Arch Linux

StinkPony

Member

Registered: 2012-03-18

Posts: 10

[Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

I've installed a bunch of arch systems, but none since arch went away from the ncurses installer. Essentially I can't figure out how to get the  system actually booting. I've followed the install guide step by step, twice. When attempting a boot all I get is what is in the title

No bootable device -- Please restart system

I've tried re-running mkinitcpio -p linux to no avail.

I'm not even sure where to start, what to report here. Let me know what outputs you need to see and I will comply.

Thanks in advance.

[Adding]

layout of hdd (fstab)
=================================
/dev/sda2    /    ext4   50G
/dev/sda1   /boot  ext4 105mb
/dev/sda4   /home ext4 400-ish G
/dev/sda3  swap  4G

hdd was formatted gpt

[Adding more]

Alright. Shot in the dark but tried grub-install /dev/sda from the install media and got back

Path '/boot/grub' is not readable by GRUB on boot. Installation is impossible. Aborting.

Solved. Learned about EFI...
The beginners guide was very helpful in this regard. Thanks to those who helped.

Last edited by StinkPony (2012-12-07 05:45:24)

DeadDingo

Member

Registered: 2012-09-29

Posts: 46

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

Have you had arch on the platform in question before?

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In order to understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.

StinkPony

Member

Registered: 2012-03-18

Posts: 10

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

Have you had arch on the platform in question before?

No. Brand new Toshiba Satellite 855 -- Never even boot win 8

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,359

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

did you configure and install the bootloader?

StinkPony

Member

Registered: 2012-03-18

Posts: 10

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

did you configure and install the bootloader?

Yes. As best I know how.

arch-chroot /mnt pacman -S grub-bios

As far as configure... This is the only OS on the machine, the install is by the book. There's nothing in the install guide about config.

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,359

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

grub-bios? If the system came with Win8, it's most likely UEFI, not BIOS. Beyond that, it may have secure boot turned on. Check your bios setting.

StinkPony

Member

Registered: 2012-03-18

Posts: 10

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

grub-bios? If the system came with Win8, it's most likely UEFI, not BIOS. Beyond that, it may have secure boot turned on. Check your bios setting.

Oh man, I've been trying to figure out wtf the difference was ... It prob is UEFI. That's a good direction to go hunting.

Bios settings was a good call to though as that was why I couldn't boot from the disc for the first ten minutes of this adventure

DSpider

Member

From: Romania

Registered: 2009-08-23

Posts: 2,273

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

/dev/sda2    /    ext4   50G
/dev/sda1   /boot  ext4 105mb
/dev/sda4   /home ext4 400-ish G
/dev/sda3  swap  4G

hdd was formatted gpt

tried grub-install /dev/sda

Read the fine print (aka the notes):

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … rage_drive
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … bootloader

But are you sure you don't wanna go with UEFI on this one?

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"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).

StinkPony

Member

Registered: 2012-03-18

Posts: 10

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

Alright... this eufi thing looks horrendously complicated and I hadn't even heard of it before today. Thanks for all the help and I will try install again tomorrow after spending a few hours reading this stuff.

DSpider

Member

From: Romania

Registered: 2009-08-23

Posts: 2,273

Re: [Solved] No bootable device -- Please restart system ... and no idea

No need to start from scratch, just because the bootloader doesn't work. If you already have it installed, just chroot and install one.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … _UEFI_mode
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Chroot
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … therboards

Last edited by DSpider (2012-12-06 08:26:14)

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"How to Succeed with Linux"

I have made a personal commitment not to reply in topics that start with a lowercase letter. Proper grammar and punctuation is a sign of respect, and if you do not show any, you will NOT receive any help (at least not from me).