Usb flash installatinon media is not detected

bark2 · December 21, 2020, 1:18pm

After installing the AL_202011 iso using dd the bios(uefi mode and legacy) wont recognize the usb, it is not shown in the boot menu.
I also tried booting into AL using grub from the command line:

linux (hd0,gpt1)/arch/boot/x86_64/vmlinuz-linux
initrd (hd0,gpt1)/arch/boot/amd-ucode.img
initrd (hd0,gpt1)/arch/boot/intel-ucode.img
initrd (hd0,gpt1)/arch/boot/x86_64/initramfs-linux.img
boot

which resulted messagin:

:: Mounting '/dev/disk/by-label/' to /run/archiso/bootmnt'
Waiting 30 second for device /dev/disk/by-label/ ...

filesystem info:

~ lsblk -f                                                                                                                        
NAME        FSTYPE      FSVER            LABEL       UUID                                   FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
...
sdb         iso9660     Joliet Extension AL_202011   2020-11-05-05-54-34-00                                
├─sdb1      iso9660     Joliet Extension AL_202011   2020-11-05-05-54-34-00                       0   100% /run/media/bar/AL_202011
├─sdb2      vfat        FAT16            ARCHISO_EFI 4165-D4DF                                             
└─sdb3

bark2 · December 24, 2020, 4:12pm

I think my bios is corrupt. It doesn’t detect USB flash media, and it cannot boot into windows which is installed by default. I can only boot into grub and then, from there, into current arch/windows.
Does someone know something about this?

altman · December 24, 2020, 4:16pm

Does your bios is up to date ! It happened to someone here in the forum lately.

bark2 · December 24, 2020, 4:17pm

I have updated the BIOS to make sure it is ok. Maybe something that has to do with the /EFI directory?

altman · December 24, 2020, 4:19pm

It s something that can be looked at, we never know sometimes.

chroot · December 24, 2020, 5:38pm

Try the USB on another machine, or create the USB bootable media again? To be safe, sync before you eject your USB after dd.

bark2 · December 24, 2020, 6:38pm

I synced, and used etcher to make sure. It worked on another machine tho, thats why I tried booting from grub. Maybe I did something wrong…

chroot · December 24, 2020, 6:43pm

Sounds like a bios issue now. What’s your machine? If it’s a pretty new one, make sure secure boot is disabled. If it’s a mac, use “option + c” to boot from a USB device.

bark2 · December 24, 2020, 6:49pm

Its a thinkpad e495, and secure boot is disabled. Thanks.
Any more info which might help?

chroot · December 24, 2020, 6:56pm

Is this your first time trying to install Linux on this machine? I have a Legion 5i. It also took me some time to get over the bios settings.

bark2 · December 24, 2020, 7:04pm

The third time. I have dual booted windows with two more linuxes(one of them which I can’t boot into). I current installation is located in a new sata connected ssd.
I must have fucked up the installation with the last one somehow.
The usb flash device is not shown in the boot priority order, but is detected by in the storage bios’s info section.

chroot · December 24, 2020, 7:10pm

I don’t have the Lenovo device here, so I can not check exactly in the bios setting. I remember I went to Windows and then bios from the shutdown option. In the bios, there’s a setting which says something like “use USB device”. From there, you can boot directly from your USB. I will check the settings on my device when I have access to it.

bark2 · December 24, 2020, 8:33pm

I did not find such option.

Head_on_a_Stick · December 24, 2020, 9:36pm

I have an E485, go to Security → Boot in the firmware (“BIOS”) setup menu, that has options to disable booting from USB devices.

chroot · December 24, 2020, 9:48pm

Looks like the solution.

On my Legion, from Windows login window, hold “shift” key and click “Restart” option. The device then goes into a window. The 2nd option, "Use a device (USB, …) will allow the device to boot directly from USB devices.