NO USB booting in UEFI?

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stuartjmz

138 posts

Master Geek

Topic # 112166 28-Nov-2012 14:04
I'm posting this in the Linux forum because it relates to my attempts to use a bootable USB stick with OpenSuse 12.2 on it - full details here: https://forums.opensuse.org/english/get-technical-help-here/install-boot-login/480957-cant-boot-usb-win-7-a.html Basically it seems that I have no ability to boot from my 16GB USB stick - the UEFI BIOS doesn't see the device and insists I have only two boot options - DVD drive or HDD. The stick works just fine in my Acer laptop - its BIOS allows me to seet the boot order to boot from the stick and everything's peachy there. Here are couple of the relevant screenshots from my BIOS, taken with the bootable USB stick installed: Hard Drive BBS Priorities Menu

2968 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 724201 28-Nov-2012 14:13
On my system I can't select the drive inside the "setup app" but need to open the boot menu (F12 in my case). I guess it doesn't actually scan for bootable volumes until a bit later into the boot sequence.

138 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 724206 28-Nov-2012 14:24
Behodar: On my system I can't select the drive inside the "setup app" but need to open the boot menu (F12 in my case). I guess it doesn't actually scan for bootable volumes until a bit later into the boot sequence. Thanks for the suggestion - it turns out that F8 is the boot menu key for my PC, but even that only brings up this screen:

398 posts

Ultimate Geek

Reply # 724209 28-Nov-2012 14:30
Might depend on who makes the UEFI BIOS. With my Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H it supports "Legacy" booting - meaning it will boot PC-BIOS bootable devices such as SYSLINUX bootable USB sticks. But even if you don't have that "Legacy" boot support, you should still be able to boot a USB stick as long as that USB stick has: a. One FAT32 filesystem. b. That FAT32 filesystem is marked as bootable. c. That FAT32 filesystem contains a UEFI bootloader such as GRUB-efi. In other words, in that bootable USB stick, you should have the GRUB-efi bootloader saved as: /EFI/boot/bootx64.efi Then of course you need the grub config file: /EFI/boot/grub.cfg This is for x64 architecture of course. If you want to see an example, then take a look at gparted-live which can be booted three ways: 1. From CDROM using isolinux 2. From USB using syslinux (pc-BIOS/Legacy support). 3. From USB using GRUB-efi. http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php Of course, it could be that some vendors UEFI implementation is just weird or horribly broken. #include <standard.disclaimer>

138 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 724216 28-Nov-2012 14:39
alexx: Might depend on who makes the UEFI BIOS. With my Gigabyte GA-Z77-D3H it supports "Legacy" booting - meaning it will boot PC-BIOS bootable devices such as SYSLINUX bootable USB sticks. But even if you don't have that "Legacy" boot support, you should still be able to boot a USB stick as long as that USB stick has: a. One FAT32 filesystem. b. That FAT32 filesystem is marked as bootable. c. That FAT32 filesystem contains a UEFI bootloader such as GRUB-efi. In other words, in that bootable USB stick, you should have the GRUB-efi bootloader saved as: /EFI/boot/bootx64.efi Then of course you need the grub config file: /EFI/boot/grub.cfg This is for x64 architecture of course. If you want to see an example, then take a look at gparted-live which can be booted three ways: 1. From CDROM using isolinux 2. From USB using syslinux (pc-BIOS/Legacy support). 3. From USB using GRUB-efi. http://gparted.sourceforge.net/download.php Of course, it could be that some vendors UEFI implementation is just weird or horribly broken. Wow, thanks! My UEFI says that USB Legacy support is "Enabled", but clearly something's not right with it. I will check out gparted later and see if helps. Thanks again

3197 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

Reply # 724231 28-Nov-2012 15:19
Is this your board? http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8P67/#download If so there are several bios releases since your current bios. One says 'increase usb compatibility'. That could mean anything, but have a look at the latest bios and revision notes for your platform. Gparted route seems like a better path to take initially.

138 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 724253 28-Nov-2012 15:57
gzt: Is this your board? http://uk.asus.com/Motherboards/Intel_Socket_1155/P8P67/#download If so there are several bios releases since your current bios. One says 'increase usb compatibility'. That could mean anything, but have a look at the latest bios and revision notes for your platform. Gparted route seems like a better path to take initially. Yes, thanks, that's my board. This little experiment has already eaten up my day, so I won't be flashing my BIOS until work's wrapped in a week or two.

1789 posts

Uber Geek

Reply # 724283 28-Nov-2012 16:28
Have you looked in the Hard Drive BBS Priorities menu option as the USB sticks usually show up as a hard drive. Computer Repairs Whangarei Remote Support

138 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 724301 28-Nov-2012 17:05
CYaBro: Have you looked in the Hard Drive BBS Priorities menu option as the USB sticks usually show up as a hard drive. The 2nd screenshot in my first post is actually labelled "Hard Drive BBS Priorities Menu"

194 posts

Master Geek

Reply # 725267 30-Nov-2012 18:09
Have you tried different USB ports? If you are plugged into a USB 3.0 port, try swapping to a USB 2.0 port.