Portable installed system that boots in UEFI as well as in BIOS mode

[sudodus]

Edit: Stable portable systems

If you want a stable portable system, that boots in UEFI mode as well as BIOS/CSM mode, and in 64-bit as well as 32-bit computers, you can try

One pendrive for all PC (Intel/AMD) computers.

If you want a pendrive with a live and an installed system, that works in UEFI and BIOS mode, you can try

A new and so far successful attempt to create a stable portable system, that works in UEFI and BIOS mode and

Compressed image file with a live Ubuntu 14.04.2 and an installed Ubuntu 15.10

I have developed a system from Ubuntu Xenial amd64 (I call it gamma because it is beyond beta), and I was able to simplify the method to make a stable installed system for UEFI and BIOS mode. See this link

Another new, simpler and so far successful attempt to create a stable portable system, that works in UEFI and BIOS mode

with a description how to make it 'from scratch' plus a link to where I have uploaded compressed image files plus a small script to fix the GPT after cloning.

Two updated 'text-mini' compressed image files are uploaded 2016-05-27

There is a new stable alternative with Lubuntu 18.04.1 LTS. It provides live, persistent live and installed systems for one single USB pendrive (size at least 16 GB).

See more details at post #187 and the following link to an Ubuntu help page,

help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/UEFI-and-BIOS/stable-alternative-18.04.1

---

Get and overview at the following Ubuntu help wiki page: help.ubuntu.com/community/Installation/UEFI-and-BIOS

---

There is a torrent file that you can use to build your own custom operating system

The dd_text_16.04-UEFI-n-BIOS compressed image file was made up to date, and a torrent file was uploaded in January 2017. It can be used, if you want to start with a light-weight system and install your own selection of program packages - desktop packages, server packages and application packages.

dd_text_16.04-UEFI-n-BIOS_2017-01-15_intel-4-pendrive-7.8GB.img.xz.torrent

Use mkusb to install from the downloaded compressed image file to a USB pendrive, a memory card, or maybe an external SSD or HDD.

See details at this link: Installation/UEFI-and-BIOS/torrent

---

Detailed description of the original installed system

I wanted an installed system as a good alternative to a persistent live system that boots new computers with and without UEFI. So I made one, which is described in this link

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In.../UEFI-and-BIOS

But I have tested it in only two computers, my Toshiba laptop, where I made it, and in my son's HP Elitebook laptop, so I don't know how portable it is.

The method is described in detail, and there is a compressed image of an Ubuntu 12.04.4 system available at

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/uefi-n-bios

I think the method is at least as important to test as the compressed image, if and how it works in other computers.

So now, that we have finished testing beta 2, maybe there is time for you to try the method and make an UEFI-and-BIOS pendrive with your favourite flavour of Ubuntu Trusty beta 2.

Not stable enough to survive certain updates

I expected that this 'Portable installed system that boots in UEFI as well as in BIOS mode' could be installed into a USB pendrive as a good alternative to a persistent live system, possible to update and upgrade without limits. But unfortunately a current update involving a new kernel and updating grub will make it fail to boot. So this system is not stable enough to survive certain updates. It is good only as an illustration of a method to make a bootable drive in UEFI as well as BIOS mode.

Links

It might be a good idea to try various systems and methods before deciding what to install. Try Ubuntu (Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, ...) before installing it

The following links contain general information
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...n/FromUSBStick
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DiskSpace

[ventrical]

I was just experimenting with a ready-made saucy pendrive install and it works just fine on UEFI and non-UEFI.

ventrical@ventrical-MS-7798:~$ lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 82Q35 Express DRAM Controller (rev 02)
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 82Q35 Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
00:02.1 Display controller: Intel Corporation 82Q35 Express Integrated Graphics Controller (rev 02)
00:03.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 82Q35 Express MEI Controller (rev 02)
00:19.0 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation 82566DM-2 Gigabit Network Connection (rev 02)
00:1a.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #4 (rev 02)
00:1a.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #5 (rev 02)
00:1a.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #6 (rev 02)
00:1a.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1b.0 Audio device: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) HD Audio Controller (rev 02)
00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 1 (rev 02)
00:1c.1 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 2 (rev 02)
00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 3 (rev 02)
00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 4 (rev 02)
00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) PCI Express Port 5 (rev 02)
00:1d.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1d.1 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #2 (rev 02)
00:1d.2 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB UHCI Controller #3 (rev 02)
00:1d.7 USB controller: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) USB2 EHCI Controller #1 (rev 02)
00:1e.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 82801 PCI Bridge (rev 92)
00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation 82801IO (ICH9DO) LPC Interface Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.2 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801IR/IO/IH (ICH9R/DO/DH) 4 port SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 02)
00:1f.3 SMBus: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) SMBus Controller (rev 02)
00:1f.5 IDE interface: Intel Corporation 82801I (ICH9 Family) 2 port SATA Controller [IDE mode] (rev 02)
03:00.0 IDE interface: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88SE6101/6102 single-port PATA133 interface (rev b2)
06:03.0 FireWire (IEEE 1394): LSI Corporation FW322/323 [TrueFire] 1394a Controller (rev 70)
ventrical@ventrical-MS-7798:~$

[ventrical]

OK .. I think I am not on the same topic here. I just merely <enabled> UEFI in BIOS and booted to an already existing install from a pendrive. I tried some of your code from the link and it does not report that I am in UEFI mode.

[sudodus]

OK .. I think I am not on the same topic here. I just merely <enabled> UEFI in BIOS and booted to an already existing install from a pendrive. I tried some of your code from the link and it does not report that I am in UEFI mode.

An Ubuntu desktop 64-bit install DVD or USB drive can boot into both systems (UEFI - grub, BIOS - syslinux), and with my method an installed system is tweaked to boot via grub in both UEFI and BIOS by activating different paths to booting.

In my Toshiba, it is not possible to boot a system made for BIOS, when I enable UEFI. And it is not possible to boot a system made for UEFI, when I disable UEFI by selecting 'CSM', which means enabling old style BIOS mode.

UEFI Compatibility Support Module (CSM) provides compatibility support for traditional legacy BIOS. This allows allows the booting an operating system that requires a traditional option ROM support, such as BIOS Int 10h video calls.

I think that the UEFI systems are not standardized, but vary a lot, which can make the experience different between computers.

-o-

The system, that you can expand from

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/u...S-7.8GB.img.xz

boots clearly differently for me when I set the computer in UEFI mode and BIOS (CSM) mode. The grub menu is rendered differently, so it is easy for me to identify. But the same installed Ubuntu system is running after grub.

[sudodus]

This UEFI-n-BIOS booter was developed in my Toshiba

http://www.toshiba.se/laptops/satell...-pro-c850-19w/

and today I tested it in a Dell Latitude E5430 non-vPro with the following specs according to lshw

computer
    description: Laptop
    product: Latitude E5430 non-vPro (Latitude E5430 non-vPro)
    vendor: Winbond Electronics
    version: 01
    serial: [REMOVED]
    width: 64 bits
    capabilities: smbios-2.7 dmi-2.7 vsyscall32
    configuration: boot=normal chassis=laptop sku=Latitude E5430 non-vPro uuid=[REMOVED]
  *-core
       description: Motherboard
       product: 0MYF02
       vendor: Winbond Electronics
       physical id: 0
       version: A00
       serial: [REMOVED]
     *-firmware
          description: BIOS
          vendor: Winbond Electronics
          physical id: 0
          version: A11
          date: 05/20/2013
          size: 64KiB
          capacity: 13MiB
          capabilities: pci pnp upgrade shadowing cdboot bootselect socketedrom edd int13flop
py1200 int13floppy720 int13floppy2880 int5printscreen int9keyboard int14serial int17printer a
cpi usb smartbattery biosbootspecification netboot
     *-cpu
          description: CPU
          product: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3120M CPU @ 2.50GHz
          vendor: Intel Corp.
          physical id: 53
          bus info: cpu@0
          version: Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-3120M CPU @ 2.50GHz
          slot: SOCKET 0
          size: 1200MHz
:
          capacity: 2500MHz
          width: 64 bits
          clock: 100MHz
          capabilities: x86-64 fpu fpu_exception wp vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge mca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss ht tm pbe syscall nx rdtscp constant_tsc arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_tsc aperfmperf eagerfpu pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_cpl vmx est tm2 ssse3 cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic popcnt tsc_deadline_timer xsave avx f16c lahf_lm arat epb xsaveopt pln pts dtherm tpr_shadow vnmi flexpriority ept vpid fsgsbase smep erms cpufreq
          configuration: cores=2 enabledcores=2 threads=4
...
     *-memory
          description: System Memory
          physical id: 46
          slot: System board or motherboard
          size: 2GiB
...

Pressing F12 at boot, I arrived at a boot menu, with one entry to boot from the USB pendrive in BIOS (legacy) mode and another entry to boot the pendrive in UEFI mode (along with all the other entries including booting Windows).

And the computer could run this portable installed system in UEFI as well as in BIOS mode.

Edit: But it does not run in UEFI secure mode, not even in the Toshiba, where it was developed.

[oldfred]

I have seen users with many different options.

A few have no UEFI/BIOS options, it tries UEFI and if no efi partition tries BIOS.
Some have settings that are UEFI or BIOS, but you can set either or both.
Some have to have UEFI/BIOS setting to exact mode they want to use to boot and have to turn on/off UEFI and/or turn on/off BIOS.

I think all have to turn off secure boot to get any other options as BIOS is not secure boot.

For those that can boot either way the one time boot key if available should show both options.

With a new Dell and Haswell processor, the suggestion was to turn on BIOS mode but boot in UEFI mode to fix some bug in the Haswell/Intel chip & software. Do not know how that would be related, thought UEFI & BIOS were totally separate?

[sudodus]

Not stable enough to survive certain updates

I expected that this 'Portable installed system that boots in UEFI as well as in BIOS mode' could be installed into a USB pendrive as a good alternative to a persistent live system, possible to update and upgrade without limits. But unfortunately a current update involving a new kernel and updating grub will make it fail to boot. So this system is not stable enough to survive certain updates. It is good only as an illustration of a method to make a bootable drive in UEFI as well as BIOS mode.

A stable portable system

If you want a stable portable system, that boots in UEFI mode as well as BIOS/CSM mode, and in 64-bit as well as 32-bit computers, you can try One pendrive for all PC (Intel/AMD) computers


Links

It might be a good idea to try various systems and methods before deciding what to install. Try Ubuntu (Kubuntu, Lubuntu, Xubuntu, ...) before installing it

The following links contain general information
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/In...n/FromUSBStick
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/DiskSpace

[sudodus]

A new and so far successful attempt to create a stable portable system, that works in UEFI and BIOS mode


1. Current system, seems very stable so far

The current system contains a live system and an installed system, and both work in UEFI and BIOS mode. The compressed image file

dd_Ubuntu_14.04.2-UEFI-n-BIOS-10GB.img.xz

at

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/uefi-n-bios/

is created like this (only a crude description so far)


A. Create an MSDOS partition table

Use gparted to get a partition table with the following partitions (or similar if you wish, for example also a casper-rw partition),

listed by fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sdd: 15.7 GB, 15693664256 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 14966 cylinders, total 30651688 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes

I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00063103

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdd1   *        2048     2623487     1310720    b  W95 FAT32
/dev/sdd2         2625534    19400703     8387585    5  Extended
/dev/sdd5         2625536    18350145     7862305   83  Linux
/dev/sdd6        18352128    19400703      524288   82  Linux swap / Solaris

listed by parted -l

Model: SanDisk Extreme (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 15.7GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
 1      1049kB  1343MB  1342MB  primary   fat32           boot
 2      1344MB  9933MB  8589MB  extended
 5      1344MB  9395MB  8051MB  logical   ext4
 6      9396MB  9933MB  537MB   logical   linux-swap(v1)

listed by lsblk

NAME        FSTYPE  LABEL               MOUNTPOINT
sdd                                               
├─sdd1      vfat    usb-live            /media/usb-live
├─sdd2
├─sdd5      ext4    usb-installed       /media/usb-installed
└─sdd6      swap

B. Use the Startup Disk Creator alias usb-creator-gtk

Install Ubuntu from the file

ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso

into partition 1 of a pendrive with at least 16 GB.


C. Boot from the pendrive in UEFI mode and install Ubuntu

Install Ubuntu into partition 5 of the same pendrive. Install the
bootloader into partition 5 (not into the head of the drive).

Tweak the boot configuration files

.../usb-live/syslinux/txt.cfg
.../usb-live/boot/grub/grub.cfg
.../usb-installed/boot/grub/grub.cfg

according to the files that you find after installing with mkusb from

dd_Ubuntu_14.04.2-UEFI-n-BIOS-10GB.img.xz

to a pendrive.


D. The pendrive uses the boot system of the Ubuntu installer

Notice that this system is not like an ordinary installed system. It has an MSDOS partition table (not a GPT). It uses the boot system of the Ubuntu installer instead of what is normally created by installing in UEFI mode.

This method seems stable when used in a USB pendrive. It is tested in two different laptops, a Toshiba Satellite and an HP Elitebook. The previous installed UEFI and BIOS pendrive system did not survive such adventures.

It is also tested in an eSATA SSD drive, where it also works when installed according to the description above. But it might not work to flash the pendrive image directly to the SSD drive.

---

2. Tweak the system

A. Decrease wear for a pendrive

Add the mount option noatime in /etc/fstab

# / was on /dev/sdb3 during installation
UUID=4c518694-d97c-4910-bb7b-eeb6a6b73874  /  ext4  noatime,errors=remount-ro 0  1

Do not copy this line. Add 'noatime' to your own line.

It is also possible to remove the swap partition and the swap entry in /etc/fstab in order to avoid wear due to swapping.


B. Move swap and grow root partition

Move the swap partition and grow the root partition to use the whole drive. See this link

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/u...ios/GrowIt.pdf


C. Login and password for the system to download

The system that is installed from the compressed image file

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/u...OS-10GB.img.xz

has the following user and password

user: guru
password: changeme

---

Edit 1: It is straight-forward to install from the compressed image file with mkusb or mkusb-nox.

Edit 2: It should be mentioned that the shift key or any other key should be held down while booting into BIOS mode, otherwise we do not get the menu with the the installed 'ubuntu' entry.

Edit 3: See also Compressed image file with a live Ubuntu 14.04.2 and an installed Ubuntu 15.10

[ventrical]

A new and so far successful attempt to create a stable portable system, that works in UEFI and BIOS mode


1. Current system, seems very stable so far

The current system contains a live system and an installed system, and both work in UEFI and BIOS mode. The compressed image file

dd_Ubuntu_14.04.2-UEFI-n-BIOS-10GB.img.xz

at

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/uefi-n-bios/

So is the file,

ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso

compressed within the img.xz file? I don't understand this. Why can't we just download the .iso file?

is created like this (only a crude description so far)


A. Create an MSDOS partition table

Use gparted to get a partition table with the following partitions (or similar if you wish, for example also a casper-rw partition),

listed by fdisk -lu

Disk /dev/sdd: 15.7 GB, 15693664256 bytes
64 heads, 32 sectors/track, 14966 cylinders, total 30651688 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00063103

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdd1   *        2048     2623487     1310720    b  W95 FAT32
/dev/sdd2         2625534    19400703     8387585    5  Extended
/dev/sdd5         2625536    18350145     7862305   83  Linux
/dev/sdd6        18352128    19400703      524288   82  Linux swap / Solaris

listed by parted -l

Model: SanDisk Extreme (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdd: 15.7GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos

Number  Start   End     Size    Type      File system     Flags
 1      1049kB  1343MB  1342MB  primary   fat32           boot
 2      1344MB  9933MB  8589MB  extended
 5      1344MB  9395MB  8051MB  logical   ext4
 6      9396MB  9933MB  537MB   logical   linux-swap(v1)

listed by lsblk

NAME        FSTYPE  LABEL               MOUNTPOINT
sdd                                               
├─sdd1      vfat    usb-live            /media/usb-live
├─sdd2
├─sdd5      ext4    usb-installed       /media/usb-installed
└─sdd6      swap

So you would need us to create all of this on the usb using gparted before proceeding?

B. Use the Startup Disk Creator alias usb-creator-gtk

Install Ubuntu from the file

ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso

into partition 1 of a pendrive with at least 16 GB.


C. Boot from the pendrive in UEFI mode and install Ubuntu

Install Ubuntu into partition 5 of the same pendrive. Install the
bootloader into partition 5 (not into the head of the drive).

Tweak the boot configuration files

.../usb-live/syslinux/txt.cfg
.../usb-live/boot/grub/grub.cfg
.../usb-installed/boot/grub/grub.cfg

according to the files that you find after installing with mkusb from

dd_Ubuntu_14.04.2-UEFI-n-BIOS-10GB.img.xz

to a pendrive.


D. The pendrive uses the boot system of the Ubuntu installer

Notice that this system is not like an ordinary installed system. It has an MSDOS partition table (not a GPT). It uses the boot system of the Ubuntu installer instead of what is normally created by installing in UEFI mode.

This method seems stable when used in a USB pendrive. It is tested in two different laptops, a Toshiba Satellite and an HP Elitebook. The previous installed UEFI and BIOS pendrive system did not survive such adventures.

It is also tested in an eSATA SSD drive, where it also works when installed according to the description above. But it might not work to flash the pendrive image directly to the SSD drive.

---

2. Tweak the system

A. Decrease wear for a pendrive

Add the mount option noatime in /etc/fstab

# / was on /dev/sdb3 during installation
UUID=4c518694-d97c-4910-bb7b-eeb6a6b73874  /  ext4  noatime,errors=remount-ro 0  1

Do not copy this line. Add 'noatime' to your own line.

It is also possible to remove the swap partition and the swap entry in /etc/fstab in order to avoid wear due to swapping.


B. Move swap and grow root partition

Move the swap partition and grow the root partition to use the whole drive. See this link

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/u...ios/GrowIt.pdf


C. Login and password for the system to download

The system that is installed from the compressed image file

http://phillw.net/isos/linux-tools/u...OS-10GB.img.xz

has the following user and password

user: guru
password: changeme

It must just be me but don't understand why the 'compressed image file' is used when we only need the .iso file. I am confused that I have to use compressed image file and it is not detailed out on how to extract:

ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso

from the image file. So I am immediately deterred from trying this process because of my lack of understanding of the *instructions* you are suggesting to attempt this experiment.

Regards..

[sudodus]

So is the file,

ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso

compressed within the img.xz file? I don't understand this. Why can't we just download the .iso file?

So you would need us to create all of this on the usb using gparted before proceeding?

It does not do all I want it to do directly from the iso file.

It must just be me but don't understand why the 'compressed image file' is used when we only need the .iso file. I am confused that I have to use compressed image file and it is not detailed out on how to extract:

ubuntu-14.04.2-desktop-amd64.iso

from the image file. So I am immediately deterred from trying this process because of my lack of understanding of the *instructions* you are suggesting to attempt this experiment.

Regards..

Sorry, I have not explained well enough. Either you create it or you use the compressed image file

A. Create it to learn what I have been doing.

B. Install from the compressed image file, if you want to get it quickly and just test if/how it works for you. Edit: In this case, simply install with mkusb.