a USB stick (or floppy, hard disk...) are completely different.
> The Debian installer ISO images are called "hybrid" because they combine a DVD layout and a regular hard disk (or USB stick). But this comes at a price : the partition table layout could be considered invalid on a strict point of view.

Thanks, Pascal!  

So the UEFI firmware is more forgiving of a partition table that is “invalid from a strict point of view” when it’s coming from a physical DVD, than it is when it’s coming from a USB stick?

That would explain what I’m seeing.  Can you suggest any way to get around the problem?

Enjoy!
Rick