quick test request: f16 / efi

[AdamW]

can anyone who has an efi system please help out with some f16 testing?

grab http://tflink.fedorapeople.org/iso/20110927_newgrub.x64.boot.iso and try and do an EFI install with it. At the repo selection stage, you'll need to add a repo:

http://www.happyassassin.net/extras/repo_grub/x86_64

(that's my personal server, so hey, trust it as much as you'd trust me. and my ability to run an uncompromised server. it just includes the updated grub so that your installed system will have it, we're trying to test a grub fix for EFI here.)

otherwise complete the install as normal. let us know if it works.

(EFI install turns out to be mostly broken in Beta RC3. we're trying to fix it.)

[AleksiN]

Downloaded the iso and made the minimal boot media with instructions from the fedora project site. Booted successfully to the installer, something I couldn't do with Fedora 15. Added your site to repos but got a dependency error, something to do with grub. Didn't make notes about the details and continued anyway. And now I have linux installed (thank god).

If you need details, ask away.

[sea]

According to your other post, i try to not use DD ;)
However...
Package liveusb-creator-3.11.4-1.fc16.noarch already installed and latest version
Package 1:livecd-tools-16.6-1.fc16.x86_64 already installed and latest version
bash-4.2$ livecd-tools-16
bash: livecd-tools-16: command not found
bash-4.2$ livecd-tools
bash: livecd-tools: command not found
bash-4.2$ sudo livecd-tools
sudo: livecd-tools: command not found
bash-4.2$ livecd
bash: livecd: command not found
bash-4.2$ cdtools
bash: cdtools: command not found
bash-4.2$ livecdtools
bash: livecdtools: command not found

I dont see it in my app menu, how to start the livecd-tools?
...
funny..
http://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/15/html/Installation_Guide/Making_Minimal_Boot_Media.html#Making_Minimal_Boot _Media-UEFI
Uses dd ;)

---------- Post added at 11:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:42 AM ----------

Downloaded your iso, noted the url.
Used USB with DD (sorry), booted fine, choosen upgrade existing (as i already had F16), but chosen to reinstall bootloader.
Previously i had only rc6, now i got 3.1.0.0.rc8.

However, i had not chance by any time to enter a custom repo.

Since answering that quick, i guess it worked well. :p
And hope it helps a bit.

[srs5694]

I've tried on two systems, and couldn't even get to the installer with either of them:


In a VirtualBox VM with EFI enabled, the system boots to a GRUB Legacy screen, begins loading a kernel, and then becomes unresponsive. I'm not sure if the system has crashed or if the video display has disappeared (the latter is a common problem with VirtualBox and EFI; a lot of installations seem not to pick up its framebuffer, and it doesn't seem to fully emulate a regular video card).
On a computer with an Intel DG43NB motherboard (American Megatrends EFI 2.00), I see two EFI boot options for the CD image. One produces a "grub>" prompt. The other produces a working GRUB screen with one option for Fedora. Selecting that option (or letting it time out and launch) causes the system to begin loading the kernel. After a few seconds, but before any kernel messages begin to appear, the computer reboots.


I could try harder, perhaps replacing the GRUB Legacy on the disc with ELILO, but I don't have time this afternoon. FWIW and IMHO, GRUB 2 is flaky and unreliable on EFI systems. I prefer either ELILO or Fedora's patched GRUB Legacy, but which one works better varies from system to system.

[AdamW]

aleksin: awesome.

sea: that sounds like a non-EFI install. the command is 'livecd-iso-to-disk' and you have to pass it the '--efi' parameter to get an EFI bootable USB stick.

srs5694: vbox EFI is not hugely interesting, the hardware result is, though. can you re-test with Beta RC4, which has all the fixes built in, and see what that does? Can you test booting from an actual optical disc as well as from a USB stick?

We use grub-legacy for EFI installs, not grub2, for the reason you cited: grub2 with EFI still seems to be not ready for primetime. Or even Fedora. ;)

[srs5694]

srs5694: vbox EFI is not hugely interesting, the hardware result is, though. can you re-test with Beta RC4, which has all the fixes built in, and see what that does? Can you test booting from an actual optical disc as well as from a USB stick?

I just tried it, and I got the same infinite reboot loop. I only saw one entry in my firmware's boot menu for the DVD, though. (I didn't test with a USB flash drive, either this time or initially; it was sea who mentioned using a USB drive.)