[F40] Cannot boot live version from USB drive with UEFI BIOS

[Frédéric]

Hi,

I created a USB stick with a live version of Fedora 40. I tried both
the default version and the KDE Spin. I tried using dd and using
mediawriter. Same result: I cannot boot on the USB drive if my BIOS is
configured in UEFI as it is to boot from my hard disk on Fedora 38. It
says that there is no bootable drive.
Note that I need a USB stick because I want to change my hard drive.

I noticed that I can still boot F30 from an old live USB drive and you
can see below that the output of dmesg is not the same for both Fedora
versions. With the F40 image, I see an error:
[ 1543.382799] GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the end
of the disk.
[ 1543.382808] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
[ 1543.382810] GPT:Alternate GPT header not at the end of the disk.
[ 1543.382811] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
[ 1543.382812] GPT: Use GNU Parted to correct GPT errors.

I tried to boot with legacy BIOS and it works but then when I want to
install F40 on the new hard drive, I have the impression it wants to
install it for legacy BIOS and not for UEFI which I would like to
keep.

If there is another mean to install Fedora on a new hard drive, please
share. I can plug the new hard drive as USB3.

Thanks for your help,

F

* Wrong 16Gb USB drive with Fedora 40:
[ 1538.568176] usb 1-2: new high-speed USB device number 7 using xhci_hcd
[ 1538.712071] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=13fe,
idProduct=4300, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 1538.712076] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 1538.712078] usb 1-2: Product: USB DISK 2.0
[ 1538.712079] usb 1-2: Manufacturer:
[ 1538.712081] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: 90001BE41456D415
[ 1538.750293] usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 1538.750731] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-2:1.0
[ 1538.750849] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
[ 1538.753986] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
[ 1543.343362] scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access              USB DISK 2.0
  PMAP PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
[ 1543.343897] sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
[ 1543.347353] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 31129600 512-byte logical blocks:
(15.9 GB/14.8 GiB)
[ 1543.349296] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 1543.349303] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 23 00 00 00
[ 1543.350640] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
[ 1543.350644] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 1543.382799] GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the end
of the disk.
[ 1543.382808] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
[ 1543.382810] GPT:Alternate GPT header not at the end of the disk.
[ 1543.382811] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
[ 1543.382812] GPT: Use GNU Parted to correct GPT errors.
[ 1543.382825]  sda: sda1 sda2 sda3
[ 1543.383329] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk

* Good 2Gb USB drive with Fedora 30:
[ 1787.688538] usb 1-2: new high-speed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
[ 1787.831168] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=13fe,
idProduct=4300, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 1787.831174] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 1787.831175] usb 1-2: Product: USB DISK 2.0
[ 1787.831177] usb 1-2: Manufacturer:
[ 1787.831178] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: 90001BE41456D415
[ 1787.833958] usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 1787.834375] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-2:1.0
[ 1787.904743] usb 1-2: USB disconnect, device number 8
[ 1807.817157] usb 1-2: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
[ 1807.943543] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=abcd,
idProduct=1234, bcdDevice= 1.00
[ 1807.943548] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[ 1807.943549] usb 1-2: Product: UDisk
[ 1807.943551] usb 1-2: Manufacturer: General
[ 1807.943552] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: Љ
[ 1807.945178] usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
[ 1807.945607] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-2:1.0
[ 1808.995462] scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     General  UDisk
  5.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
[ 1808.995956] sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
[ 1808.996710] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 3911680 512-byte logical blocks:
(2.00 GB/1.87 GiB)
[ 1808.996829] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
[ 1808.996833] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08
[ 1808.996947] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
[ 1808.996949] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
[ 1808.998657]  sda: sda1 sda2 sda3
[ 1808.998903] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk

[Jeffrey Walton]

On Sat, Jun 29, 2024 at 1:02 PM Frédéric  wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I created a USB stick with a live version of Fedora 40. I tried both
> the default version and the KDE Spin. I tried using dd and using
> mediawriter. Same result: I cannot boot on the USB drive if my BIOS is
> configured in UEFI as it is to boot from my hard disk on Fedora 38. It
> says that there is no bootable drive.
> Note that I need a USB stick because I want to change my hard drive.
>
> I noticed that I can still boot F30 from an old live USB drive and you
> can see below that the output of dmesg is not the same for both Fedora
> versions. With the F40 image, I see an error:
> [ 1543.382799] GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the end
> of the disk.
> [ 1543.382808] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
> [ 1543.382810] GPT:Alternate GPT header not at the end of the disk.
> [ 1543.382811] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
> [ 1543.382812] GPT: Use GNU Parted to correct GPT errors.
>
> I tried to boot with legacy BIOS and it works but then when I want to
> install F40 on the new hard drive, I have the impression it wants to
> install it for legacy BIOS and not for UEFI which I would like to
> keep.
>
> If there is another mean to install Fedora on a new hard drive, please
> share. I can plug the new hard drive as USB3.
>
> Thanks for your help,

Here is what the 'GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the
end of the disk' message means:
https://github.com/pengutronix/genimage/issues/175#issuecomment-1024139241.
> Wrong 16Gb USB drive with Fedora 40:
>
> [ 1538.568176] usb 1-2: new high-speed USB device number 7 using xhci_hcd
> [ 1538.712071] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=13fe,
> idProduct=4300, bcdDevice= 1.00
> [ 1538.712076] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
> [ 1538.712078] usb 1-2: Product: USB DISK 2.0
> [ 1538.712079] usb 1-2: Manufacturer:
> [ 1538.712081] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: 90001BE41456D415
> [ 1538.750293] usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
> [ 1538.750731] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-2:1.0
> [ 1538.750849] usbcore: registered new interface driver usb-storage
> [ 1538.753986] usbcore: registered new interface driver uas
> [ 1543.343362] scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access              USB DISK 2.0
>   PMAP PQ: 0 ANSI: 6
> [ 1543.343897] sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
> [ 1543.347353] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 31129600 512-byte logical blocks:
> (15.9 GB/14.8 GiB)
> [ 1543.349296] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
> [ 1543.349303] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 23 00 00 00
> [ 1543.350640] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
> [ 1543.350644] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
> [ 1543.382799] GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the end
> of the disk.
> [ 1543.382808] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
> [ 1543.382810] GPT:Alternate GPT header not at the end of the disk.
> [ 1543.382811] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
> [ 1543.382812] GPT: Use GNU Parted to correct GPT errors.
> [ 1543.382825]  sda: sda1 sda2 sda3
> [ 1543.383329] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk
> Good 2Gb USB drive with Fedora 30:
>
> [ 1787.688538] usb 1-2: new high-speed USB device number 8 using xhci_hcd
> [ 1787.831168] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=13fe,
> idProduct=4300, bcdDevice= 1.00
> [ 1787.831174] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
> [ 1787.831175] usb 1-2: Product: USB DISK 2.0
> [ 1787.831177] usb 1-2: Manufacturer:
> [ 1787.831178] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: 90001BE41456D415
> [ 1787.833958] usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
> [ 1787.834375] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-2:1.0
> [ 1787.904743] usb 1-2: USB disconnect, device number 8
> [ 1807.817157] usb 1-2: new high-speed USB device number 9 using xhci_hcd
> [ 1807.943543] usb 1-2: New USB device found, idVendor=abcd,
> idProduct=1234, bcdDevice= 1.00
> [ 1807.943548] usb 1-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
> [ 1807.943549] usb 1-2: Product: UDisk
> [ 1807.943551] usb 1-2: Manufacturer: General
> [ 1807.943552] usb 1-2: SerialNumber: Љ
> [ 1807.945178] usb-storage 1-2:1.0: USB Mass Storage device detected
> [ 1807.945607] scsi host2: usb-storage 1-2:1.0
> [ 1808.995462] scsi 2:0:0:0: Direct-Access     General  UDisk
>   5.00 PQ: 0 ANSI: 2
> [ 1808.995956] sd 2:0:0:0: Attached scsi generic sg0 type 0
> [ 1808.996710] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] 3911680 512-byte logical blocks:
> (2.00 GB/1.87 GiB)
> [ 1808.996829] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Write Protect is off
> [ 1808.996833] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Mode Sense: 0b 00 00 08
> [ 1808.996947] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] No Caching mode page found
> [ 1808.996949] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Assuming drive cache: write through
> [ 1808.998657]  sda: sda1 sda2 sda3
> [ 1808.998903] sd 2:0:0:0: [sda] Attached SCSI removable disk

Is the USB drive any good? Is it one of those Chinese knock-offs that
mis-report its size? See
,https://www.google.com/search?q=counterfeit+USB+drive+misreport+capacity%3E.

Jeff

[Frédéric]

> Here is what the 'GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the
> end of the disk' message means:
> https://github.com/pengutronix/genimage/issues/175#issuecomment-1024139241.

Thank you: I was able to fix the error using fdisk with just the
command "w". However, this does not make my USB stick bootable as
UEFI.

I tried another one (Kingston, 32 Gb). Here again, I needed to fix the
GPT alternate header with fdisk but I still cannot boot as UEFI with
it.

Note that in the partition manager, I see a different partition
structure between the F30 and F40 USB sticks:
* F30 USB that works fine:
/dev/sda1, iso9660, 1.76 Gb
/dev/sd2, fat16, label: ANACONDA, 9.74 Mb
/dev/sd3, hfsplus, label: ANACONDA, 20,50 Mb

* F40 USB that does not work:
/dev/sdb1, iso9660, name: ISO9660, 2.45 Gb
/dev/sdb2, fat16, label: ANACONDA, name: Appended2, 12.47 Mb
/dev/sdb3, unknown, name: Gap1, 300 kb

So I'm still not able to boot F40 on a USB stick.

Maybe, I should try F39 or F38. If it works, I will be able to upgrade later.

Thanks for your help,

F

[George N. White III]

On Sun, Jun 30, 2024 at 12:49 PM Frédéric  wrote:
> [...]
> So I'm still not able to boot F40 on a USB stick.
>
> Maybe, I should try F39 or F38. If it works, I will be able to upgrade
> later.

Some people have been able to boot either the network installer or the
server
installer.  For the latter you have to add the Gnome Desktop packages.

[Frédéric]

> I created a USB stick with a live version of Fedora 40. I tried both
> the default version and the KDE Spin. I tried using dd and using
> mediawriter. Same result: I cannot boot on the USB drive if my BIOS is
> configured in UEFI as it is to boot from my hard disk on Fedora 38. It
> says that there is no bootable drive.
> Note that I need a USB stick because I want to change my hard drive.

I found this reference:
https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/install-media-dont-boot-in-uefi-mode-...
but the C option described in it did not work for me. However, I was
able to download and install F36 on a USB stick and boot from it
without any issue. So I guess this is the only option for me: install
F36, then upgrade to F38 and F40.

Thanks

[Barry]

> On 30 Jun 2024, at 16:30, Frédéric  wrote:
>
> However, I was
> able to download and install F36 on a USB stick and boot from it
> without any issue.

Are you using windows to create the usb stick?

Was the f36 image a lot smaller then all the newer versions?

Barry

[Samuel Sieb]

On 6/29/24 10:01 AM, Frédéric wrote:
> I created a USB stick with a live version of Fedora 40. I tried both
> the default version and the KDE Spin. I tried using dd and using
> mediawriter. Same result: I cannot boot on the USB drive if my BIOS is
> configured in UEFI as it is to boot from my hard disk on Fedora 38. It
> says that there is no bootable drive.
> Note that I need a USB stick because I want to change my hard drive.
>
> I noticed that I can still boot F30 from an old live USB drive and you
> can see below that the output of dmesg is not the same for both Fedora
> versions. With the F40 image, I see an error:
> [ 1543.382799] GPT:Primary header thinks Alt. header is not at the end
> of the disk.
> [ 1543.382808] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
> [ 1543.382810] GPT:Alternate GPT header not at the end of the disk.
> [ 1543.382811] GPT:4484087 != 31129599
> [ 1543.382812] GPT: Use GNU Parted to correct GPT errors.

This is a side effect of using dd to write an image that's smaller than 
the drive.  It's harmless.
> I tried to boot with legacy BIOS and it works but then when I want to
> install F40 on the new hard drive, I have the impression it wants to
> install it for legacy BIOS and not for UEFI which I would like to
> keep.

I generally have the opposite problem.  No issues booting it on UEFI, 
but it won't boot on a legacy system.