Can you test booting into an nvme drive?

[sudodus]

Worked to boot from the NVMe in legacy mode. Perhaps there is a setting in BIOS to boot from the EFI partition.
Perhaps this wasn't the usecase you wanted. When I start the installation I'm able to install Ubuntu to either sda, the Samsung 250GB SSD, or ScanDisk Cruzer Contour USB.

Thanks, this was an important part of what I wanted.

We can see that mkusb can clone a system that can boot, which is good.

There another task for mkusb: to create a persistent live system, which involves creating 5 partitions, and to boot the resulting system twice to make sure that it is persistent. You can create a file in the home directory for example by

echo 'Hello World' > hello

and after reboot check it with

cat hello

You can also check that the root directory will have the same size as the mount point of the `casper-rw`partition as seen by

df -h

I think it will work, but it will be valuable to really check it.

-o-

VMC has shown that it works to install Lubuntu with its installer Calamares. This does not work in my computer (does not see the nvme drive at all).

[sudodus]

Yes, I can install using Calamares and it does boot. Unsure about meaning of 'mkusb'. I install ubuntu.iso using hybrid method into my usb flash, then boot into that usb, then install from Calamares into my m.2 ssd.

The meaning with the test using mkusb is that it is possible to have a persistent live system not only in a USB pendrive, but also in a faster drive. I have tested that it works in SSD drives connected internally via SATA, externally via eSATA as well as via USB and also in memory cards. But I have not been able to test it in an nvme drive.

Thanks a lot for confirming that it works with Calamares

This shows that it works, when the computer's UEFI/BIOS system and grub can see the nvme drive. The case in my computer is special because it is a fix in an old computer, and it is not urgent to make it work for that corner case.

[P-I H]

Run into some problem, which I don't understand. Used "default" on the previous settings in this case. Also tried to select MSDOS GPT and and the "efi" choice and got the same message.
I don't think this is related to the NVMe drive.

[sudodus]

Run into some problem, which I don't understand. Used "default" on the previous settings in this case. Also tried to select MSDOS GPT and and the "efi" choice and got the same message.
I don't think this is related to the NVMe drive.

This is information about a complication: To make a drive when running in UEFI mode and trying to make the target drive bootable both in UEFI mode and BIOS mode. The problem is that grub-pc is not compatible with grub-efi (they cannot co-exist), but you are offered workarounds, that you may use.

You can continue and

- not bother with BIOS boot if you wish or

- later on select to use that image (alternative 3), which should make it possible to boot from the nvme both in UEFI mode and BIOS mode.

[P-I H]

OK,
I tried to boot the "primary" drive in non efi mode but didn't succeed. I also selected alternative 3, but I didn't try to boot that image.
I have now rebuilt my PC and I'm not ready to do any further testing, in case there are no strong requirements to do so.

[sudodus]

OK,
I tried to boot the "primary" drive in non efi mode but didn't succeed. I also selected alternative 3, but I didn't try to boot that image.
I have now rebuilt my PC and I'm not ready to do any further testing, in case there are no strong requirements to do so.

Thanks for the testing

I cannot require any testing, only ask for it, and the tests you have performed were very helpful. I draw the conclusion, that mkusb is not quite ready for an nvme drive as target. There is still some remaining bug, and it can wait to be fixed until someone is asking for the feature (to install a persistent live drive into an nvme drive).

[sudodus]

Now I have found a fairly new laptop with an nvme drive, where I can test things myself.

- It is a Lenovo V130 with a Samsung drive
- Windows was installed with the storage controller mode RST
- In order for Ubuntu to see the drive I had to change to the storage controller mode AHCI
- I backed up Windows with Clonezilla

- I installed Xubuntu Focal alongside Windows.

It worked as it should. There is a menuentry to get easily into the UEFI/BIOS setup (to switch storage controller mode, so it was fairly easy to switch between Xubuntu and Windows).

- I installed persistent live Lubuntu Focal (yes, into the nvme drive, so the persistent live system is really fast).

It works as it should in this drive which can be seen at boot and by grub. See the attached screenshot.

[lammert-nijhof]

I installed Ubuntu 19.10 on ZFS on a NVME drive (Silicon Power 512GB) and it worked directly without any problem. I avoid using UEFI, since it has been invented by Microsoft to make out life hell. I dual boot and have an ext4 boot on one of my two HDDs and both work.

[oldfred]

UEFI was not invented by Microsoft.
It was from Intel originally as EFI. And adopted by Apple Mac when they changed to Intel chips.
Then Intel turned it over to the UEFI Forum in 2005 and version 2 was released & original EFI renumbered to v1.
Windows did not adopt UEFI until 2012, but did implement UEFI Secure Boot which causes a lot of the controversy. You can just turn Secure Boot off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unifie...ware_Interface

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unified_EFI_Forum

[VMC]

... You can just turn Secure Boot off.
...

For a long time I was weary of turning it off. MS put the fear in me. Then I came to my senses, and now its off. I think all Arch installs wont install with it on.