Arch Linux

soote

Member

Registered: 2013-07-18

Posts: 7

Operation System not found

I've been following the beginners' guide and I keep running into this "Operation System not found" error.

I'm using a dell xps l502x, and trying to install x86_64 arch. I've tried using syslinux and grub both with the same error on reboot

During a syslinux install I use fdisk to partition the drive. The tutorial says this is to create an mbr, but it gives me a gpt from some reason:

Disk /dev/sda: 120.0 GB, 120034123776 bytes, 234441648 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk label type: gpt  **this I don't understand, as I'm following the guide for the mbr**

#	start		end		        size	       type	        	name
1	2048		31459327	        15G	       Linux filesystem
2	31459328	234441614 		96.8G          Linux filesystem

and my fstab is:

# <file system>        <dir>         <type>    <options>             <dump> <pass>
#/dev/sda1
UUID=0ec7dc20-1ea3-4f1c-810b-4fded8550744          /             ext4      rw,relatime,data=ordered      0      1
#/dev/sda2
UUID=9d6efd2f-8a18-4968-b251-7e09983ef539          /home         ext4      rw,relatime,data=ordered      0      2

So I have no errors at this point other then fdisk creating gpt instead of mbr.

I install syslinux, no errors:
Syslinux install successful
attribute legacy bios bootable set - /dev/sda1
installed MBR (usr/lib/syslinux/gptmbr.bin) to /dev/sda

I edit the syslinux config to point to /dev/sda1.
exit, umount /mnt/home, reboot, operation system not found!. The strange thing is when i go to the install disk and click Boot existing OS, I am able to find my install through syslinux and select Arch Linux, and it is functional.

I'm not really sure where to go from here as I've tried both syslinux and grub with the same result. When using grub I make sure to create the 1007kb boot partition marking it as EF02, and i still get operation system not found.

Last edited by soote (2013-08-31 20:36:12)

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: Operation System not found

This sounds not like a problem with Arch or your bootloader installation at all.  Rather it sounds as though you need to make an adjustment to your bios to tell it to correctly try to boot the disk with syslinux on it.

Also, while I will admit to actually being somewhat impressed with your partition layout and fstab formatting in that post, you really need to use code tags.  I will give you an example below.  To see how it is made (and what the arrows are pointing to) hit the 'Quote' button of this post.  This coincidentally will also show you how to use quote tags as well.

<--These are code tags-->

roentgen

Member

Registered: 2011-03-15

Posts: 91

Re: Operation System not found

Same Dell here. It seems to be a compatibility problem between BIOS and GPT.
I couldn't find any other way than to use MBR.

How do you create the partition table? In fdisk 'o' is used to create a DOS (MBR) partition table.

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: Operation System not found

If this is the case (which admittedly I have read other users suffering from before), I think you can use gdisk to convert your system to MBR.  I have never actually tried it though, as I haven't had a machine that didn't like GPT (nor have I ever felt the need to dual boot windows in bios mode).

soote

Member

Registered: 2013-07-18

Posts: 7

Re: Operation System not found

This sounds not like a problem with Arch or your bootloader installation at all.  Rather it sounds as though you need to make an adjustment to your bios to tell it to correctly try to boot the disk with syslinux on it.

Thank you for the advice. I followed the steps listed here, and ran everything except for the last command (# syslinux-install_update -i -m). On reboot I was still faced with the Operation system not found error. I then ran # syslinux-install_update -i -m and got the following:

Syslinux install successful
ABORT! MBR installation to partition (/dev/mapper/arch_root-image)!

I'm unsure of what this error means, but it lead me to this blog entry.

This blog looks promising.

Same Dell here. It seems to be a compatibility problem between BIOS and GPT.
I couldn't find any other way than to use MBR.

How do you create the partition table? In fdisk 'o' is used to create a DOS (MBR) partition table.

I followed the beginners' guide to create it. I will try creating the partitions with o instead of p, i didn't know about that option. I really don't need a GPT partition.

Last edited by soote (2013-08-31 21:07:22)

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: Operation System not found

It means that you are trying to install syslinux within the live media and not from your actual installation.  This is supposed to be done from the chroot.

soote

Member

Registered: 2013-07-18

Posts: 7

Re: Operation System not found

It means that you are trying to install syslinux within the live media and not from your actual installation.  This is supposed to be done from the chroot.

Thank you. Running within chroot removes all the errors when running these commands, but I still have the boot error. Going to ditch gpt and try mbr.

Last edited by soote (2013-08-31 21:13:12)

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: Operation System not found

That would be a good idea.  I just looked, and if you use gdisk /dev/sda (assuming that /dev/sda is the disk you want to modify).  Then you can use 'r' to enter the "recovery and transformation" menu, and then you can use 'g' to "convert GPT to MBR and exit"… sounds easy enough.

soote

Member

Registered: 2013-07-18

Posts: 7

Re: Operation System not found

That would be a good idea.  I just looked, and if you use gdisk /dev/sda (assuming that /dev/sda is the disk you want to modify).  Then you can use 'r' to enter the "recovery and transformation" menu, and then you can use 'g' to "convert GPT to MBR and exit"… sounds easy enough.

I already erased the partitions before I read this, oh well installation is fast now that i've done it so many times. MBR worked fine and I've got grub working as expected. Thanks for the help.

One note in the beginners' guide fdisk mbr section. The first step should be

Command (m for help): type o and press Enter

to create the new empty DOS partition table. Just following the guide verbatim results in a gpt partition.

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: Operation System not found

The support for GPT with fdisk is a very recent addition.  And even more recent is the ability to actually create a GPT table.  At first the support was only for modifying an existing GPT.

So if you want to add this to the wiki, it would probably be a good thing.