What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

na5m · 2016-08-04 09:56:13

I want to do a netboot install. I want to use ipxe.efi, but I have no idea how to apply this file.
I believe that this file is an image. Do I burn it to my USB stick? Do I burn it to my USB stick using a utility (like unetbootin)?
I apologize in advance for being slack-jawed, expressionless, and stupid. Please help.

V1del · 2016-08-04 10:38:14

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Netboot#UEFI

Put it on the stick which is FAT32 formatted and use your firmware to launch the UEFI application, how exactly that works (or if your firmware even allows this) are details of your firmware and you will have to try and find out

na5m · 2016-08-05 07:19:49

V1del wrote:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Netboot#UEFI
Put it on the stick which is FAT32 formatted and use your firmware to launch the UEFI application, how exactly that works (or if your firmware even allows this) are details of your firmware and you will have to try and find out

Thanks for the quick reply, V1del.
I have a USB stick that is formatted FAT32. I copied the EFI file to the stick. I rebooted and got to my mother board's boot menu. I selected the UEFI thumb drive to boot from (the fat32 thumb drive that i copied ipxe.efi to). But ipxe.efi didn't launch. My system just booted into the currently installed OS.

By "use my firmware to launch the UEFI application", what do you mean, more precisely?

Any other help would be appreciated. Thanks!

Slithery · 2016-08-05 08:39:38

na5m wrote:

I want to do a netboot install. I want to use ipxe.efi

Is there any particular reason why?

As you're going to be using a USB stick why not just use the standard installation iso?

Trilby · 2016-08-05 10:21:02

Alternatively, if you want to use ipxe.efi, why do you need/want to use a usb drive? Just up the ipxe.efi into your current efi partition (and ensure there is a menu entry for it if you want one).

Elizine · 2016-08-05 13:10:26

Please find the possible answer to your question here - https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UEFI/PXE-netboot-install

V1del · 2016-08-05 13:40:03

Some motherboards have a built in way of choosing an UEFI executable to boot, with built-in filebrowsers that's what I meant by using your firmware to do that. Some are comparatively dumb and will only boot from a specified filename and path (e.g. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un … UEFI_Shell the path mentioned in the blue note box)

na5m · 2016-08-06 08:04:02

slithery wrote:

na5m wrote:
I want to do a netboot install. I want to use ipxe.efi
Is there any particular reason why?
As you're going to be using a USB stick why not just use the standard installation iso?

ipxe.efi is offered, so I am curious as to how it works and want to try to use it. iso is a no-brainer.

na5m · 2016-08-06 08:09:13

Trilby wrote:

Alternatively, if you want to use ipxe.efi, why do you need/want to use a usb drive? Just up the ipxe.efi into your current efi partition (and ensure there is a menu entry for it if you want one).

I guess I should ask the question, "Why do *.efi files exist?" Can grub launch them?
I want to do a net install and would like to try efi vs iso, since both options are available.

Thanks again to all of you.

Trilby · 2016-08-06 11:26:01

na5m wrote:

I guess I should ask the question, "Why do *.efi files exist?" Can grub launch them?

I've never used grub(2), so I don't know. And using grub with an efi system always baffled me, there is no need for grub if you are using efi booting. efi files are executable by (u)efi firmware rather than by an operating system (they are essentially their own micro OS that only does what they need to do).

na5m wrote:

I want to do a net install

All arch linux installation are net installs. This is completely tangential to using the netboot pxe.

na5m wrote:

... and would like to try efi vs iso

This doesn't make any sense. You can do an efi install with the iso. But if you want to netboot, you use the pxe netboot which just happens to be distributed as an efi program/appliance.

na5m · 2016-08-07 09:55:47

Ok. I'm feeling stupider and stupider here by the moment. I fully know what to do with an ISO file... burn the ISO image to an optical disk (or even a USB drive) & reboot and the rest is magic.
With the EFI file, what do I do with it? Burn it to a medium and reboot? Or do I put it where ever and use grub to read and launch it?
Sorry for my thick headedness.

Last edited by na5m (2016-08-07 09:57:08)

Trilby · 2016-08-07 12:12:31

An efi file is executable code. It is not an archive or iso that needs to be extracted or "burned" to any media. Just as the wiki says:

Netboot wiki page wrote:

UEFI
The ipxe.efi image can be used to launch Arch Linux netboot in UEFI mode. Only 64 Bit UEFI is supported. The ipxe.efi image can be added as a boot option via efibootmgr, chainloaded from a boot manager like systemd-boot or launched directly from the UEFI shell

ewaller · 2016-08-07 16:42:40

I know it has been linked before, but take a look at this article in its entirety: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un … _Interface

EFI works by knowing how to read a fat partition that has been designated as a boot partition. .efi files are executable files that the EFI boot environment can load and launch from that efi partition. Some of these may launch Windows. Others may launch the linux kernel. Others may test memory. Others may launch an interactive shell. Others may launch a PXE environment. Different computers have different ways of selecting which efi file to launch.

johnywhy · 2019-08-02 09:24:44

+1.

Is it possible to install the ipxe.efi file to a bootable flash drive, and then boot it?

I can't find the procedure to do that anyplace. Doesn't seem to be covered by any replies in this thread. The linked pages don't explain either.

Reading the article below, it sounds like i want to create a bootable flash drive, using any capable too, without any OS.
And then, copy ipxe.efe to /efi/EFI/ipxe/ipxe.efi, where /efi is the mount point of the ESP. Meaning, the mount point of the USB drive?

$ findmnt /efi

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Unified_Extensible_Firmware_Interface#efibootmgr

But, seems like that will return the mount point of the active OS, not the mount point of the flash drive. Isn't that what i want?

Steps here gives error on the `make` command.

make: *** No rule to make target 'bin/86_64-efi/ipxe.efi'.  Stop.

https://gist.github.com/AdrianKoshka/5b6f8b6803092d8b108cda2f8034539a

thx

Last edited by johnywhy (2019-08-02 09:29:57)

V1del · 2019-08-02 09:34:24

Please don't necrobump three year old threads

Make your own thread detailing your exact intentions, what steps you've already done and where you're stuck exactly also hardware and firmware versions and mainboard vendor.

FWIW, you *could* use an USB or the ESP the two have no relation to eachother, which mountpoint you use when copying the file doesn't matter for your EFI firmware.

Closing.

Arch Linux

#1 2016-08-04 09:56:13

What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#2 2016-08-04 10:38:14

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#3 2016-08-05 07:19:49

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#4 2016-08-05 08:39:38

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#5 2016-08-05 10:21:02

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#6 2016-08-05 13:10:26

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#7 2016-08-05 13:40:03

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#8 2016-08-06 08:04:02

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#9 2016-08-06 08:09:13

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#10 2016-08-06 11:26:01

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#11 2016-08-07 09:55:47

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#12 2016-08-07 12:12:31

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#13 2016-08-07 16:42:40

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#14 2019-08-02 09:24:44

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

#15 2019-08-02 09:34:24

Re: What do I do with ipxe.efi ????

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