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I flashed latest Arch ISO again just to verify that I didn't accidentally fix the problem but no, after flashing Arch ISO with "cat" I still can't find it in boot menu on both old and new computers while gmrl was there like nothing was happening. Something tells me that the problem is either somewhere in Arch or somewhere in me which is more likely imo. I have no idea what might be wrong.
Born to lose
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Guys, at this point I'm considering using some other distro with the same flexibility level. Do you have any recommendations? I just want to install some bare bones system with nothing but pacman or apt and network drivers so I'll be able to install everything I need or want without installing anything I don't need or want. I thought that Arch will be a perfect fit for such task but now I'm starting to burn out.
Born to lose
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Please don't bump - edit your previous post if nobody has yet replied.
You figured that you can boot a non-hybrid iso in UEFI mode, did you check whether you can boot they hybrid (arch) iso in legacy/bios mode?
If the answer to that is "yes, but i wants to have my uefis", have you checked whethere there's a firmware/uefi update available for the system?
be able to install everything I need or want without installing anything I don't need or want
gentoo? void? alpine?
Arch isn't particularly fine-grained when it comes to dependencies.
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Look up your BIOS for 'USB legacy' options and disable them. Also, pick the boot device by pressing F9/F10/whatever key. If the stick is not showing up repeat and reboot the system (at least twice) without touching the stick. There are devices that switch between compatibility mode in strange ways. Make sure the stick boots properly on a different system. Or even prepare the stick on an external system. Maybe the stick isn't detected properly on your laptop (at the time of writing).
nl6720 wrote:What motherboard is this? It looks like it has quirky firmware.
HP15 laptop
That's not a real device identifier. Please provide sane details. Look at the bottom of the device.
Last edited by Maniaxx (2024-05-16 21:14:39)
sys2064
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Please don't bump - edit your previous post if nobody has yet replied.
K. Will keep that in mind.
You figured that you can boot a non-hybrid iso in UEFI mode, did you check whether you can boot they hybrid (arch) iso in legacy/bios mode?
If the answer to that is "yes, but i wants to have my uefis", have you checked whethere there's a firmware/uefi update available for the system?
Fine, I gave this one a shot. Here's output. I got that on the screen.
ISOLINUX 6.04 6 EHDD Copyright (C) 1994-2015 H. Peter Anvin et al
Failed to load ldlinux.c32
Boot failed: press a key to retry...
Arch isn't particularly fine-grained when it comes to dependencies.
I meant that if I want to install X.org, I will install X.org and all what is needed for it with no problems. I may be wrong, but on Arch I had literally no problems with this for now.
That's not a real device identifier. Please provide sane details. Look at the bottom of the device.
All the stuff on the bottom of it is long gone. Here's what I got in UEFI setup thingy.
Notebook Model - HP 15 Notebook PC
Product Number - J5B52EA#ACB
System Board ID - 22CE
Born on Date - 11/28/2014
Processor Type - AMD A4-6210 APU with AMD Radeon R3 Graphics...
And so on... Please tell me that I gave you all the needed info because retyping all the stuff was such a nightmare because of where this thing is right now.
EDIT1:
Look up your BIOS for 'USB legacy' options and disable them.
No such option there.
Also, pick the boot device by pressing F9/F10/whatever key.
Just what I did. Except on this machine I need to hit Esc key when booting first and then it will give me the ability to hit F9 to reach the boot menu. That's typical for HP laptops.
If the stick is not showing up repeat and reboot the system (at least twice) without touching the stick.There are devices that switch between compatibility mode in strange ways.
I rebooted this wretched thing literally hundreds of times already but well... The result is the same.
Make sure the stick boots properly on a different system.
Now THIS is where it gets weird. When I encountered this mess I assumed that my USB stick was just not suitable for such stuff until I tried 3 different USB sticks and all of them gave me the same result. NONE of my computers see the USB stick after flashing it with Arch ISO, and if I'll do manual formatting it will show up but will not be bootable. BUT what makes it even more weird is that when I flashed GMRL on one of the sticks it was indeed easily bootable on ALL of my computers that are 64-bit and are UEFI (I don't have any BIOS computers at this point).
Or even prepare the stick on an external system.
What do you mean by that?
Maybe the stick isn't detected properly on your laptop (at the time of writing).
This is out of the question. The stick shows up if I flash anything else on it OR if I'll boot out of any other stick with bootable live system on it. I think that it always gets detected but for some weird reason it just refuses to give the machine stuff it needs for booting up.
Last edited by Seacat17 (2024-05-16 23:09:11)
Born to lose
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ISOLINUX 6.04 6 EHDD Copyright (C) 1994-2015 H. Peter Anvin et al
Failed to load ldlinux.c32
Boot failed: press a key to retry...
that's grml, right? Did you try the arch iso?
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 5#p2141525
Back to the original condition and w/ the grml findings, what does https://man.archlinux.org/man/core/util … ipefs.8.en report on the usb key (eg. "sudo wipefs /dev/sdb" IFF ! sdb is your usb key!)?
You should™ be able to remove the iso9660 signature w/ eg. "sudo wipefs -o 0x8001 /dev/sdb" (assuming 0x8001 as position of the iso9660 signature) but I don't know whether that will impact the other partitions.
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Please do a memtest (1-2 full cycles) to make sure there is basic stability.
https://memtest.org
Write to USB stick (works best from a known-good/stable computer)
Please tell me that I gave you all the needed info because retyping all the stuff was such a nightmare because of where this thing is right now.
Yes, that's enough, thanks.
There is a BIOS update (F.49 Rev.A) but do not attempt to flash (if necessary at all) unless you're sure the system is stable (passes at least the memtest).
Product info: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04403291
Downloads: https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/hp … ku=J5B52EA
Maniaxx wrote:Or even prepare the stick on an external system.
What do you mean by that?
Just create/prepare the stick on another computer and make sure it boots there. Then take it to your HP15.
sys2064
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that's grml, right? Did you try the arch iso?
I'm autistic, not an idiot. These two are different. This is the output of Arch ISO while being in legacy mode.
You should™ be able to remove the iso9660 signature w/ eg. "sudo wipefs -o 0x8001 /dev/sdb" (assuming 0x8001 as position of the iso9660 signature) but I don't know whether that will impact the other partitions.
Will try that ASAP.
Please do a memtest (1-2 full cycles) to make sure there is basic stability.
Actually I did memtest a few months before and it was fine but extra testing won't hurt I guess. Will do that.
Just create/prepare the stick on another computer and make sure it boots there. Then take it to your HP15.
For this entire time this is exactly what I'm doing here... None of my computers can boot into Arch ISO after flashing. Not the 2014 one, not the 2021 one. And the problem is somewhere in the ISO because GMRL works on both of them and the computer from 2021 literally has Arch on it already.
I'm really sorry for possibly breaking some rules or harassing anyone or anything. You might punish me for this but let's try to solve this entire mess first. I'm literally so exhausted already.
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https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … issues/194
So the iso only uses grub for the GPT but still syslinux for the MBR and ElTaco but https://archlinux.org/packages/core/x86_64/syslinux/ isn't a dependency for even archiso https://archlinux.org/packages/extra/any/archiso/ but would in theory provide /usr/lib/syslinux/bios/ldlinux.c32
@nl6720 is there some documentation of what currently actually boots the iso?
Could this be related to https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … /issues/46 ?
Please tell me that I gave you all the needed info because retyping all the stuff was such a nightmare because of where this thing is right now.
You can link photos of your monitor…
the computer from 2021 literally has Arch on it already
You can grab an old iso from https://archive.archlinux.org/iso/
I'm really sorry for possibly breaking some rules or harassing anyone or anything. You might punish me for this
As long as you stay on topic and don't personally attack anybody, you'll not get punished.
And there's also a good chance you'll get a heads up when you're approaching a line.
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You should™ be able to remove the iso9660 signature w/ eg. "sudo wipefs -o 0x8001 /dev/sdb" (assuming 0x8001 as position of the iso9660 signature) but I don't know whether that will impact the other partitions.
It's better to first run wipefs the partitions and then the drive. E.g.
# wipefs -af /dev/disk/by-id/usb-YOUR_FLASH_DRIVE-part*
# wipefs -af /dev/disk/by-id/usb-YOUR_FLASH_DRIVE
Without -f (force) some, IIRC FAT, signatures will not be removed.
@nl6720 is there some documentation of what currently actually boots the iso?
Since archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso we're back to systemd-boot as the UEFI boot loader. The BIOS boot loader is syslinux and that was not changed in more than a decade.
See https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … ads#L11-13 and:
The ISO uses systemd-boot for UEFI and syslinux for BIOS booting.
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The plan wasn't to clean the device but just get rid of the iso9660 signature that apparently throws off the OPs firmware.
Any idea about the "missing" ldlinux.c32 ?
https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … /issues/46 / https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … issues/207 ?
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You could also try to chainboot the iso with ventoy.
Did you check your BIOS version yet? What version do you have?
Last edited by Maniaxx (2024-05-17 12:53:24)
sys2064
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You could also try to chainboot the iso with ventoy.
Did you check your BIOS version yet? What version do you have?
Has Ventoy been fixed? Last I knew, it wasn't compatible with the current ISO
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Some firmware are sensitive to various partitioning layouts, so I suggested wipefs to get rid of anything than could remain from any previous ISO, file system, etc.
The missing ldlinux.c32 could either mean that the ISO was not written correctly or that it is a firmware issue where it does not expose the device for some reason. I doubt the moving of the syslinux directory could be related.
You can boot the ISO with Ventoy's "GRUB2 Mode", it won't work in normal mode.
If following https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/USB_fl … #UEFI_only does not result in a UEFI bootable drive then the firmware is simply broken.
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◉ wipefs archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso
DEVICE OFFSET TYPE UUID LABEL
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso 0x8001 iso9660 2024-05-01-17-04-31-00 ARCH_202405
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso 0x1fe dos
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso 0x200 gpt
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso 0x43652e00 gpt
◉ wipefs grml64-small_2024.02.iso
DEVICE OFFSET TYPE UUID LABEL
grml64-small_2024.02.iso 0x8001 iso9660 2024-02-26-16-55-27-00 grml64-small 2024.02
grml64-small_2024.02.iso 0x1fe dos
grml64-small_2024.02.iso 0x200 gpt
1. grml has a hybrid iso as well
2. arch has some extra gpt at 0x43652e00 ?
◉ fdisk -l archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso
Disk archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso: 1.05 GiB, 1130704896 bytes, 2208408 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x8da10534
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso1 * 64 1912831 1912768 934M 0 Empty
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso2 1912832 2207743 294912 144M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
◉ fdisk -l grml64-small_2024.02.iso
Disk grml64-small_2024.02.iso: 508.25 MiB, 532938752 bytes, 1040896 sectors
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x6783e7cf
Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type
grml64-small_2024.02.iso1 * 0 1040383 1040384 508M 0 Empty
grml64-small_2024.02.iso2 596 8787 8192 4M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
Size aside, the partition table looks the same.
◉ wipefs -o 0x43652e00 archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso
wipefs: archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso: ignoring nested "gpt" partition table on non-whole disk device
wipefs: Use the --force option to force erase.
◉ wipefs --force -o 0x43652e00 archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso
archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso: 8 bytes were erased at offset 0x43652e00 (gpt): 45 46 49 20 50 41 52 54
◉ sudo partx -v -a archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso
◉ sudo mount /dev/loop0p1 /mnt
◉ tree /mnt
/mnt
├── EFI
│ └── BOOT
│ ├── BOOTIA32.EFI
│ └── BOOTx64.EFI
├── arch
│ ├── boot
│ │ └── x86_64
│ │ ├── initramfs-linux.img
│ │ └── vmlinuz-linux
│ ├── grubenv
│ ├── pkglist.x86_64.txt
│ ├── version
│ └── x86_64
│ ├── airootfs.sfs
│ ├── airootfs.sfs.cms.sig
│ └── airootfs.sha512
├── boot
│ ├── 2024-05-01-17-04-31-00.uuid
│ ├── grub
│ │ ├── grubenv
│ │ └── loopback.cfg
│ ├── memtest86+
│ │ ├── LICENSE
│ │ ├── memtest
│ │ └── memtest.efi
│ └── syslinux
│ ├── archiso_head.cfg
│ ├── archiso_pxe-linux.cfg
│ ├── archiso_pxe.cfg
│ ├── archiso_sys-linux.cfg
│ ├── archiso_sys.cfg
│ ├── archiso_tail.cfg
│ ├── boot.cat
│ ├── cat.c32
│ ├── chain.c32
│ ├── cmd.c32
│ ├── cmenu.c32
│ ├── config.c32
│ ├── cptime.c32
│ ├── cpu.c32
│ ├── cpuid.c32
│ ├── cpuidtest.c32
│ ├── debug.c32
│ ├── dhcp.c32
│ ├── dir.c32
│ ├── disk.c32
│ ├── dmi.c32
│ ├── dmitest.c32
│ ├── elf.c32
│ ├── ethersel.c32
│ ├── gfxboot.c32
│ ├── gpxecmd.c32
│ ├── hdt
│ │ ├── modalias.gz
│ │ └── pciids.gz
│ ├── hdt.c32
│ ├── hexdump.c32
│ ├── host.c32
│ ├── ifcpu.c32
│ ├── ifcpu64.c32
│ ├── ifmemdsk.c32
│ ├── ifplop.c32
│ ├── isohdpfx.bin
│ ├── isolinux.bin
│ ├── kbdmap.c32
│ ├── kontron_wdt.c32
│ ├── ldlinux.c32
│ ├── lfs.c32
│ ├── libcom32.c32
│ ├── libgpl.c32
│ ├── liblua.c32
│ ├── libmenu.c32
│ ├── libutil.c32
│ ├── linux.c32
│ ├── lpxelinux.0
│ ├── ls.c32
│ ├── lua.c32
│ ├── mboot.c32
│ ├── memdisk
│ ├── meminfo.c32
│ ├── menu.c32
│ ├── pci.c32
│ ├── pcitest.c32
│ ├── pmload.c32
│ ├── poweroff.c32
│ ├── prdhcp.c32
│ ├── pwd.c32
│ ├── pxechn.c32
│ ├── reboot.c32
│ ├── rosh.c32
│ ├── sanboot.c32
│ ├── sdi.c32
│ ├── splash.png
│ ├── sysdump.c32
│ ├── syslinux.c32
│ ├── syslinux.cfg
│ ├── vesa.c32
│ ├── vesainfo.c32
│ ├── vesamenu.c32
│ ├── vpdtest.c32
│ ├── whichsys.c32
│ └── zzjson.c32
├── loader
│ ├── entries
│ │ ├── 01-archiso-x86_64-linux.conf
│ │ ├── 02-archiso-x86_64-speech-linux.conf
│ │ └── 03-archiso-x86_64-memtest86+.conf
│ └── loader.conf
├── shellia32.efi
└── shellx64.efi
14 directories, 97 files
◉ sudo umount /mnt
◉ sudo mount /dev/loop0p2 /mnt
◉ tree /mnt
/mnt
├── EFI
│ └── BOOT
│ ├── BOOTIA32.EFI
│ └── BOOTx64.EFI
├── arch
│ └── boot
│ └── x86_64
│ ├── initramfs-linux.img
│ └── vmlinuz-linux
├── boot
│ └── memtest86+
│ ├── LICENSE
│ └── memtest.efi
├── loader
│ ├── entries
│ │ ├── 01-archiso-x86_64-linux.conf
│ │ ├── 02-archiso-x86_64-speech-linux.conf
│ │ └── 03-archiso-x86_64-memtest86+.conf
│ └── loader.conf
├── shellia32.efi
└── shellx64.efi
Edit:
◉ sudo umount /mnt
◉ sudo partx -d -v /dev/loop0
Last edited by seth (2024-05-17 14:21:13)
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2. arch has some extra gpt at 0x43652e00 ?
The backup GPT header most likely.
Edit:
You can see the invalid GPT (it's there just so that it's there) with gdisk:
gdisk -l archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.10
Partition table scan:
MBR: MBR only
BSD: not present
APM: not present
GPT: present
Found valid MBR and GPT. Which do you want to use?
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT
Your answer: 2
Using GPT and creating fresh protective MBR.
Disk archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso: 2208408 sectors, 1.1 GiB
Sector size (logical): 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 34323032-3530-4130-B130-303730343331
Partition table holds up to 248 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 63
First usable sector is 64, last usable sector is 2208344
Partitions will be aligned on 64-sector boundaries
Total free space is 601 sectors (300.5 KiB)
Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name
1 64 1912831 934.0 MiB 0700 ISOHybrid
2 1912832 2207743 144.0 MiB 0700 ISOHybrid1
gdisk -l grml64-small_2024.02.iso
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.10
Partition table scan:
MBR: MBR only
BSD: not present
APM: not present
GPT: present
Found valid MBR and GPT. Which do you want to use?
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT
Your answer: 2
Using GPT and creating fresh protective MBR.
Warning! Main partition table overlaps the first partition by 64 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Disk grml64-small_2024.02.iso: 1040896 sectors, 508.3 MiB
Sector size (logical): 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 6D8E1FFB-3FED-4256-8309-17E9E5DFFA03
Partition table holds up to 248 entries
Main partition table begins at sector 2 and ends at sector 63
First usable sector is 64, last usable sector is 1040320
Partitions will be aligned on 4-sector boundaries
Total free space is 1 sectors (512 bytes)
Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name
2 596 8787 4.0 MiB 0700 ISOHybrid1
grml does not place the El Torito UEFI entry (i.e. the EFI system partition) as a separate partition, but embeds it instead. This creates overlapping partitions in MBR as can be seen in fdisk's output.
Last edited by nl6720 (2024-05-17 14:28:28)
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So, I downloaded archlinux-2024.01.01-x86_64.iso, flashed it onto my USB stick AND IT JUST WORKED...
I suppose that something is very wrong with the latest ISO. My internet is way too bad to test all the ISOs, I just chose the random one to see if it works and I see that it does and now I'm about to install Arch onto my system. I'm sorry that I took this much time and that I can't give you any more info except that the old ISO boots up normally and works as it should. At this point, I just want to make this computer usable and now I'm going to dive into the process.
THE SOLUTION: download older ISO.
Born to lose
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If you don't mind, you could try to strip the iso9660 and the second (backup) GPT header from the latest iso and see whether you can boot that.
Unless nl6720 has an idea what's the significant difference between the may and january iso (systemd-boot aside…)
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systemd-boot is the significant difference between these ISOs. Though the issue could also be the size of the EFI system partition (it's larger now because the kernel and initramfs is in it due to systemd-boot limitations).
It would be interesting to know if it is possible to boot via the UEFI shell on archlinux-2024.05.01-x86_64.iso. If that works, then this could be a systemd-boot issue and something to report upstream to the systemd project.
About stripping, there are two ISO9660 superblocks—one at the start of the drive and one at the the start of the first partition. I'm not sure if wipefs sees them both on the iso file.
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If you don't mind, you could try to strip the iso9660 and the second (backup) GPT header from the latest iso and see whether you can boot that.
Unless nl6720 has an idea what's the significant difference between the may and january iso (systemd-boot aside…)
Gimme a few days and I'll try that. I think I should help ya in finding the source of the problem. After all, you guys helped me no matter what.
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Until we've made sure latest BIOS is installed we're talking about potentially non-existing bugs. There are 10 updates for this device and only one guy having problems.
https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/sw … ku=J5B52EA
Until this and a memtest are confirmed it never happened.
sys2064
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