184 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
184 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Installing Linux
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x-toc-enable: true
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...
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# Introduction
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This guide assumes that you are using the GRUB bootloader directly.
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If you're using SeaBIOS, it's quite intuitive and works similarly to other BIOS
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software; refer to the documentation on <https://seabios.org/SeaBIOS>.
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This guide explains how to prepare a bootable USB for libreboot systems that
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can be used to install several Linux distributions. For this guide, you
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will only need a USB flash drive and the `dd` utility (it's installed into all
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Linux distributions, by default).
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These instructions are intended to be generic, applicable to just about any
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Linux distribution.
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## Prepare the USB Drive in Linux
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If you downloaded your ISO while on an existing Linux system, here is how
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to create the bootable Linux USB drive:
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Connect the USB drive. Check `lsblk`, to confirm its device name
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(e.g., **/dev/sdX**):
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lsblk
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For this example, let's assume that our drive's name is `sdb`. Make sure that
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it's not mounted:
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sudo umount /dev/sdb
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Overwrite the drive, writing your distro ISO to it with `dd`. For example, if
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we are installing *Foobarbaz* Linux, and it's located in our Downloads
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folder, this is the command we would run:
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sudo dd if=~/Downloads/foobarbaz.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=8M; sync
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That's it! You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive
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(the instructions for doing so will be given later).
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## Prepare the USB drive in NetBSD
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[This page](https://wiki.netbsd.org/tutorials/how_to_install_netbsd_from_an_usb_memory_stick/)
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on the NetBSD website shows how to create a NetBSD bootable USB drive, from
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within NetBSD itself. You should the `dd` method documented there. This will
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work with any Linux ISO image.
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## Prepare the USB drive in FreeBSD
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[This page](https://www.freebsd.org/doc/handbook/bsdinstall-pre.html) on the
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FreeBSD website shows how to create a bootable USB drive for installing
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FreeBSD. Use the `dd` method documented. This will work with any Linux ISO
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image.
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## Prepare the USB drive in LibertyBSD or OpenBSD
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If you downloaded your ISO on a LibertyBSD or OpenBSD system, here is how to
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create the bootable Linux USB drive:
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Connect the USB drive. Run `lsblk` to determine which drive it is:
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lsblk
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To confirm that you have the correct drive, use `disklabel`. For example,
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if you thought the correct drive were **sd3**, run this command:
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disklabel sd3
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Make sure that the device isn't mounted, with `doas`; if it is, this command
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will unmount it:
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doas umount /dev/sd3i
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The `lsblk` command told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing
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the OpenBSD installer to it with `dd`. Here's an example:
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doas dd if=linux.iso of=/dev/rsdXc bs=1M; sync
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That's it! You should now be able to boot the installer from your USB drive
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(the instructions for doing so will be given later).
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## Debian or Devuan net install
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Download the Debian or Devuan net installer. You can download the Debian ISO
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from [the Debian homepage](https://www.debian.org/), or the Devuan ISO from
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[the Devuan homepage](https://www.devuan.org/).
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Secondly, create a bootable USB drive using the commands in
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[#prepare-the-usb-drive-in-linux](#prepare-the-usb-drive-in-linux).
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Thirdly, boot the USB and enter these commands in the GRUB terminal
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(for 64-bit Intel or AMD):
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set root='usb0'
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linux /install.amd/vmlinuz
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initrd /install.amd/initrd.gz
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boot
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If you are on a 32-bit system (e.g. some Thinkpad X60's) then you will need to
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use these commands (this is also true for 32-bit running on 64-bit machines):
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set root='usb0'
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linux /install.386/vmlinuz
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initrd /install.386/initrd.gz
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boot
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## Booting ISOLINUX Images (Automatic Method)
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Boot it in GRUB using the `Parse ISOLINUX config (USB)` option. A new menu
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should appear in GRUB, showing the boot options for that distro; this is a GRUB
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menu, converted from the usual ISOLINUX menu provided by that distro.
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## Booting ISOLINUX Images (Manual Method)
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These are generic instructions. They may or may not be correct for your
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distribution. You must adapt them appropriately, for whatever Linux
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distribution it is that you are trying to install.
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If the `ISOLINUX parser` or `Search for GRUB configuration` options won't work,
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then press `C` in GRUB to access the command line, then run the `ls` command:
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ls
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Get the device name from the above output (e.g., `usb0`). Here's an example:
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cat (usb0)/isolinux/isolinux.cfg
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Either the output of this command will be the ISOLINUX menuentries for that
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ISO, or link to other `.cfg` files (e.g, **/isolinux/foo.cfg**). For example,
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if the file found were **foo.cfg**, you would use this command:
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cat (usb0)/isolinux/foo.cg`
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And so on, until you find the correct menuentries for ISOLINUX.
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For Debian-based distros (e.g., Ubuntu, Devuan), there are typically
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menuentries listed in **/isolinux/txt.cfg** or **/isolinux/gtk.cfg**. For
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dual-architecture ISO images (i686 and x86\_64), there may be separate files
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directories for each architecture. Just keep searching through the image,
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until you find the correct ISOLINUX configuration file.
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**NOTE: Debian 8.6 ISO only lists 32-bit boot options in txt.cfg.
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This is important, if you want 64-bit booting on your system. Devuan versions
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based on Debian 8.x may also have the same issue.**
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Now, look at the ISOLINUX menuentry; it'll look like this:
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kernel /path/to/kernel append PARAMETERS initrd=/path/to/initrd ...
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GRUB works similarly; here are some example GRUB commands:
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```
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set root='usb0'
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linux /path/to/kernel PARAMETERS MAYBE_MORE_PARAMETERS
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initrd /path/to/initrd
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boot
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```
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Note: `usb0` may be incorrect. Check the output of the `ls` command (in GRUB),
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to see a list of USB devices/partitions. Of course, this will vary from distro
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to distro. If you did all of that correctly, then it should now be booting your
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USB drive in the way that you specified.
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## Troubleshooting
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Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot's `text-mode`
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with libgfxinit for video initialization. This mode is useful for text mode
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payloads, like `MemTest86+`, which expect `text-mode`, but for Linux
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distributions it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a
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framebuffer, because no mode switching support is present (Linux/BSD kernels
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do Kernel Mode Setting, so they are able to initialize a frame buffer in bare
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metal regardless of whatever coreboot is doing).
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### debian-installer Graphical Corruption in Text-Mode (Debian and Devuan)
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When using the ROM images that use Coreboot's `text mode`, instead of the
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coreboot framebuffer, while using libgfxinit, booting the Debian or Devuan net
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installer results in graphical corruption, because it is trying to switch to a
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framebuffer while no mode switching support is present. Use this kernel
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parameter on the `linux` line, when booting it:
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fb=false
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This forces debian-installer to start in `text-mode`, instead of trying to
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switch to a framebuffer.
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If selecting `text-mode` from a GRUB menu created using the ISOLINUX parser,
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you can press `E` on the menu entry to add this. Or, if you are booting
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manually (from GRUB terminal), then just add the parameters.
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