Installing NetBSD 9.3 UEFI with GPT

pfr

So I've been struggling to figure this out. Some documentation states to download a NertBSD-9.3-amd64-uefi-install.img.gz but I figured that UEFI settings had been integrated into the standard amd64 image, hence why there is a seperate BIOS image and no longer UEFI image to be found.

Anyway, I followed this guide but after choosing GPT, I get to This image (taken from the guide) But, on my screen, I dont get the first MSDOS bootblock which is what I need for my PC to boot the disk. I get / <swap> /temp /usr and /var only.

Do I need to format the drive in some way before the installation perhaps? I'm trying to install the system onto a drive, from my laptop with the SSD in a caddie. Does the drive need to be connected to my PC/motherboard for it to recognise the need for the MSDOS boot partition?

rvp

pfr As long as that MSDOS or VFAT partition is of type EFI ESP (gpt -t efi ...) and has a directory, EFI/BOOT/ containing the *.efi files (from /usr/mdec/), the UEFI firmware should a) either detect and present it for use or b) let you select it in some boot-selection setup page.

Go ahead and complete the install. UEFI is pretty easy to fix for booting.

pfr

rvp

It didn't feel like letting me win today.

Status: Command Failed
Command: gpt create -p 128 sd1

Hit enter to continue

rvp

pfr
a) Who is it (the program that created that output.)
b) What is sd1 (which looks like the wrong device if it's not a USB-stick.)
c) Does sd1 already have an MBR on it? (In which case, gpt create will fail unless you force (-f) it, or, zero out the first 1MB or so with dd)

pfr

rvp a) Who is it (the program that created that output.)

The NetBSD install Image I've booted from to Install the system. It's the output I get after selecting x: Go on from the image in the OP.

b) What is sd1 (which looks like the wrong device if it's not a USB-stick.)

sd1 is the disk I'm installing to. Presumably because my Installation media is occupying sd0 ? Anyway, it's the correct disk, because it's the only disk of it's size available to the installer.

c) Does sd1 already have an MBR on it? (In which case, gpt create will fail unless you force (-f) it, or, zero out the first 1MB or so with dd)

It might have previously, but I did zero out the disk with dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd0 bs=1m count=1 prior to attempting the install. Perhaps I'll try this again and maybe use bs=2m this time.

rvp

pfr sd1 is the disk I'm installing to. Presumably because my Installation media is occupying sd0? Anyway, it's the correct disk, because it's the only disk of it's size available to the installer.

Are you sure? The Free space shown above amounts to about 7GB--is that the size of your spanking new SSD drive?

pfr It might have previously, but I did zero out the disk with dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sd0 bs=1m count=1 prior to attempting the install. Perhaps I'll try this again and maybe use bs=2m this time.

Clearing out 1MB ought to be sufficient. You may also have to zero-out the secondary GPT--which is at the end of the disk.

pfr

rvp The Free space shown above amounts to about 7GB

Sorry, that picture is from the official guide and I was using it only as an example of what i'm NOT seeing (the MSDOS partition).

rvp You may also have to zero-out the secondary GPT--which is at the end of the disk

How is this achieved?

rvp

pfr I was using it only as an example of what i'm NOT seeing (the MSDOS partition).

Ah... A picture is not worth a thousand words then (or else I should learn to read more carefully).

It should be an EFI partition there I think, but, with an empty disk I don't know. (I've always chickened out somewhere in this screen (or maybe the next) because my partitions are all jumbled up numerically and sysinst gets very confused... I then slowly back away, then quietly close the door.)

pfr How is this achieved?

You first find the disk size (check dmesg), then seek=NNN (in combination with a suitable bs=NN) and write zeros. It's only mildly tedious and I don't think you need to do it.

EDIT: See if sysinst consents to carry on after you do this (you can use the USB boot image to run these commands):

% D=sd0						# CHANGE THIS--CORRECTLY
% gpt destroy $D				# if GPT already present
% gpt create -A $D				# make new GPT
% gpt add -a 1m -t efi -s 1g -l 9.3_EFI $D	# add 1GB EFI partition
% dkctl $D listwedges				# get wedge list
/dev/rsd0: 1 wedge:
dk16: b7fe3cfc-e5a3-4992-8cb9-af709b0491e6, 2097152 blocks at 2048, type: msdos
% newfs_msdos -F32 /dev/rdk16			# format as FAT32
% mount NAME=9.3_EFI /mnt			# mount using GPT label
% mkdir -p /mnt/EFI/BOOT			# EFI\BOOT\
% cp /usr/mdec/boot*.efi /mnt/efi/boot/.	# copy EFI bootloader
% umount /mnt

To get a bootable system from here (at least, until the init stage), you only need a FFS partition, /, containing the kernel, /netbsd

At this point, I would backout from the original plan. After all, a fresh disk deserves a fresh install.

Also, I wouldn't want to clone a old disk into a new one using dd, unless I want to recover data from a close to failure disk. I wouldn't like to polute my new disk with years of log files and what not from my previous set-up. At least, not just because I'm lazy and don't feel like doing it from scratch.

rvp

pin After all, a fresh disk deserves a fresh install.

It's a new install of NetBSD AFAIK, but, sysinst is...complaining. Did you have any issues installing to a brand new disk, or a disk w/o NetBSD but having other OSes on it?

rvp Disclaimer: I'm yet to try EFI with NetBSD. I only own HPs and the initial EFI implementation is a bit weird, so I use MBR.

rvp Did you have any issues installing to a brand new disk, or a disk w/o NetBSD but having other OSes on it?

Yes, even after using gparted to erase the drive but, not after writing zeros to the first few Mb of disk space. Still, the disk being identified as sd1 sounds suspicious.

rvp

pin Still, the disk being identified as sd1 sounds suspicious.

I thought so too, but, @pfr says that's correct--prob. because his SSD is on a caddy and got probed after USB.

But, I'm a bit surprised that a bog-standard EFI install is having these problems...but then, he's in Australia, where everything is topsy-turvy.

pfr

@pin yeah I've ditched the idea of cloning the old disk. Going for fresh install.

rvp @pfr says that's correct--prob. because his SSD is on a caddy and got probed after USB.

That's what I suspect.

I haven't tried wiping the disk with gparted yet. Might do that and see if it helps.

If only my friend (the one I mentioned in my other post) didn't install fedora on the disk to start with.

rvp

pfr If only my friend (the one I mentioned in my other post) didn't install fedora on the disk to start with.

Shouldn't matter: having more than one OS is pretty standard use-case and sysinst should be able to cope with that.

Can you post output of:

dmesg
sysctl machdep.bootmethod
gpt show sd1

after you boot in the USB installer.

pfr

rvp
Got it sorted wiping the disk with gparted. I just deleted everything so I was only left with free space. I wonder what the dd equivalent would be?

I'll post a picture in the hardware thread.

rvp

pfr Did you end up with a GPT scheme, or an MBR+Disklabel one? Do you see wedges (dkN) or slices (sdNa) in /etc/fstab? Output of those commands, above, would still be nice.

pfr

rvp Did you end up with a GPT scheme

Yep

rvp Do you see wedges (dkN) or slices (sdNa) in /etc/fstab? Output of those commands, above, would still be nice.

Will do tomorrow, little guy is sleeping. The whole reason I was using a caddy to begin with was so I could fiddle with it after the kids go to bed. That PC is in the "spare" room which is now my 5 month olds nursery. At some point I'll move it, when I get a desk maybe 😋

pfr

Aaaaaaand here we are, right back at the start.

So after abandoning this thread back in 2022 I've used the spare disk in my desktop for various other operating systems, most recently 9front. I've decided that I want to install NetBSD-current on it to see if I can manage maintaining it and also as a test run for rebuilding my current 9.4 system on my thinkpad as it is highly customised and I need to know i can recreate it if need be.

Anywho, the same issue that plagued me back then is happening again. I've gone and wiped the disk completely using gparted live iso but this time I'm using a different image. https://nycdn.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD-daily/HEAD/202405011410Z/images/NetBSD-10.99.10-amd64-install.img.gz to be exact.

I still do not get the correct partition scheme. As before, I chose GPT and when asked to edit partition table I do not see a uefi/msdos leading partition. I always get prompted to choose the bootblocks which always defaults to BIOS.

Man is this frustrating.

Can anyone help?

EDIT
For the sake of future me I'm going to put the solution here which took me way to long to figure out.
When booting from the usb, you need to scroll down to find the uefi boot media. EVEN THOUGH there is boot media named correctly at the very tippity top, for some irrational reason, on my computer, a seperate boot (uefi) option for the media is hidden down under a bunch of other crap.

rvp

pfr I still do not get the correct partition scheme. As before, I chose GPT and when asked to edit partition table I do not see a uefi/msdos leading partition

Probably your firmware is booting in BIOS (aka CSM) mode rather than UEFI mode. sysctl machdep.bootmethod will tell you which.

After you've switched the BIOS to UEFI, and if sysinst still doesn't create an EFI ESP partition, don't worry. Just leave some space anywhere on the disk where you can create an MS-DOS/VFAT partition using gpt. Then, it's just a matter of formatting the wedge and copying the /usr/mdec/*.efi files into a \EFI\BOOT\ dir. there.

pfr

rvp thanks mate. But I figured it out. See my edit above.

I do need help with my display driver and xorg.conf. see my other thread.