(partially solved)Unable to boot using systemd-boot on Intel NUC7i5BNK

Mainvoid · 2018-02-20 00:36:34

Hello everyone,

Currently I am installing Arch Linux on my Nuc so it can act as a homeserver. However, I seem to be unable to boot (I am not getting past the OS selection). The initrd might be loaded succesfully, as I received an error regarding a missing intel-ucode.img once, because I reinstalled the kernel & systemd-boot files, but forgot to reinstall the intel-ucode package.

At first I thought that it had to do with me installing Archlinux from another linux (using the guide), as I was unable to boot a second install I made on an USB stick but further testing showed that the USB-stick was able to boot on my laptop (I reached the screen asking to unlock the root partition, while i just saw a blank screen on the NUC).

I would prefer to use systemd-boot as bootloader because I am familiar with it, however if this is a known issue (which I was unable to find information about)

/boot/loader/entries/arch.conf

title          Arch Linux
linux          /vmlinuz-linux-hardened
initrd         /intel-ucode.img
initrd         /initramfs-linux-hardened.img
options        cryptdevice=PARTUUID=(actualpartuuid):linux root=/dev/mapper/linux rw

I've tried adding nomodeset as kernel parameter, yet this does not appear to change anything (I am unsure whether it should work, considering that neiter X-org or Wayland are installed on the system)

Right now I have no idea what causes this issue, I have in the past succesfully used systemd-boot to run this Nuc (currently had Windows on it) and KDE NEON is able to succesfully boot from an USB-stick. I hope anyone is able to help me solve this problem, many thanks in advance!

EDIT: I've tried resetting the UEFI, using the fallback initrd and disabling everything that could cause an issue (secure boot and stuff), but so far no luck

EDIT 2: It seems the issue is with the hardened kernel image. When using the linux-lts or linux package instead of linux-hardened package I am seeing a passphrase request without changing anything else. GRUB2 was also unable to boot the linux-hardened image and just gave a blank screen.

Last edited by Mainvoid (2018-02-20 12:31:28)

R00KIE · 2018-02-20 14:27:44

I guess you want to use systemd-boot but as a debugging step you could try booting using efistub[1] and see if it makes any difference.

The alternative would be to try with grub or syslinux as I suspect that KDE NEON USB-stick might be using grub.

[1] https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/EFISTUB

Mainvoid · 2018-02-21 11:01:22

Thank you for your response!

I haven't tried booting with efistub yet, as grub wassn't able to boot the hardened kernel as well. Exactly the same problem, it just hangs. Therefore I suspect that the problem lies with the hardened kernel and not with systemd-boot Currently I have both the hardened and normal linux kernel installed, after a few updates I will try the hardened kernel again.

R00KIE · 2018-02-21 12:58:29

You could try adjusting your kernel command line and increase the verbosity of the output, with a bit of luck the place where the output stops might provide clues as to what is the problem. That said if the regular kernel boot it is most probably some kernel configuration difference between linux and linux-hardened that is causing the problem.

If this is a recent problem, as in you know it worked before and the versions that worked, you can compare the changes in the configuration file and try to see if any of them look like it might cause a problem for you. Another thing you should check is if there are any bios/firmware updates and install those if they are available as it might help.

Arch Linux

#1 2018-02-20 00:36:34

(partially solved)Unable to boot using systemd-boot on Intel NUC7i5BNK

#2 2018-02-20 14:27:44

Re: (partially solved)Unable to boot using systemd-boot on Intel NUC7i5BNK

#3 2018-02-21 11:01:22

Re: (partially solved)Unable to boot using systemd-boot on Intel NUC7i5BNK

#4 2018-02-21 12:58:29

Re: (partially solved)Unable to boot using systemd-boot on Intel NUC7i5BNK

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