[syslinux] Still fighting localboot on EFI - looping

[Ady]

> 
> With Gene's recent test binaries, localboot (0 or 1) for argument:
> * I've tried reordering the boot order, putting disks after the NICs.
> Basically putting the PXE interface that can boot at the top, other
> stuff (disks, USB, etc) last.
 
Could you please clarify? You previously wrote that you used 'localboot 
-1' (that's a minus one), and now you write 'localboot 1'.

I would suggest setting in the firmware the relevant NIC as first boot 
device, and then the relevant HDD as second boot device.

If the boot order in the firmware can only select a generic "HDD" item 
(as opposed to selecting a specific HDD connected to a specific device 
port), I would suggest looking also at additional settings in the 
firmware.

For troubleshooting purposes, I would suggest connecting the relevant 
HDD to the "first" port available, disabling / disconnecting any other 
storage devices. I would suggest a similar procedure with potential 
NICs (or with any other alternative network boot method) leaving only 
the main network boot method that is being used (as the first boot 
device, for these tests). I understand that this could be 
time-consuming, and not always possible. Unfortunately, there are only 
few ways that we can actually help without having direct access to the 
same exact setup, so restricting / limiting the setup to the most 
minimal and simplified possible could perhaps be the only way to 
trigger a different behavior that could give us some clue as to where 
the source of the problem could be located.

I would also suggest potential alternative commands:
_ localboot 0
_ localboot -1
_ localboot 0x80
_ localboot 128

Not all of them will work (for several reasons), but that's beyond the 
point. The goal would be to trigger (one way or another) different 
behaviors or different error messages, so the different potential 
results could help narrow down the source of the problem.

Let's also not forget that the behavior of the 'localboot' directive 
has been always dependent on the firmware capabilities.

Regards,
Ady