Libreboot documentation: installing GNU/Linux

## Prepare the USB drive (in GNU/Linux)

Connect the USB drive. Check dmesg:
$ dmesg
Check lsblk to confirm which drive it is:
$ lsblk

Check that it wasn't automatically mounted. If it was, unmount it. For example:
$ sudo umount /dev/sdb*
# umount /dev/sdb*

dmesg told you what device it is. Overwrite the drive, writing your distro ISO to it with dd. For example:
$ sudo dd if=gnulinux.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=8M; sync
# dd if=gnulinux.iso of=/dev/sdb bs=8M; sync

## GNU Guix System Distribution?

Guix USB installers use the GRUB bootloader, unlike most GNU/Linux installers which will likely use ISOLINUX.

To boot the Guix live USB install, select Search for GRUB configuration (grub.cfg) outside of CBFS from the GRUB payload menu. After you have done that, a new menuentry will appear at the very bottom with text like Load Config from (usb0); select that, and it should boot.

Once you have installed Guix onto the main storage device, check grub_cbfs.html#libreboot_grub_config_ondisk for hints on how to boot it.

## Booting ISOLINUX images

Boot it in GRUB using the Parse ISOLINUX config (USB) option. A new menu should appear in GRUB, showing the boot options for that distro; this is a GRUB menu, converted from the usual ISOLINUX menu provided by that distro.

## Booting manually

If the ISOLINUX parser or Search for GRUB configuration options won't work, then press C to get to the GRUB command line.
grub> ls
Get the device from above output, eg (usb0). Example:
grub> cat (usb0)/isolinux/isolinux.cfg
Either this will show the ISOLINUX menuentries for that ISO, or link to other .cfg files, for example /isolinux/foo.cfg.
If it did that, then you do:
grub> cat (usb0)/isolinux/foo.cfg
And so on, until you find the correct menuentries for ISOLINUX.

Now look at the ISOLINUX menuentry. It'll look like:
kernel /path/to/kernel
append PARAMETERS initrd=/path/to/initrd MAYBE_MORE_PARAMETERS
GRUB works the same way, but in it's own way. Example GRUB commands:
grub> linux (usb0)/path/to/kernel PARAMETERS MAYBE_MORE_PARAMETERS
grub> initrd (usb0)/path/to/initrd
grub> boot
Of course this will vary from distro to distro. If you did all that correctly, it should now be booting the ISO the way you specified.

# Troubleshooting

Most of these issues occur when using libreboot with coreboot's 'text mode' instead of the coreboot framebuffer. This mode is useful for booting payloads like memtest86+ which expect text-mode, but for GNU/Linux distributions it can be problematic when they are trying to switch to a framebuffer because it doesn't exist.

In most cases, you should use the vesafb ROM's. Example filename: libreboot_ukdvorak_vesafb.rom.

## parabola won't boot in text-mode

Use one of the ROM images with vesafb in the filename (uses coreboot framebuffer instead of text-mode).

## debian-installer (trisquel net install) graphical corruption in text-mode

When using the ROM images that use coreboot's "text mode" instead of the coreboot framebuffer, booting the Trisquel net installer results in graphical corruption because it is trying to switch to a framebuffer which doesn't exist. Use that kernel parameter on the 'linux' line when booting it:
vga=normal fb=false

Tested in Trisquel 6 (and 7). This forces debian-installer to start in text-mode, instead of trying to switch to a framebuffer.

If selecting text-mode from a GRUB menu created using the ISOLINUX parser, you can press E on the menu entry to add this. Or, if you are booting manually (from GRUB terminal) then just add the parameters.

This workaround was found on the page: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/i386/ch05s04.html. It should also work for gNewSense, Debian and any other apt-get distro that provides debian-installer (text mode) net install method.

Copyright © 2014 Francis Rowe <info@gluglug.org.uk>
This document is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International Public License and all future versions. A copy of the license can be found at ../license.txt.

This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See ../license.txt for more information.