From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from lists.gentoo.org (pigeon.gentoo.org [208.92.234.80]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256/256 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature RSA-PSS (2048 bits) server-digest SHA256) (No client certificate requested) by finch.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9A8EA158013 for ; Wed, 6 Dec 2023 16:36:26 +0000 (UTC) Received: from pigeon.gentoo.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with SMTP id BA5882BC026; Wed, 6 Dec 2023 16:36:19 +0000 (UTC) Received: from mail-oo1-f51.google.com (mail-oo1-f51.google.com [209.85.161.51]) (using TLSv1.3 with cipher TLS_AES_256_GCM_SHA384 (256/256 bits) key-exchange X25519 server-signature RSA-PSS (4096 bits) server-digest SHA256) (No client certificate requested) by pigeon.gentoo.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 5D8612BC019 for ; Wed, 6 Dec 2023 16:36:19 +0000 (UTC) Received: by mail-oo1-f51.google.com with SMTP id 006d021491bc7-58e255472daso596663eaf.0 for ; Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:36:19 -0800 (PST) X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20230601; t=1701880578; x=1702485378; h=in-reply-to:from:content-language:references:to:subject:user-agent :mime-version:date:message-id:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject :date:message-id:reply-to; bh=rs7a7uAWeWVod5zlWSQXWxAFRz7tfeRyg1IOSNMUzv8=; b=Y6F+6FCTIDVxaxhnDdjHwUr4O7E4f9O9IZ7LZuvPrrIZlBGC1mBEUBPnsxDwBeqQu6 CZw3HOjAGZOCHyY3KIN8yldfSJmoECTLvrRLESP0iOD2Jv7qflhbJjh0oqzW8PaguNkM UorafICa1SLag4JyXApVi6DN0LipWI5ssx5VitKBkG7q2NTa++mJ/ZTd8h8U3qVNnk/U pPfnyrQ4i9Mr28OaGVh+MD7Izj6j1wSA8viogOU4fhlFX2fn95OiYq6zuC2JOO9HVwwU XBfl0DUpwfxKZLrtkm16yHjYGTLq7Uaw4VbC64yq2coY/oEyJjBaH8hgEGyDvL4s05zo uO2Q== X-Gm-Message-State: AOJu0YwOiQ3D/tUwF10Dn7VrH9T7KwG0tXKh0xwGaNY3xxsh4tx8ZrUZ KzBFWirE1npv2lragr7mkWkNrC6o127wwX2+dTM= X-Google-Smtp-Source: AGHT+IHxPjLUKVyvNBdlebStTZpaZ6GrXocSQ84B6yHOUsvlU5IRbK0242LZhpeoYh6L72rVdm2XDg== X-Received: by 2002:a05:6358:884:b0:170:4ac0:f9e6 with SMTP id m4-20020a056358088400b001704ac0f9e6mr2866068rwj.3.1701880578378; Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:36:18 -0800 (PST) Received: from [192.168.1.19] (c-73-238-129-126.hsd1.ct.comcast.net. [73.238.129.126]) by smtp.gmail.com with ESMTPSA id q5-20020a0ce9c5000000b0067835abc38bsm94359qvo.129.2023.12.06.08.36.17 for (version=TLS1_3 cipher=TLS_AES_128_GCM_SHA256 bits=128/128); Wed, 06 Dec 2023 08:36:17 -0800 (PST) Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="------------h7euggSayf6rxcW3ZRYObUtH" Message-ID: <944dd6a5-1079-41a0-8a3d-3cfaa9ec6f3c@users.sourceforge.net> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2023 11:36:16 -0500 Precedence: bulk List-Post: List-Help: List-Unsubscribe: List-Subscribe: List-Id: Gentoo Linux mail X-BeenThere: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org Reply-to: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org X-Auto-Response-Suppress: DR, RN, NRN, OOF, AutoReply MIME-Version: 1.0 User-Agent: Mozilla Thunderbird Subject: Re: [gentoo-user] Boot and EFI partitions To: gentoo-user@lists.gentoo.org References: <10383704.nUPlyArG6x@wstn> Content-Language: en-US From: Jack Ostroff In-Reply-To: <10383704.nUPlyArG6x@wstn> X-Archives-Salt: 94c4c20f-7927-4400-a544-f062ba3af26d X-Archives-Hash: 81be54a0918daa7a6ac7832f6a6b57a3 This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------h7euggSayf6rxcW3ZRYObUtH Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit On 12/6/23 10:32, Peter Humphreey wrote: > Hello list, > > I have a new toy to play with - an Intel NUC with i5 (16 threads in all) and > 1TB superfast M2 SSD. I grew tired of the noise and thirst of my Amari machine > and I wanted something quiet and frugal, so now I'm building a new Gentoo > system on it. I want to use bootctl from systemd-boot, as usual, to give me a > boot menu without that grub monster. > > The installation guides on the Web have been developed since I last had a new > machine, and they attempt to show how boot and EFI partitions should be laid > out, but there's a problem. > > In particular, the Gentoo wiki says I must have an EFI partition of type esp > [1] - not a directory in, say, /boot, as my other machines have. All right so > far, but the Gentoo systemd-boot page says I need a /boot partition as well, > of type XBOOTLDR [2]. So now I seem to need /efi on /dev/nvme0n1p1 and /boot on > /dev/nvme0n1p2, both with FAT32 file systems. > > In fact those two guides contradict each other. One says I must have a boot > partition, the other that I don't need one on a modern system. > > Quandary: if I believe both guides I finish up with both partitions, and then > 'bootctl install' is happy, but the usual make && make modules-install && make > install sequence ends up with no kernel in either partition. > > I'm getting sawdust under my fingernails. > > Has anyone some advice for me? > > 1.https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/ > Disks#What_is_the_EFI_System_Partition_.28ESP.29.3F > > 2.https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Systemd/systemd-boot#Pre_Deployment_Considerations Based on an earlier post in the other thread about booting issues, and not having read the actual docs, it sounds like if you have /efi mounted as type esp, /boot can just be a directory in whatever is mounted at /; it no longer needs to be a separate partition. The way I think of it is that the UEFI firmware needs to find the xxxx.efi loader, and it can only read FAT32 formatted partitions labelled as type esp. That xxxx.efi loader then needs to find your kernel and related files, but as it is specific for that type of kernel (linux) it can know about more partition formatting options. I suspect that many (most?/all?) existing linux utilities still expect the boot dir to be at /boot, but perhaps the docs are late to change describing that it no longer needs to be a separate partition, or perhaps one or more of those utilities still requires a partition. Hopefully this isn't too far off base. Jack --------------h7euggSayf6rxcW3ZRYObUtH Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
On 12/6/23 10:32, Peter Humphreey wrote:
Hello list,

I have a new toy to play with - an Intel NUC with i5 (16 threads in all) and 
1TB superfast M2 SSD. I grew tired of the noise and thirst of my Amari machine 
and I wanted something quiet and frugal, so now I'm building a new Gentoo 
system on it. I want to use bootctl from systemd-boot, as usual, to give me a 
boot menu without that grub monster.

The installation guides on the Web have been developed since I last had a new 
machine, and they attempt to show how boot and EFI partitions should be laid 
out, but there's a problem.

In particular, the Gentoo wiki says I must have an EFI partition of type esp 
[1] - not a directory in, say, /boot, as my other machines have. All right so 
far, but the Gentoo systemd-boot page says I need a /boot partition as well, 
of type XBOOTLDR [2]. So now I seem to need /efi on /dev/nvme0n1p1 and /boot on 
/dev/nvme0n1p2, both with FAT32 file systems.

In fact those two guides contradict each other. One says I must have a boot 
partition, the other that I don't need one on a modern system.

Quandary: if I believe both guides I finish up with both partitions, and then 
'bootctl install' is happy, but the usual make && make modules-install && make 
install sequence ends up with no kernel in either partition.

I'm getting sawdust under my fingernails.

Has anyone some advice for me?

1.  https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:AMD64/Installation/
Disks#What_is_the_EFI_System_Partition_.28ESP.29.3F

2.  https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Systemd/systemd-boot#Pre_Deployment_Considerations

Based on an earlier post in the other thread about booting issues, and not having read the actual docs, it sounds like if you have /efi mounted as type esp, /boot can just be a directory in whatever is mounted at /; it no longer needs to be a separate partition.

The way I think of it is that the UEFI firmware needs to find the xxxx.efi loader, and it can only read FAT32 formatted partitions labelled as type esp. That xxxx.efi loader then needs to find your kernel and related files, but as it is specific for that type of kernel (linux) it can know about more partition formatting options. I suspect that many (most?/all?) existing linux utilities still expect the boot dir to be at /boot, but perhaps the docs are late to change describing that it no longer needs to be a separate partition, or perhaps one or more of those utilities still requires a partition.

Hopefully this isn't too far off base.

Jack

--------------h7euggSayf6rxcW3ZRYObUtH--