installing bodhi on a gpt disk

[cordx 6]

anybody know why when i install bodhi from a live usb, the partition table gets switched from gpt to msdos? in all reality it doesn't matter too very much i just like to play with new gadgets and methodologies and whatnot and thought being able to have more than 4 partitions would be fun to play with.

 

thanks, cord

[gohlip 64]

Make sure when you want to install in uefi/gpt, the install media is booted in uefi.

It is possible that your install media is booted in bios-legacy not uefi.

But I am surprised installer changed gpt partitioning to msdos partitioning.

No installer I know does that. It may be that it is still gpt partitioning but with a bios-legacy boot.

Can you provide output of "sudo parted -l".

 

Oh, another thing. Currently installing Bodhi to uefi/gpt is still a struggle. There are workarounds and if you have another linux OS in the uefi/gpt system, then it is much easier to convert the installation to it.  See http://forums.bodhilinux.com/index.php?/topic/13679-uefi-install-issue-with-64bit-alpha/ for further details.

[Charles@Bodhi 664]

Hmm, I guess you told the installer to erase and use entire disk. Erasing the disk is done by creating a new parttion table. Having a Bios set to legacy mode probably makes the installer opt for a msdos partition table rather than a gpt which is usually needed for uefi installs. You can however instruct the installer to choose "Something else" instead and this will give you the choice to create a gpt or a msdos partition table. In that case you have to create the other partitions needed for Bodhi as well of course.

 

Btw, the installer is fully capable to install uefi systems. If there are issues they are mostly caused by manufacturers not following the uefi standards or adding extra difficulties (more "security"?) to their uefi implementation. Nothing you can blame Bodhi/Linux for.

 

Enjoy,

Charles

[sef 163]

If you create your USB using the linux tool 'dd' in the terminal, it will be bootable via either UEFI or Legacy mode. And I will re-iterate what Charles says that your BIOS must be set up to boot in UEFI mode.

 

Then when you boot your USB, if you see one option that says something like 'UEFI (your usb manufacturer)' choose to boot that, not the one that says something like '(your usb manufacturer)'.

 

At this time, the 'dd' method is the most reliable to create your bootable USB media. We can't guarantee any results from using a third party application like Unetbootin or anything else.

sudo dd if=/path/to/your.iso of=/dev/sdX

(where sdX is your USB device allocation)

Make sure you don't over-write your hard drive when using the 'dd' command. If you're not familiar with 'dd' please do some googling to learn more about it.

[cordx 6]

i do very appreciate all of your kind and quick replies

 

i lucked into a good buy on this computer last fall. it isn't the most blazing new i5, but it suits my needs just fine. that is when i started learning about uefi and some of the other cool new(ish) technologies. i do like to poke around in the settings menu just to see what is there and know that my boot sequence is set to legacy/uefi so it is totally possible that i booted in legacy when doing the install.

 

i actually did the install twice (maybe thrice?) because i clicked all the fun buttons like encryption and lvm the first go-round. on this last pass i made sure to check the disk properties in gparted after i chose the gpt. it was listed as such. then i used the simplest install option available through the live bodhi i was running off of my usb.

 

sudo parted -l lists the partition table as msdos. as does gparted just because i wanted to check

 

i will post this just to parcel out my responses, but will get to the comments of the others here shortly

[cordx 6]

charles, in my notes (for the last install. i didn't bother to start taking them until the first two didn't go as planned) i have written down where i chose "erase disk and install ubuntu".  i did try the "something else" option, but ran into a popup dialogue that said there was no root file system defined and that i needed to correct that from the partitioning menu. i thought that formatting the disk as ext4 would solve that popup. it did not. i was leery about trying the "erase disk" again, but had reached the limit of my admittedly limited knowledge

 

i assure you i am not here to blame or cast aspersions on either bodhi or linux. i like tinkering with new puzzles and concepts and appreciate any guidance anyone else is willing to share

[cordx 6]

sef, i like the sound of your solution. this is what i will be trying next as well as making sure that i am booting in uefi mode. i confess that i was using a yumi multiboot usb because i stumbled on to that program a few months ago and wanted to see what it was capable of

 

in summation, thank you all for the help. i will be sure to post again after the next install

[sef 163]

Sounds good. Let us know how it goes.

[cordx 6]

for the win again, thank you all for the helpful suggestions

 

edit: i used both suggestions. i created the live usb with dd and made sure to boot in uefi mode specifically so i don't know which was "the" answer, but had to pick one for the solution so

 

now to figure out what to do with all 128 partitions

Edited May 17, 2017 by cordx

[sef 163]

I'm pretty sure both were the answer. It seems like "the chicken or the egg" question, but it really isn't.

 

If I remember correctly, Yumi doesn't create a UEFI bootable sector on your USB, so you never even had the chance to boot in UEFI with Yumi. (in this case 'dd' did the trick)

Therefore 'dd' created the option to boot to UEFI sector of the USB and enable the UEFI variables in the booted OS when you chose to boot 'UEFI (your usb manufacturer)'.

And as Charles stated earlier ...     without UEFI variables in the OS, the installer (ubiquity) thought that it was a Legacy install, so that's the approach it took while creating partitions and installing.

 

Glad to hear you got it sorted.  Welcome to Bodhi!

[cordx 6]

the installer was kind enough to tell me the first couple times:

 

if you continue, the changes below will be written to the disks.

the partition tables of the following devices are changed:

scsi1 (0,0,0) (sda)

the following partitions are going to be formatted:

partition #1 of scsi1 (0,0,0) (sda) as ext4

partition #5 of scsi1 (0,0,0) (sda) as swap

 

the final (successful) installation i got:

 

the following partitions are going to be formatted:

#1 as esp

#2 as ext4

#3 as swap

 

i even made notes the last unsuccessful time that it sounded like the gpt was going to be changed, but wanted to give it a shot and see. that is when i finally popped up here to see if you kind folk could point me in the right direction