Arch Linux

Allexj

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 73

[FIXED] Can't see Arch boot choice in the bootloader of my Macbook Air

I am trying to install Archlinux in an external hard disk, not in my internal mac disk.

So I tried two times installing arch, with two different configuration:

First config:
- HardDisk in GPT, with the esp partition mounted in /mnt/boot/efi.
- I boot my archlinux pendrive iso.
After some settings... I reach this point :
- mkdir /mnt/boot/ && mkdir /mnt/boot/efi
- mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc2  # I format the main root partition
- mount /dev/sdc2 /mnt # this is the same main partition from before dedicated to "/"
- mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt/boot/efi # this is the efi partition
- # I did several configuration and pactrap stuff....
- # arch-chroot /mnt
- # Some other stuff, and then:
- # grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=GRUB
- # grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Result: nothing, no archlinux choice in mac boot.

Second config:
- HardDisk in MBR
- I boot my archlinux pendrive iso.
After some settings... I reach this point :
- mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdc1 # it's /dev/sdc1 now, because there's not any efi partition. So it's the only partition.
- # Some settings and installing stuff
- # arch-chroot /mnt
- # Some other stuff, and then:
- # grub-install --target=i386-pc /dev/sdc
- # grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Result: nothing at all.

What am I doing wrong?

Last edited by Allexj (2020-02-28 15:39:21)

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 24,077

Re: [FIXED] Can't see Arch boot choice in the bootloader of my Macbook Air

Please use [ code ] [ /code ] tags without the spaces for posting code/outputs/command listings.

If you want to boot from the drive as if it was a USB stick you should add the "--removable" flag to the GRUB install command in the EFI/GPT install case.

If you want to persist an entry in your Mac OS X that is defunct when the disk is not present, you should install GRUB to the ESP that is already present on the Macs discs.

There's also a somewhat specialized method described here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ma … _with_GRUB though I'm uncertain whether that kind of a roundabout is really necessary.

Last edited by V1del (2020-02-26 14:13:37)

Allexj

Member

Registered: 2015-07-11

Posts: 73

Re: [FIXED] Can't see Arch boot choice in the bootloader of my Macbook Air

Please use [ code ] [ /code ] tags without the spaces for posting code/outputs/command listings.

If you want to boot from the drive as if it was a USB stick you should add the "--removable" flag to the GRUB install command in the EFI/GPT install case.

If you want to persist an entry in your Mac OS X that is defunct when the disk is not present, you should install GRUB to the ESP that is already present on the Macs discs.

There's also a somewhat specialized method described here: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Ma … _with_GRUB though I'm uncertain whether that kind of a roundabout is really necessary.

Thanks!! The "--removable" option fixed it!