How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

webcapcha · 2019-03-02 12:41:53

Hi there

I have two partitions like in wiki

/mnt/efi 	/dev/sda1 	EFI system partition 	FAT32
/mnt 	/dev/sda2 	Linux x86-64 root (/)  EXT4

Already installed packages grub and efibootmgr

Now I a little confused what I should substitute esp
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=esp --bootloader-id=GRUB

If i try use /boot/EFI get an error: failed to get canonical path to /boot/efi

Last edited by webcapcha (2019-03-02 12:42:18)

mmdamin · 2019-03-02 14:18:42

webcapcha wrote:

Hi there
I have two partitions like in wiki
/mnt/efi 	/dev/sda1 	EFI system partition 	FAT32
/mnt 	/dev/sda2 	Linux x86-64 root (/)  EXT4
Already installed packages grub and efibootmgr
Now I a little confused what I should substitute esp
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=esp --bootloader-id=GRUB
If i try use /boot/EFI get an error: failed to get canonical path to /boot/efi

you need to chroot into /mnt before using grub-install. also mount sda1 to /mnt/boot/efi

Head_on_a_Stick · 2019-03-02 15:58:37

webcapcha wrote:

what I should substitute esp

Replace esp with the directory under which the EFI system partition is mounted.

mmdamin wrote:

you need to chroot into /mnt before using grub-install

Not necessarily, the OP could run this command directly from the "live" environment without chrooting:

# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --boot-directory=/mnt/boot --efi-directory=/mnt/efi --bootloader-id=Arch

Or use this instead:

# arch-chroot /mnt
[chroot]# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/efi --bootloader-id=Arch

Either approach should work.

mmdamin wrote:

also mount sda1 to /mnt/boot/efi

No need for that either, the installation guide does actually sugest /mnt/efi (or /mnt/boot) as the ESP mountpoint:

Installation Guide wrote:

Create any remaining mount points (such as /mnt/efi) and mount their corresponding partitions.

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … le_systems & https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … le_layouts

Most other distributions mount the ESP under /boot/efi but this is optional for Arch.

EDIT: I think VirtualBox tends to "forget" NVRAM entries so you may have to add the --removable flag to the `grub-install` command.

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2019-03-02 16:02:25)

Slithery · 2019-03-02 20:02:18

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

EDIT: I think VirtualBox tends to "forget" NVRAM entries so you may have to add the --removable flag to the `grub-install` command.

Indeed.

Whenever I need to use VirtualBox for an Arch VM I just install it in BIOS mode instead. This also has the advantage of only needing 1 partition and being more portable.

mmdamin · 2019-03-03 13:02:05

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:

webcapcha wrote:
what I should substitute esp
Replace esp with the directory under which the EFI system partition is mounted.
mmdamin wrote:
you need to chroot into /mnt before using grub-install
Not necessarily, the OP could run this command directly from the "live" environment without chrooting:
# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --boot-directory=/mnt/boot --efi-directory=/mnt/efi --bootloader-id=Arch
Or use this instead:
# arch-chroot /mnt
[chroot]# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/efi --bootloader-id=Arch
Either approach should work.
mmdamin wrote:
also mount sda1 to /mnt/boot/efi
No need for that either, the installation guide does actually sugest /mnt/efi (or /mnt/boot) as the ESP mountpoint:
Installation Guide wrote:
Create any remaining mount points (such as /mnt/efi) and mount their corresponding partitions.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … le_systems & https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … le_layouts
Most other distributions mount the ESP under /boot/efi but this is optional for Arch.
EDIT: I think VirtualBox tends to "forget" NVRAM entries so you may have to add the --removable flag to the `grub-install` command.

yes I used /boot for my esp to keep updated kernel and initrd in esp without need for any other actions. Thank you, I just suggested easiest way in my opinion. in this way grub-install will work without any arguments.

mmdamin · 2019-03-03 13:08:13

Slithery wrote:

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:
EDIT: I think VirtualBox tends to "forget" NVRAM entries so you may have to add the --removable flag to the `grub-install` command.
Indeed.
Whenever I need to use VirtualBox for an Arch VM I just install it in BIOS mode instead. This also has the advantage of only needing 1 partition and being more portable.

virtualbox has a builtin efi shell (but my firmware doesn't, can I flash it?), we can use a startup.nsh to boot in this situation. something like fs0:\vmlinuz-linux quiet root=/dev/sda2 initrd=initramfs.img in it will boot. (need to mount esp to /boot and run pacman -S linux and mkinitcpio -p linux)

Last edited by mmdamin (2019-03-03 13:10:17)

Arch Linux

#1 2019-03-02 12:41:53

How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

#2 2019-03-02 14:18:42

Re: How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

#3 2019-03-02 15:58:37

Re: How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

#4 2019-03-02 20:02:18

Re: How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

#5 2019-03-03 13:02:05

Re: How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

#6 2019-03-03 13:08:13

Re: How to mount GRUB during installation inside virtualbox

Board footer