Can not Boot NetBSD 9.0 amd64 ISO or IMG in UEFI in Bare Metal

czacn

i've previously successfully installed and ran "NetBSD-9.0-amd64.iso" in VirtualBox v6.1, in GPT partitioned disk, in their default BIOS configuration (Not their UEFI). that seemed to work OK.

Now in my Linux installation in Bare Metal, i'm using 'dd' in this format:

dd if=<file> of=<device> bs=1M; sync

But both the "NetBSD-9.0-amd64-uefi-install.img.gz" file (after extraction), and the "NetBSD-9.0-amd64.iso" file is failing to Boot in Bare Metal.

As for the "NetBSD-9.0-amd64.iso" file, after dd-ing to my USB Drive, nothing shows up in my motherboard's UEFI menu. As if it can't recognize it at all.

And dd-ing the "NetBSD-9.0-amd64-uefi-install.img.gz" file (after extraction), my motherboard's UEFI menu can recognize it. When i choose it, then comes the official NetBSD menu.

Gives me the option to either boot NetBSD, or go back to boot prompt.

After selecting to boot NetBSD, a little loading occurs, and then it gets stuck. Nothing comes after.

So how do i successfully load the NetBSD installer and run it in my Bare Metal?

czacn you could try with a daily-build image to start with, https://nycdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/netbsd-9/latest/images/

czacn

UPDATE 1:
i tried writing the file "NetBSD-9.0-amd64-uefi-install.img.gz" to another USB Stick using 'Rawrite32' v1.0.8.0 from a Windows PC, that did not work in my PC either.

But, both of the USB Sticks (the previous one, and the new one) Booted OK in that (Windows) PC.
So, both Boots fine on that PC, but either does not work in mine - an issue with my UEFI firmware?

A little about my system: Gigabyte motherboard, intel Sandy Bridge CPU, American Megatrends BIOS (UEFI).
it's a pretty old system, so NetBSD probably should have good support for my hardwares.

i do not think i've configured the BIOS wrongly, because all the Linux amd64 OS runs fine in UEFI + GPT.
Does NetBSD 9.0 amd64 has any known issues with American Megatrends BIOS?

czacn

i have another question: how do i edit the first/main post?
i can not find any "Edit" button.

czacn

UPDATE 2:
at first i thought this to be a NetBSD (support) issue, now it seems FreeBSD too can't Boot either.

i dd-ed the file "FreeBSD-12.1-RELEASE-amd64-memstick.img" to USB Stick using the command from the Handbook:
https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bsdinstall-pre.html#bsdinstall-usb
dd if=/my/path/to/FreeBSD-12.1-RELEASE-amd64-memstick.img of=<DEVICE> bs=1M conv=sync

just like the case with NetBSD, my motherboard's UEFI menu can recognize the USB Stick. When i choose that, then the official FreeBSD menu loads.
After selecting the Default "Multi-User Boot", it shows the following error: (please see the taken photo)

https://ibb.co/KwYdBm8
https://i.ibb.co/Hd06RX9/freebsd-boot-error.jpg

https://postimg.cc/Q9VdFg75
https://i.postimg.cc/85mJntPy/freebsd-boot-error.jpg

So, i'm flawlessly using all the Linux amd64 OS in UEFI + GPT, but both the FreeBSD and NetBSD installers fails to even boot?! Again, both the FreeBSD NetBSD USB Sticks boots normally in that (Windows) PC.
.

czacn you could try to use GRUB or rEFInd.
See, https://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=159146428705118&w=2

czacn

@pin , i do not understand.
what i should do with GRUB / rEFInd ?
i have no intention to multi-boot OSs.
my question is how to start the installer.

czacn hmm... I belive your disk contains a current partition table, correct?
What OS, or OS's does it hold? GPT or MBR?

And sorry, I got the feeling you were trying to dual-boot.

czacn

in my motherboard's BIOS settings, i modified:

"CSM support": changed from "Auto" to "Enabled".
"Legacy USB support": changed from "Auto" to "Enabled".

Still both FreeBSD/NetBSD installers failed to boot in UEFI mode. the same issue still persists.
But, both boots fine in Legacy BIOS mode.

So i installed NetBSD 9.0 amd64 in Legacy BIOS mode, in a GPT disk. i'm currently running this.
i hope FreeBSD is gonna install OK too. i didn't install FreeBSD yet, just hoping that it'd work.

My questions are:
(1) Why both of the FreeBSD / NetBSD installers are failing to boot in UEFI mode?

(2) What's the major differences between running FreeBSD/NetBSD in UEFI mode VS Legacy BIOS mode? Specially, how much is it going to affect: bhyve / qemu-NVMM ? are certain functionalities of bhyve/qemu-NVMM going to be disabled because i'm running in Legacy BIOS mode?

czacn how much is it going to affect: bhyve / qemu-NVMM ? are certain functionalities of bhyve/qemu-NVMM going to be disabled because i'm running in Legacy BIOS mode?

Don't know anything about bhyve, I've never used FreeBSD.
Why should any of this affect a hypervisor? As long as vitualization is enabled in the BIOS and you can use hardware acceleration it should be fine.

If I were you, I'd post on the mailing lists and ask. Include as much hardware information as possible and include dmesg output.

pfr

@czacn if you find a solution please be sure to let us know. I may also have a need to (re)install NetBSD using UEFI in the future.

czacn

pfr
i have found nothing yet.
still running the amd64 in Legacy BIOS mode in GPT disk.

rvp

Interesting. From that screenshot it looks like the kernel got loaded ok, but, then it hangs.
I've got an old IvyBridge laptop myself (Asus X202E circa 2013, AMI BIOS), and it works just fine with both NetBSD and FreeBSD (UEFI+GPT w/o secure boot mode).

Have you applied the latest BIOS updates? I faintly recall having some issues myself (not boot-related, I think) on Linux before I upgraded the default BIOS on the laptop.

czacn

rvp
No.
i'm too scared to update / flash the motherboard Bios / firmware !!!!!!! don't want to brick this old dude.
i have no issues (of UEFI) in Linux distros anyway.

rvp

czacn

i'm too scared to update / flash the motherboard Bios / firmware !!!!!!! don't want to brick this old dude.

There's really not too much worry of that happening with modern EEPROMs and official firmware. I urge you to apply whatever latest updates there are, as some BIOS updates also upgrade the EC firmware and ACPI-related stuff.

i have no issues (of UEFI) in Linux distros anyway.

That might just mean that Linux has better workarounds for buggy firmware. From what I have seen, the *BSDs expect hardware to follow the specs more closely than Linux.

Before we begin:

Reset the BIOS to safe defaults. Post pics of the config screens.
NetBSD or FreeBSD? (I don't have any others).
For either, get the latest STABLE (for now):
NetBSD: https://nycdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/netbsd-9/latest/images/
FreeBSD: https://download.freebsd.org/ftp/snapshots/ISO-IMAGES/12.1/
Can you hook-up a serial cable to another PC for console logs? Otherwise, you'll have to use a camera like you did before and take lots of snaps.