Slackware on UEFI

mscole · 10-10-2014, 07:07 AM

Well, probably I did not state my question clearly. The title of this thread is "Slackware on UEFI," and I imagine things have changed at least a little since the thread was first started, so my question is similar to the initial post: how compatible are Slackware 14.1, UEFI and Win 8 on the latest hardware?

Didier Spaier · 10-10-2014, 07:14 AM

On the Slackware side few things if any have changed. What matters is the specific UEFI firmware of your machine I think, as the implementation of the UEFI standard vary upon machines.

mscole · 10-10-2014, 08:27 AM

Well that's interesting: a standard that is not standardized. And people wonder why some of us can't stand Microsoft.

Didier Spaier · 10-10-2014, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mscole

Well that's interesting: a standard that is not standardized. And people wonder why some of us can't stand Microsoft.

At least there is a specification for UEFI, so the situation is better than with BIOSes.

Also,

The writers of the specification can't bear the responsibility of the way it is interpreted by firmware designers.
The writers of the specification are not responsible of the exact version to which each firmware is compliant (or even worse a mix of versions, as seems to be the case for some implementations by Apple).
The specification has to leave some freedom for some implementation's details. What freedom is left can be inferred in reading the specification, and sometimes is clearly stated in it.
Microsoft alone can't bear responsibility for the specification of which it is not the sole writer, and the parts that have a Microsoft legacy (e.g. the format of the PE/COFF images) themselves benefit of a written specification.

PS Sorry to be a bit pedantic but a specification is not exactly a standard, as the latter should be released by some normative body, as e.g. ISO.

onebuck · 10-10-2014, 08:53 AM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by mscole

Well, probably I did not state my question clearly. The title of this thread is "Slackware on UEFI," and I imagine things have changed at least a little since the thread was first started, so my question is similar to the initial post: how compatible are Slackware 14.1, UEFI and Win 8 on the latest hardware?

You can look at Slackware Doc Project search result for 'UEFI' that lists several good references; http://docs.slackware.com/start?do=search&id=uefi&fulltext=Search
If you then have questions then create a new thread to get help here at the Slackware forum using a descriptive title like; 'Slackware UEFI installation issues'. Just a suggestion.

I do like to suggest the following links for user that have issues when composing posts;

Quote:

FYI: Netiquette is a set of social conventions that facilitate interaction over networks, ranging from Usenet and mailing lists to blogs and forums.

FYI: I suggest that you look at 'How to Ask Questions the Smart Way' so in the future your queries provide information that will aid us in diagnosis of the problem or query.

Two memorable quotes;

Quote:

"Knowledge is of two kinds. We Know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it."- Samuel Johnson

"It is one of the most beautiful compensations in life…that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

onebuck · 10-10-2014, 09:27 AM

Hi,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Didier Spaier

At least there is a specification for UEFI, so the situation is better than with BIOSes.

Also,

The writers of the specification can't bear the responsibility of the way it is interpreted by firmware designers.
The writers of the specification are not responsible of the exact version to which each firmware is compliant (or even worse a mix of versions, as seems to be the case for some implementations by Apple).
The specification has to leave some freedom for some implementation's details. What freedom is left can be inferred in reading the standard, and sometimes is clearly stated in it.
Microsoft alone can't bear responsibility for the specification of which it is not the sole writer, and the parts that have a Microsoft legacy (e.g. the format of the PE/COFF images) themselves benefit of a written standard.

PS Sorry to be a bit pedantic but a specification is not exactly a standard, as the latter should be released by some normative body, as e.g. ISO.

Unified Extensible Firmware Interface - Welcome to Unified ... provides user input & references for 'UEFI'. Plus do not forget Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) wiki for useful information;

Quote:

(pronounced as an initialism U-E-F-I or like "unify" without the n)[a] is a specification that defines a software interface between an operating system and platform firmware. UEFI is meant to replace the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) firmware interface, originally present in all IBM PC-compatible personal computers.[2][3] In practice, most UEFI firmware images provide legacy support for BIOS services. UEFI can support remote diagnostics and repair of computers, even without another operating system.[4] The original EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) specification was developed by Intel. Some of its practices and data formats mirror ones from Windows.[5][6] In 2005, UEFI deprecated EFI 1.10 (final release of EFI). The UEFI specification is managed by the Unified EFI Forum

Intel did originate 'EFI' along with other members, not just Microsoft.

Version 2.0 — UEFI Standard Based - Intel ;

Quote:

Document Number: 325925-003 Intel® Boot Loader Development Kit (Intel® BLDK) Version 2.0 — UEFI Standard Based Getting Started Guide January 2012

A PDF document composed by Intel for UEFI 2.0. Sadly, Intel has not provided a new PDF for V 2.4 that I could find.

Close; Ubuntu BIOS/UEFI Requirements - Ubuntu Hardware Debugging

Quote:

2.4. Where to find more information ... Ubuntu uses the Intel AML compiler. ... are expecting that most OEM machines will ship with a firmware that complies with version 2.3.1 of the UEFI standard. 9.1. Legacy BIOS compatibility

The above pertains to Ubuntu but does provide good references within that can provide some insight. Be sure to look at the References table links;

Quote:

http://www.acpi.info/spec40a.htm
http://dmtf.org/sites/default/files/...0134_2.7.1.pdf
http://www.uefi.org/specs/
http://ozlabs.org/docs/uefi-secure-b...t-on-linux.pdf
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/wi...dware/hh748188
http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/...n7/udev.7.html

You can look at: UEFI documents for additional information. Documentation for 'UEFI & BIOS' can be provided by Motherboard vendors, you can do a site search on vendor web site.

Hope this helps.
Have fun & enjoy!

dugan · 10-10-2014, 12:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mscole

Well, probably I did not state my question clearly. The title of this thread is "Slackware on UEFI," and I imagine things have changed at least a little since the thread was first started, so my question is similar to the initial post: how compatible are Slackware 14.1, UEFI and Win 8 on the latest hardware?

Perfect.

mscole · 10-10-2014, 06:42 PM

Thanks dugan, I read the thread you linked, and some of the other stuff linked there. You seem to think it was easy to set up by following the Slackware UEFI readme, but a lot of other people seem to have had trouble with it, which still makes me hesitant. I'll have to do some more reading and pondering before I'm ready to commit money to new hardware.

metaschima · 10-10-2014, 06:51 PM

As much as UEFI is standardized, mobo manufacturers still differ in their implementation much like BIOSes. In general it will work just fine. Some implementations are easier to work with, others harder.

dugan · 10-10-2014, 07:07 PM

As for stories about "bad" motherboard firmware, the worst problem I've heard of is that the boot menu would be built properly, but the default would stay at Windows, forcing you to press F-something to get into Linux on each boot. I personally wouldn't consider that a dealbreaker.

Thread:
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...ml#post5241406