[SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

drmoo2020 · 2025-06-01 16:25:26

I'm on an MSI Alpha 15 B5EEK laptop. I've checked to ensure Arch Linux can be installed on this laptop.

I'm somewhat of a newbie: I have tried a lot of distros over the past year, trying to find one that I really like. I like the Arch-based distros (have tried Endeavour and CachyOS), but I have been wanting to try actual Arch. The problem is that I go through the entire installation process (manually, following the wiki and numerous videos when I didn't understand something and the archinstall script), but when I restart after installation, the hard drive is blank in BIOS. Normally, the hard drive will list the OS that is on it i.e. Windows, Pop OS. It's as if Arch isn't there.

The only thing that I've read that pertains to my problem is improper mounting, but I ensure I do that each time I attempt to install.

Any help you can provide is very much appreciated. My background is not in computers: I'm a school administrator that just hates Windows with a passion. My favorite distro at the moment is Pop OS, but I really want to give Arch a try.

Last edited by drmoo2020 (2025-06-02 10:16:28)

dbm · 2025-06-01 17:19:41

@drmoo2020, with this post u are reinventing the wheel, don't do that. I've readed 10x over and over , to figure whats is all about u want, my advice if u are new read wiki again, and again -- or get familiar with "archinstall" - guided script for your installation, will save you alot and get you with basics.

dakota · 2025-06-01 18:48:00

drmoo2020 wrote:

The problem is that I go through the entire installation process (manually, following the wiki and numerous videos when I didn't understand something and the archinstall script), but when I restart after installation, the hard drive is blank in BIOS. Normally, the hard drive will list the OS that is on it i.e. Windows, Pop OS. It's as if Arch isn't there.

It's reasonable to assume that the archinstall script is designed to help beginners install Arch.

Unfortunately, that is not its purpose. It is designed to help *experienced* user streamline the install process. If you don't understand what it's doing, it could easily leave your machine in a state that you don't understand and can't adequately explain. And once you add in "numerous videos" you may very well end up with a system state that nobody here can determine.

My background is not in computers either, and I also hate Windows, so I understand your passion.

My advice is to start over, using the installaton guide and the wiki and to post here when you run across something you don't understand. That way, we know what you've already done and which step you're getting hung-up on.

It will also help if you describe more fully what the problem is.

Do you mean, literally, that the hard drive is blank? How do you know? What commands did you run? And what was the output? Or did you mean that the operating system couldn't find a boot loader? Again, what exactly do you see? You've got to help us out here, because we're not sitting in front of your computer.

Cheers,

drmoo2020 · 2025-06-01 23:45:20

dakota wrote:

Unfortunately, that is not its purpose. It is designed to help *experienced* user streamline the install process. If you don't understand what it's doing, it could easily leave your machine in a state that you don't understand and can't adequately explain. And once you add in "numerous videos" you may very well end up with a system state that nobody here can determine.
My background is not in computers either, and I also hate Windows, so I understand your passion.
My advice is to start over, using the installaton guide and the wiki and to post here when you run across something you don't understand. That way, we know what you've already done and which step you're getting hung-up on.
It will also help if you describe more fully what the problem is.
Do you mean, literally, that the hard drive is blank? How do you know? What commands did you run? And what was the output? Or did you mean that the operating system couldn't find a boot loader? Again, what exactly do you see? You've got to help us out here, because we're not sitting in front of your computer.
Cheers,

Thanks for your offer to help. I apologize for the confusion and lack of information as I typed this before turning in the for the night.

I only used archinstall after failing the manual process a few times.

When I say that the hard drive is blank, I can see that my partitions are still there (when I boot back into the usb) by typing fdisk -l. But, when I go into BIOS to change the boot order, the hard drive just says "Hard Drive" (instead of listing the name of the OS too). When I try to boot into it, it doesn't load Arch and goes back into the USB. I thought it might be the boot loader, so I tried two different installs (grub and systemd).

I referred to videos because I didn't fully understand the bootloader installation process. Everything up to that, I was able to understand by following the wiki.

seth · 2025-06-02 07:37:58

dakota wrote:

advice is to start over, using the installaton guide and the wiki and to post here when you run across something you don't understand.

As for what's happened, mount the relevant partition and check what's on it.
One possibility of your symptom is that you simply skipped installing a bootloader or an UKI, notably w/ present OS

dakota wrote:

purpose. It is designed to help

I think you misspelled "fig-leaf"

d_fajardo · 2025-06-02 08:03:30

As Seth said it does seem you don't have a bootloader. But in case you do which bootloader are you using?
You need something like efibootmgr or UEFI Shell to write your boot image to the NVRAM of the motherboard that's why you are not seeing the boot entry. It seems like that step hasn't been done or hasn't been successful.

cryptearth · 2025-06-02 09:15:44

d_fajardo wrote:

You need something like efibootmgr or UEFI Shell to write your boot image to the NVRAM of the motherboard that's why you are not seeing the boot entry. It seems like that step hasn't been done or hasn't been successful.

that's actually not fully correct - and, as this is a laptop, as history told us can be the wrong way to get anything else than windows working - due to many laptops and thier firmwares often designed and test with windows only and break tge moment wgen they see anything else but a windows bootmgfw.efi - hence such users often have to rely on the fallback path <ESP>\EFI\BOOT\BOOTx64.efi or other tricks like chainig linux from a windows bootmgr

drmoo2020 · 2025-06-02 10:15:43

Update:

Thanks for all of the replies so far. I tried it again, this time with the GRUB bootloader (tried with systemd the majority of the other installations) and it's now working. I don't know why it worked this time (and not the other times), but I won't complain.

I appreciate everyone's help.

dakota · 2025-06-03 03:14:51

seth wrote:

dakota wrote:
purpose. It is designed to help
I think you misspelled "fig-leaf"

You crack me up.

Arch Linux

#1 2025-06-01 16:25:26

[SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#2 2025-06-01 17:19:41

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#3 2025-06-01 18:48:00

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#4 2025-06-01 23:45:20

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#5 2025-06-02 07:37:58

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#6 2025-06-02 08:03:30

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#7 2025-06-02 09:15:44

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#8 2025-06-02 10:15:43

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

#9 2025-06-03 03:14:51

Re: [SOLVED] Install completes but Arch does not boot

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