[arch-general] Single Drive Fresh Install (mbr/grub2) Fails to boot (can boot existing from .iso??)

[David C. Rankin]

On 10/29/2016 06:30 AM, Patrick Burroughs (Celti) wrote:
> I suggest you double-check the partitioning and possible presence of
> an EFI system partition on that Windows drive from within your Arch
> install. If both msinfo and the partitioning confirm it's not UEFI,
> then I suggest you a) make sure the firmware is up-to-date, and b)
> comb through the firmware settings and make sure that it's fully in
> Legacy/BIOS mode and not Hybrid UEFI/BIOS mode; the latter is the
> cause of most such problems, in my experience.
> 
> ~Celti

Celti,

  There isn't anything in /sys/firmware. Here is the current contents:

$ l /sys/firmware/
total 0
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root 0 Nov  8 04:53 .
dr-xr-xr-x 13 root root 0 Nov  7 14:00 ..
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root 0 Nov  8 04:53 acpi
drwxr-xr-x  3 root root 0 Nov  8 04:53 dmi
drwxr-xr-x 19 root root 0 Nov  8 04:53 memmap

  Latest and greatest firmware:

$ pmq | grep firmware
linux-firmware 20161005.9c71af9-1

  That matches the bios config of having only the Legacy boot enabled
and the UEFI mode completely disabled. This is downright baffling. I'm
writing this from tbird in plasma/kde installed on the 1T drive that is
working flawlessly -- the only issue is I have to boot from the .iso on
the USB and then "Choose existing OS" to boot this install on the hard
drive.

  Totally bewildered. I don't see how Syslinux on the USB works and grub
is just being ignored on the hard drive. All windows has on it is the normal

bootmgr
BOOTNXT
  BOOTSECT.BAK
BOOTBCD
  BOOTSTAT.DAT
  bootvhd.dll
  en-us
    bootmgr.exe.mui
    memtest.ext.mui

  I don't know if that tells you anything, but there is no efi folder
referenced by
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/commercialize/manufacture/desktop/boot-to-uefi-mode-or-legacy-bios-mode
and there is a bootmgr file which is used by Legacy MBR booting. So from
all indications, the windows drive is using nothing but good old MBR
booting.

  There were a couple of threads I found discussing problems seeing the
larger SSD drives. I wonder if the size of the sata drive is causing the
problem itself. (that really makes no sense as I've not encountered any
reasonably recent bios that will not recognize a 1T drive -- but I'm
grasping at straws here)

  Anybody have any other suggestions? Try syslinux for boot? Worst case,
I just keep booting from the USB, but that seems kind of whacky in 2016...

-- 
David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E.

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