Dev1 Galaxy Forum / Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (phloggu) — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:29:52 +0000

... apparently one needs to replace grub-efi-amd64-signed with grub-efi-amd64 according to "fsmithred" and thus renounce to secure boot.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (phloggu) — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 10:04:38 +0000

I think you hit the same problem as described here:
https://dev1galaxy.org/viewtopic.php?pid=27939

or here:
https://lists.dyne.org/lurker/message/2 … b8.en.html

I don't see a good solution by now.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Mon, 12 Jul 2021 16:11:48 +0000

Well. i tried Chimaera and the installation and reboot was smooth!!
Meaning , no grub prompt , no tty drop (due to lack of firmware missing) but low res GUI,

So i write this from my Devuan 4 + LXqt using luakit .

So i guess it was an old kernel that couldnt handle nvme boot , sth that reinforces a heuristic of mine, about using only 2-3 year old harwdware in linux.

It wasnt a strange uefi bios quirk or a grub issue.

I wish only that grub or kernel would issue a related error to make resulution faster,

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 19:41:37 +0000

Finally!! As it turns out, that black screen must have been gui that couldnt start due to amd non firware missing.
I changed to a virtual console and login!

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 18:12:42 +0000

I did a couple more tries ,i double checked bios that nvme ssd is first in boot order ,and again happened the same.
Beowulf + LXqt will install successfully in nvme but after reboot will stop to a grub prompt with no error .
I managed to boot the kernel with:

grub> set root=(hd3,gpt2)
grub> set prefix=(hd3,gpt2)/boot/grub
grub> insmod normal
grub> normal

but the kernel booting suddenly stops in a blank screen with a curson on top left where i can see letters i press.

The same procedure as above will work if i try Beowulf + XFCE .

Also there is no problem so ever if try a sata ssd.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (Magnus) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 14:23:51 +0000

Are you sure you install Grub to the right disk? It must be the first disk the computer look after at boot, and that is set in BIOS.

The error message you got then you boot Debian, and then goes away, can be that the computer can't find the resume partition. It's the same as the swap partition. (Every new install reformat the swap partition and give it a new uuid. Old systems will not now that, So you must help it understand.) You set it in "/etc/initramfs-tools/conf.d/resume". Use the command "blkid" to see your partitions and uuid's.

Don't forget that you can use the install media and start it, in the install media's boot menu, as rescue. The choose the installed partition as root and start a shell there. Mount the EFI partition, if you got one, with "mount /boot/efi". Now you can reinstall Grub with "grub-install", then "update-grub2". Then umount EFI with "umount /boot/efi". Then "exit" to get out of the shell. Then you are on your own... :-)

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (GlennW) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 10:35:44 +0000

Hi, you could check the uuid with blkid and fstab.

I do this a bit because each install changes the block id when formatting or partitioning the drive.

Usually happens to my swap partitions on the other os drives.

I use a live beowulf memory stick to access the fstabs and check the block id’s and then I can correct the grub.cfg files.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 08:56:28 +0000

I installed Beowulf+LXqt in an ssd storage and it booted with no problem. So it seems the nvme is the problem.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 06:24:33 +0000

I will be patient. Also i want to add that the error message error no such device xxxxxxxxx..... (that is the UUID of the partition that was holding my previous debian system ) was appearing also just after grub menu when i was booting with debian. But i didnt dwell over it because my system was booting ok. Also that debian systen was my fiirst try to install in a nvme storage.

So i suspect that that nvme storage of mine maybe is related here.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (golinux) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 01:09:26 +0000

Hopefully fsmithred will see this. I haven't seen him all day. Please be patient.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 00:56:07 +0000

I tried again from the start to install devuan with no GUI and choosing YES to ''Force grub into EFI removable media path'' but
still the installaltion was a success but after reboot i am into grub again.

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sun, 11 Jul 2021 00:03:34 +0000

Ok, i managed to boot folllowing different instructions in grub2.

grub> set root=(hd3,gpt2)
grub> insmod linux
grub> insmod normal
grub> normal

After booting into (just after grub menu goes away i see:
error no such device 1fe9bf88-..... (that id is from my new devuan partition)
but after some seconds it goes away.

in my text only Beowulf system i give:
# update-grub

and
# apt-get install firmware-amd-graphics

Now i booted in XFCE , i dont have connectivity!! (i had in text mode previously!)

Re: Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 23:46:06 +0000

I managed to boot linux from grub

grub> ls
(hd3,gpt2) ... // i have installed in my PC a sdd, a hdd and a nvme sdd (where i installed devuan)

grub> set root=(hd3,gpt2)
grub> linux /boot/vmlinuz-... root=/dev/sdd2
grub> initrd /boot/initrd.img-...
grub> boot

Grub2 seems to yield control to a kernel that starts booting but it stops for not
beiing able to find sdd2 (maybe its wrong the part 'root=/dev/sdd2

Issues with booting a fresh Beowulf install

dummy@example.com (chomwitt) — Sat, 10 Jul 2021 23:02:13 +0000

Installation medium: Beowulf netinstall.
Computer: Physical PC
All installations are NOT expert mode.
All installations succeed. The issues appear after i reboot.
In the 'Install Grub' step i selected NO to 'Force grub into EFI removable media path'

First i tried to install Devuan+LXqt but after reboot it throughs me to a black screen (no prompt symbol) where i can type .

Then i tried to iinstall with no GUI but instead of login promt i see the grub prompt symbol.

Finally i tried with XFCE but still i see the grub prompt.