UEFI - boot on new UEFI irmware

[ispgardner]

I'm trying to install 20MB TC Linux on my new HP 17z laptop. It uses "pure" UEFI firmware. I can boot other distribution but "TinyCore-current.iso" doesn't boot. I've noticed that other distributions use FAT32 as efi partition.
Question: Can  I use TC on my laptop?

[Juanito]

The TinyCorePure64 iso should boot uefi.

[ispgardner]

Thank you for help, however 64 bit version does not work either. I've tried "TinyCorePure64-12.0.iso" and it happened the same thing; efi partition is not recognized. Other distros that boot with this firmware use FAT32 partition.

[PDP-8]

The TinyCorePure64 iso's do NOT boot on modern "uefi only" hardware.

The *only* way is to do it yourself, building TCPure64 on a 32 bit machine following these excellent instructions:

http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,19364.msg119228.html#msg119228

Now you can use this manually built system to boot on your laptop using the distribution files, rather than the iso's.  You can leave out the 32 bit legacy options, since uefi-only hardware (which actually breaks the specs for uefi and needing to provide legacy-boot) only needs the 64 bit options of course.

If you try to go down the road of why Etcher or even if you are a Rufus-master, using gpt partition formatting and the like, the TC *iso's* simply will not boot - you have to do it all manually for these pure-uefi machines.  Of course another linux box with all the necessary tools works fine too - manually partitioning, installing the bootloader etc.

The usual applies:
Make sure your laptop has secure-boot disabled.  Different from uefi concerns.
Possibly need to put your trackpad into "normal / default" mode, rather than advanced.

Unfortunately discussions can get easily derailed over uefi/secure-boot and other options, when the fact is that the 64 bit iso's are not bootable on their own with uefi-only hardware.

Gotta' build it yourself!  Part of the fun.

[PDP-8]

Further explanation:

Many modern "pure uefi" machines will not boot from what appears to be a CD, whether it be a real CD, or a stick formatted to look like one in the iso9660 format - which is what the ISO's look like when simply DD'ed or burned with other tools.

Advanced bios like in Intel NUC's, DO have the option in bios to enable booting from CD/iso9660, but you may have to manually enable that.

But these days, iso9660 boot support is left out for security or other reasons by some manufacturers on modern machines.

You can see I've been down this road.

You might have better luck manually turning the iso's into "iso-hybrids" - at least they will be detected as a valid boot option, but at that point, I've lost interest and just do all the partitioning, formatting, bootloading, and bootloader menus manually if I really feel the need to run TC on modern hardware.

[ispgardner]

Thank you for guidance. I've tried different way of booting "pure UEFI" and you're absolutely right. I'll try to rebuild TC following your links.
BTW I've worked on PDP-8 long time ago & in the different universe.
Very best,
gardner.

[PDP-8]

No problem.  Didn't mean to portray it in such a negative light.

UEFI actually works great!  I actually prefer it to legacy boot for performance reasons.  Unfortunately the so-called pure uefi systems try very hard not to play well with iso9660 bootable formats.

So we just have to do it all manually for the time being.  But if one doesn't know, it can make you tear your hair out....

[nick65go]

UEFI actually works great!  I actually prefer it to legacy boot for performance reasons.

I do not think the (8 MB NVRAM bloat) UEFI is faster than BIOS (256 kB). Just because is 1-2 maximum seconds to run the (grub) bootloader? My old PC (2006) with BIOS starts in few seconds. My "new" PC (2015) starts in tens of seconds.
Come on, it is about to load the grub and kernel; and then kernel switchs itself on 64 bits mode even, on BIOS.
So, how many seconds gain (in a year?) for the price of 8 MB RAM. The last stage capitalism of blowing finite resources for profit of the few.

[PDP-8]

Bloat is relative since a long way back when the kernel listings could no longer fit comfortably in a briefcase, and things like tcp/ip, UUCP, virtual memory, and windowing gui's were obvious fatteners.

I understand your point though.  Thing is, time marches on regardless, and unless one stocks up now on legacy equipment, we run the risk of being historical hobbiests, shouting from our rocking chairs (mine included) at those dang kids ruining everything with uefi-only systems..

Many of which don't know who the Beatles are, nor CD's or Zip-Drives...

[Jip-Hop]

I also have a UEFI-only system and verified I can boot TinyCorePure64-12.0.iso when flashed to a USB stick. But after GRUB I only get a black screen. http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php/topic,25015.0.html

Any ideas on why this is happening?

[windundgeist]

@Jip-Hop

My boot hangs for about 120-180 seconds, then it is going on and works fine. Have you ever wait so long?