[syslinux] Can almost boot on UEFI win8.1 laptop

[Ady]

> Ady,
> Thanks for taking the time to respond to my lengthy post.
> Here are my answers:
> 
> On 11/5/14, Ady <ady-sf at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >
> >> I have used syslinux 4.0x and earlier for many years, with Puppy Linux
> >> and more recently Quirky Linux. Though, my knowledge of all the
> >> capabilities of syslinux remains rudimentary.
> >>
> >> I am new to UEFI. I recently got my hands on a win8.1 laptop, 64-bit
> >> system, and decided to tackle booting Quirky on it, from a USB stick.
> >>
> >> I turned off Secure Boot.
> >>
> >> I wrote /usr/share/syslinux/gptmbr.bin to the flash drive (/dev/sdc) with
> >> dd.
> >>
> >> I setup the Flash stick with GPT, a 512MB FAT32 EFI System partition,
> >> and the rest of the drive a second partition with f2fs filesystem.
> >>
> >> I installed syslinux 6.03 in the normal way:
> >>
> >> # syslinux --install /dev/sdc1
> >
> > Remember (just in case) that the filesystem should be unmounted
> > before executing the syslinux installer command, or use the extlinux
> > installer instead.
> >
> > To reduce some potential problems, I would suggest using a
> > subdirectory instead of the root of the filesystem, e.g.:
> >
> > 0_ mount the filesystem;
> > 1_ create the "/syslinux/" subdirectory on it;
> > 2_ unmount the filesystem;
> > 3_ syslinux --directory syslinux --install /dev/sdc1
> >
> > If you want to avoid having to unmount the filesystem just to execute
> > this particular command (e.g. if you need to perform additional
> > operations on the filesystem later), you could use the extlinux
> > installer (which supports FAT too), e.g.
> > 0_ mount the filesystem;
> > 1_ create the "/syslinux/" subdirectory;
> > 2_ extlinux  --install <mount_point_of_the_filesystem>/syslinux
> >
> > Instead of "/syslinux/", you could use "/boot/syslinux/". Either
> > locations are also valid for ISOLINUX.
> >
> > Remember that all the above steps are for BIOS booting, or for a UEFI
> > system configured to boot in CSM, but not for UEFI boot.
> >
> 
> The partitions are not mounted. Note, Puppy and Quirky do not automount
> partitions. Instead, a partition icon appears on the desktop and the user can
> click to mount if desired.
 
I mentioned the need for the fs to not be mounted for the syslinux 
installer command because we have seen this detail escapes to be 
noted, and then users don't understand why Syslinux fails. I'm glad 
you were already taking this into account, but some users don't, so I 
thought it was worth mentioning.
 
> 
> Yes, ok, I will try the --directory option.
> 
> CSM is not enabled. I am discussing UEFI booting.
 
Yes, but, as per your own post, you are preparing a USB (flash) drive 
to potentially also boot in CSM / BIOS mode. There is some hardware / 
firmware that, when pressing F2 (or DEL or some other specific key) 
would show the same USB drive listed twice as possible boot device: 
once for CSM/BIOS mode, once for UEFI mode. From the information you 
posted (and considering that these seem to be your first direct 
experiences with UEFI hardware), there is a chance that you are 
actually booting ldlinux.sys, not syslinux.efi. This is why I am 
suggesting to purposely have a different syslinux.cfg for testing 
purposes: in /EFI/BOOT/syslinux.cfg you could comment out the DISPLAY 
directive and add two or three lines with the SAY directive, clearly 
mentioning "UEFI".

This should clearly tell you that you are using the syslinux.cfg that 
you are actually trying to use; the UEFI one. After all, this is a 
test / troubleshooting procedure.
 
> 
> There is a problem with using anything other than /efi/boot, as I
> would then have to use something to write to the UEFI firmware and
> tell it where to look?
> Such as efibootmgr.
> That would have to be on the USB stick, if I want that stick to be
> able to bootup on any UEFI PC.
 
I have not suggested to change the location of syslinux.efi and its 
related files. Indeed, you should use the expected default location 
as per the UEFI specs.

Is it possible that you are (incorrectly) trying to use the BIOS 
procedures for the UEFI bootloader? Perhaps we are misunderstanding 
each other?
 
> 
> There is another problem. I can press F2 key at power-on to enter the
> firmware setup, and I have to choose the USB stick as first choice to
> boot.
> However, if I later do not have the USB stick inserted at bootup, the
> firmware goes back to its default, and next time I want to boot the
> USB stick, I have to do the F2-key thing again!
 
As you probably know, this has not changed from the BIOS world. It 
all depends on the boot order settings in your firmware. So, again, 
there seems to be some (mutual?) misunderstanding / mix-up. What's 
the question here?
 
> 
> >>
> >> I have the usual files in the root directory of the first partition,
> >> this is them:
> >>
> >> boot.msg help.msg ldlinux.c32 ldlinux.sys logo.16 syslinux.cfg vmlinuz
> >>
> >> Content of syslinux.cfg:
> >>
> >> default quirky
> >> display boot.msg
> >> prompt 1
> >> timeout 50
> >>
> >> F1 boot.msg
> >> F2 help.msg
> >>
> >> label quirky
> >> kernel vmlinuz
> >> append root=PARTUUID=4FBE68B4-0245-4263-A740-4BB4DBD5514B rootwait rw
> >> loglevel=7
> >>
> >> ...where that PARTUUID is the GUID unique ID of the second partition.
> >> Quirky does not use a initrd/initramfs, we go straight to the Quirky
> >> filesystem.
> >>
> >> File 'boot.msg' displays a simple message:
> >>
> >> Just wait 5 seconds for normal startup!
> >> For help press the <F2> key.
> >>
> >> ...the LSS16 image is also supposed to display, but doesn't.
> >
> > And we already expected this issue, as per recent emails in this
> > Syslinux Mailing List.
> >
> >>
> >> So far so good, but now comes the UEFI part...
> >>
> >> This is where I become a bit confused. In the first partition, I
> >> created /EFI/BOOT directories, and copied these from
> >> /usr/share/syslinx/efi64:
> >> ldlinux.e64 linux.c32 syslinux.c32 syslinux.efi
> >
> > You don't seem to be needing syslinux.c32. Strictly speaking, you
> > also don't seem to need linux.c32 (from efi64).
> 
> Thanks for that info.
> 
> >>
> >> I then copied syslinux.efi to BOOTX64.EFI
> >>
> >> However, I read that syslinux.efi expects to find syslinux.cfg in the
> >> same directory, so I copied *everything* from the / root directory
> >> into /EFI/BOOT, even vmlinuz.
> >
> > Why did you originally copy the Syslinux-efi64-related files to the
> > root? Such original action _could_ cause some problems, generally
> > speaking, considering that you also originally used the root of the
> > filesystem for BIOS files too. Except for the bootloader and the
> > "ldlinux.*" modules, you should not forget that the c32 modules and
> > the syslinux.cfg file use the same file name whether for BIOS or for
> > EFI32 or for EFI64, so the risk of inadvertently overwriting a file
> > would be higher. That's why I would suggest using respective relevant
> > subdirectories, instead of the root of the filesystem.
> 
> I didn't copy any syslinux-efi64 files to the root. I just ran
> 'syslinux --install /dev/sdc1',
> and syslinux created ldlinux.c32 and ldlinux.sys. I copied my
> syslinux.cfg, *.msg, logo.16 and vmlinuz to the root.
 
Well, you said "I copied *everything* from the / root directory into 
/EFI/BOOT...".

The syslinux installer command (which you have executed, and you are 
mentioning again now) is for BIOS, not for UEFI, so again, it seems 
to me that there is some kind of misunderstanding / mix-up here.
 
> 
> >
> >>
> >> Lots of redundancy here!
> >
> > Sure, because you copied "everything", and you don't need
> > "everything" copied. In fact, some of those files are not really
> > needed at all.
> >
> > Additionally, if the content of syslinux.cfg is the same for BIOS as
> > for UEFI, you "could" potentially (in some cases) use it from the
> > root of the filesystem. I don't recommend it as a general rule, but
> > you "could". There are other possibilities too (e.g. CONFIG and/or
> > INCLUDE directives, absolute and/or relative paths,...).
> >
> > In particular, why would you need to copy the kernel and/or initrd
> > files when you already have them in the root of the filesystem? There
> > other alternatives, of course. And ldlinux.c32? And ldlinux.sys?
> >
> >> Any advice on what should go where, and what files aren't actually
> >> needed, is most welcome.
> >>
> >> Plugged it into my win8 laptop, and hey, it boots, or rather, started to:
> >>
> >> Just wait 5 seconds for normal startup!
> >> For help press the <F2> key.
> >> Boot:
> >> Loading vmlinuz... ok
> >
> > Seeing that message being displayed on the screen would suggest that
> > you can successfully boot with Syslinux, but from the information you
> > posted we don't really know whether you are booting in CSM or in UEFI
> > mode. For a test, you might want to slightly change the boot message
> > (or use several SAY directives in syslinux.cfg _instead_ of the
> > DISPLAY boot message), as it would be an easy way to identify the
> > boot mode.
> >
> >>
> >> My Quirky is 32-bit, so syslinux is handing over to the 32-bit kernel
> >> ok, I think.
> >
> > But you are using Syslinux UEFI x86_64. Is the hardware UEFI x86_64
> > or IA32? Some architecture / firmware / bootloader combinations are
> > possible, and some not (yet).
> 
> Windows 8.1 is 64-bit, so I assumed the UEFI is also. My understanding
> is that this is the case with most win8 computers.
> There are only a few notebooks/tablets that have 32-bit UEFI.
 
If you are sure that you are using a UEFI x86_64, and that you are 
using Syslinux files corresponding to the same firmware / 
architecture, then I would suggest testing all this with a matching 
kernel, not a 32-bit-only one. Once you get at least one successful 
complete boot, then you can start playing with combinations of kernel 
configs, bitness, etc.
 
> 
> >
> >
> > The Syslinux Library modules wiki page
> > http://www.syslinux.org/wiki/index.php/Library_modules won't answer
> > each and every question, but it might slightly help.
> >
> > I am also assuming that you are using official upstream binaries,
> > version 6.03 final, downloaded from kernel.org. Other Syslinux
> > binaries (from distros' packages, or re-built) are, generally
> > speaking, not recommended for troubleshooting because they might make
> > it harder for others to replicate the reported problems. To be clear,
> > I am not saying that alternative binary files / versions will
> > necessarily behave differently, but they might.
> 
> Yes, I am using the official 6.03, that I compiled.
 
Would it be so terrible to perform your initial tests with the 
official binaries already included in the official archives 
downloaded from kernel.org? Taking building interactions out of the 
troubleshooting procedure would mean one less potential issue to test 
/ worry about.
 
> 
> >>
> >> However, after that, nothing. I have to do a hard power-off by holding
> >> down the power button.
> >>
> >> Why isn't my kernel outputting anything to the screen?
> >>
> >> On a normal BIOS PC, kernel output is to a 80x25 text-mode screen, and
> >> a switch to a graphics mode happens later. I wonder if that is the
> >> reason?
> >>
> >> But even if that were the cause of the problem, I should start seeing
> >> something after the switch to a graphics mode. Unless the kernel hangs
> >> before then.
> >>
> >> Anyway, I was wondering if anyone reading this has any experience that
> >> might suggest why I have the hanging after the "ok".
> >>
> >> Oh, I suppose for completeness, I should show the config of the kernel:
> >>
> >> CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION=y
> >> CONFIG_EFI=y
> >> # CONFIG_EFI_STUB is not set
> >> # CONFIG_FB_EFI is not set
> >> CONFIG_DMI_SCAN_MACHINE_NON_EFI_FALLBACK=y
> >> # EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) Support
> >> CONFIG_EFI_VARS=m
> >> # CONFIG_EFIVAR_FS is not set
> >> # CONFIG_EARLY_PRINTK_EFI is not set
> >>
> >> ...hmm, is that last one the cause of the problem?
> >
> > Regarding the configuration of the kernel, I am not sure / don't
> > know. I would suggest first finding out which specific architecture
> > you are actually using / booting (UEFI x86_64, UEFI IA32, or CSM).
> > Other participants of this Syslinux Mailing List might have helpful
> > information about this.
> 
> I recompiled the kernel, with this:
> 
> CONFIG_EFI_PARTITION=y
> CONFIG_EFI=y
> # CONFIG_EFI_STUB is not set
> CONFIG_FB_EFI=y
> CONFIG_DMI_SCAN_MACHINE_NON_EFI_FALLBACK=y
> CONFIG_EFI_VARS=m
> # CONFIG_EFIVAR_FS is not set
> CONFIG_EARLY_PRINTK_EFI=y
> 
> It makes no difference, after the "Loading vmlinuz... ok" message, nothing.
> 
> Regards,
> Barry
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> 

Have you tried with a (public) kernel that is already known to 
correctly boot in UEFI mode? Most public kernels (included in public 
ISO images) supporting 
UEFI are using grub2 for UEFI boot, but such kernel could be helpful 
for your 
tests anyway, and the boot command can be "translated" to Syslinux 
directives 
too.

Regards,
Ady.