FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

cheersmile · 2012-11-29 03:41:20

I am a newbie to Arch Linux. I am stuck here when I tried to install Arch:
sh-4.2# Syslinux-install_update -iam gives the following error:
Syslinux install successful.
FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3
Please help. Thanks

Last edited by cheersmile (2012-11-29 23:29:18)

Trilby · 2012-11-29 04:54:00

I'm guessing you're using GPT?
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sy … le_aka_GPT

EDIT: Woofy's suggestion is better. I don't have GPT on any of my systems so I've only skimmed those sections of the wiki. I linked to the manual method which is available if needed, but - as is described in the wiki - syslinux will handle this if the appropriate package is installed.

Last edited by Trilby (2012-11-29 05:07:51)

WonderWoofy · 2012-11-29 04:54:18

You need to have gdisk installed, as the syslinux-install_update script uses that as its back end. Did you read the wiki? Check out the part that instructs how to install manually. Oh, and it is the gptfdisk package. You can actually just install that and then retry the syslinux-install_update command again.

BTW, the "Please help. Thanks" is kind of annoying. Why else would you be posting here? I don't know about others, but I just feel as though posting in the Newbie Corner, it is a given that you are here for help.

cheersmile · 2012-11-29 05:18:59

Got it installed as per your instruction and working fine. I am scared to use the word "thanks' now.

WonderWoofy · 2012-11-29 06:17:58

Don't forget to mark your thread as solved. You can do this by editing the first post and then simply prepending [Solved] to your title.

I wasn't trying to scare you by telling you that, by the way. I just have been frequently seeing posts with titles that are soemthing like "HELP PLEASE!!! Program X is broken and it is ruining my life!" I just wanted to make sure you didn't get to that point.

Trilby · 2012-11-29 12:13:22

There's a link floating around to ESR's "How to ask questions the smart way" (easily googleable). One of the points I can paraphrase quite roughly as implying that the courtesy is in effeciency. Not 'courtesy is inefficiency' though in excess it often is.

Thanks after the fact are usually quite welcome - as then they are earned, and in the absence of a problem to solve there is less need for an efficient exchange of information.

WonderWoofy · 2012-11-29 15:51:48

Here it is http://www.catb.org/esr/faqs/smart-questions.html . I noticed recently that cfr put it in his signature, along with the one about help vampires. Unfortunately, it seems as though we have recently had an influx of both bad questions and help vampires of late.

Edit: BTW, I added a note to the syslinux wiki page about the need for gptfdisk in the automatic installation section.

Last edited by WonderWoofy (2012-11-29 15:53:27)

DSpider · 2012-11-29 18:43:31

If you followed the Beginners' Guide you would have seen it.

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

Note: If you have partitioned the drive as GPT, install gptfdisk package, as well (pacman -S gptfdisk), because it contains sgdisk, which will be used to set the GPT-specific boot flag.

cheersmile · 2012-11-30 00:33:40

Thanks guys!!!

qubodup · 2013-11-22 19:05:16

I just updated my system.

Syslinux BIOS update successful

==> For setting up Syslinux BIOS using the syslinux-install_update script follow 
    https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Syslinux#Automatic_Install

==> For setting up Syslinux EFI follow
    https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Syslinux#UEFI_Systems

==> The syslinux-install_update script does not currently support EFI install

I followed https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Sy … ic_Install and got

FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda2

The instruction that gptfdisk is needed is directly above the Automatic install section, but it would have taken a while for me to look there, so thank you for this thread!

Summary:

If you encounter

# syslinux-install_update  -i -a -m
Syslinux BIOS install successful
FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda2

then do

# pacman -S gdisk
# syslinux-install_update  -i -a -m
Syslinux BIOS install successful
Attribute Legacy Bios Bootable Set - /dev/sda2
Installed MBR (/usr/lib/syslinux/bios/gptmbr.bin) to /dev/sda

jasonwryan · 2013-11-23 00:18:45

Please don't necrobump threads, particularly solved ones:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Fo … Bumping.27

Closing

Arch Linux

#1 2012-11-29 03:41:20

FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#2 2012-11-29 04:54:00

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#3 2012-11-29 04:54:18

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#4 2012-11-29 05:18:59

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#5 2012-11-29 06:17:58

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#6 2012-11-29 12:13:22

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#7 2012-11-29 15:51:48

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#8 2012-11-29 18:43:31

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#9 2012-11-30 00:33:40

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#10 2013-11-22 19:05:16

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

#11 2013-11-23 00:18:45

Re: FAILED to set attribute Legacy BIOS Bootable on /dev/sda3 [SOLVED]

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