On Sun, 22 Dec 2024 17:10:48 +1100
Steven D'Aprano <steve@???> wrote:

> Hi,
>
> First time Devuan user here, I have some limited experience with
> Linux but I am out of practice, so please excuse any silly questions
> or errors.
>
> Executive summary:
>
> I am trying to install Devuan Beoulf on an Asus Mini-PC that will
> only boot from a USB stick formatted as FAT32, please help me.
>
> I have installed the devuan_beowulf_3.1.1_i386_netinstall.iso image
> onto a USB stick, and verified the SHA256 checksum is correct.
>
> I have a Asus Mini-PC PN41 with Celeron N4500 CPU:
>
> https://www.asus.com/displays-desktops/mini-pcs/pn-series/mini-pc-pn41/]
>
> In the BIOS, I have disabled Secure Boot:
>
> * Go to Boot/Secure Boot screen.
>
> * Set OS Type to Other OS.
>
> * Save changes
>
> I have also disabled the Intel Platform Trust Technology (under the
> Advanced PCH-FW Config screen) and made sure no passwords are set.
>
> When I plug the USB stick in, the BIOS recognizes it as two devices.
> I have tried setting the boot order to the first followed by the
> second, and the reverse (second followed by the first). I have also
> tried disabling the Fast Boot option.
>
> In all cases, when I reboot, the system goes back to the BIOS without
> booting from the USB stick.
>
> The BIOS gives me the option to override the boot order and boot
> directly from the specified device. When I do, I get this warning:
>

>     WARNING

>

>     The Secure Boot is enabled to prevent untrusted operating 
>     systems from loading.

>

>     To launch the EFI shell, please disable the secure boot
>     option.

>
> but note that I have already disabled Secure Boot. The system
> does not boot.
>
> The only help the reseller can give me (they can barely spell Linux)
> is to tell me that the USB stick must be formatted as FAT32.
>

Windows is ntfs but the boot partition must be FAT32.

> On another Linux box, the USB stick auto-mounts on /dev/sdd1 (but
> not sdd2) and mount shows me this:
>

>     /dev/sdd1 on /run/media/stevend/Devuan 3.1 type iso9660
> (ro,nosuid,nodev,relatime,nojoliet,check=s,map=n,blocksize=2048,uid=1001,gid=1001,dmode=500,fmode=400,uhelper=udisks2)

>
> Some additional details:
>

>     $ ls -l /dev/sdd*
>     brw-rw----. 1 root disk 8, 48 Dec 22 12:41 /dev/sdd
>     brw-rw----. 1 root disk 8, 49 Dec 22 12:41 /dev/sdd1
>     brw-rw----. 1 root disk 8, 50 Dec 22 12:41 /dev/sdd2

>

>     $ sudo blkid /dev/sdd*
>     /dev/sdd: UUID="2021-03-15-11-46-46-00" LABEL="Devuan 3.1"
> TYPE="iso9660" PTUUID="361c3565" PTTYPE="dos" /dev/sdd1:
> UUID="2021-03-15-11-46-46-00" LABEL="Devuan 3.1" TYPE="iso9660"
> PTUUID="361c3565" PTTYPE="dos" PARTUUID="361c3565-01" /dev/sdd2:
> SEC_TYPE="msdos" UUID="922C-067E" TYPE="vfat" PARTUUID="361c3565-02"

That looks odd. If blkid is being honest, then there is
something wrong with the partitioning.

Why is there a ISO-9660 filesystem on /dev/sdd?

Was an ISO CD/DVD image copied to the USB stick? And is it an image that
can be used on a USB stick?

if 'cp' was used to tranfer the image to the USB stick it will not
work. For one thing, the stick must not be mounted when the image is
created.

Use 'dd', balena etcher, rufus, linuxlive usb creator,or another util to
create a bootable disk image.

If 'dd' is chosen, then try:

sudo dd if=devuan-netinstall-blah.iso of=/dev/sdd bs=1M
status=progress

(From:

https://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/creating-a-bootable-ubuntu-usb-stick-on-a-debian-linux/)


(Above is a single line)

Then confirm that the partitions are proper afterward.

If they appear correct, the odds are that the USB stick will boot.

If you intend to use btrfs and not ext4, boot the USB stick and do 'apt
install btrfs-progs' before you start installing the system. Then you
will have the option to create the btrfs filesystem. It is easier than
modifying it later. Similar can be done for other filesystems.



This is what my disk looks like:

blkid /dev/sda*
/dev/sda: PTUUID="eb8c0f32-66a8-4db6-bb51-ac42473201a9" PTTYPE="gpt"
/dev/sda1: LABEL_FATBOOT="ESP" LABEL="ESP" UUID="DC36-2395" \
BLOCK_SIZE="512" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="EFI system partition"
PARTUUID="349cc689-ba9c-4019-b4d8-ccbd7f7fe895" \
/dev/sda2: LABEL="root" UUID="9440f687-56d2-4c0a-9902-6f9113c20f5c" \
UUID_SUB="98d8604a-a1a8-4847-9e33-eced9840229f" BLOCK_SIZE="4096" \
TYPE="btrfs" PARTLABEL="/"
PARTUUID="eca05fe8-333a-4fde-9afd-175b985f63d4"


I created a btrfs filesystem with the installer right off.


Be sure to read the README.txt in the download directory, if you have
not already done so.

--
dj