[SOLVED] Slackware 15.0 RC1 Laptop Installation

pghvlaans · 08-19-2021, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssslackw

1. I have my laptop booted from UEFI only and CSM enabled in the BIOS settings
2. I used gdisk to partition my harddisk gpt table;
\dev\sda1 \BIOS Partition
\dev\sda2 \EFI Partition System

...

3. Went to setup, and I got a complaint about
"Linux partition is not detected"

Having both a BIOS partition and an EFI partition seems odd, somehow. What does "gdisk -l /dev/sda" show?

colorpurple21859 · 08-19-2021, 11:50 AM

did you install 64 or 32 bit?

quickbreakfast · 08-19-2021, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssslackw

It has been a very long while since I have installed Slackware.

While I am a relative Slackware newbie, but welcome back.

Quote:

I used gdisk to partition my harddisk gpt table;
\dev\sda1 \BIOS Partition

Why do you have a BIOS a partition? Isn't the BIOS part of the motherboard?

Quote:

3. Went to setup, and I got a complaint about
"Linux partition is not detected"

My bet is that neither /sda3 or sda4 where written to the disc before you quit fdisk.

ssslackw · 08-19-2021, 04:07 PM

Hi all,
After few trial and errors, I have finally got the slacker installed in my laptop.
For those who may use cfdisk or gdisk to partition a gpt partition table and use their filesystem types (linux home or linux x64 root), I noticed that when they were not be recognized. Therefore, it gave the " linux partition not detected" message.
This was solved by using the generic "linux filesystem", and configured in the setup part.

I used Slackware for many years before I switched to other linux distribution, not by choice though. I still think it is the best distribution if you want to get to set things up yourself.

Glad it is back to life!!!

Gordie · 08-19-2021, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ssslackw

Hi,
Thank you so much for all the replies.
It has been a very long while since I have installed Slackware. Anyway going back to my problem.
1. I have my laptop booted from UEFI only and CSM enabled in the BIOS settings
2. I used gdisk to partition my harddisk gpt table;
\dev\sda1 \BIOS Partition
\dev\sda2 \EFI Partition System
\dev\sda3 \Linux 64 root
\dev\sda4 \Linux home
\dev\sda5 Swap

3. Went to setup, and I got a complaint about
"Linux partition is not detected"

Any clue on what is going on.

Thanks

Sizes of BIOS and EFI partitions would be appreciated.

EDIT - What format are you using for the partitions?

hazel · 08-20-2021, 04:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by quickbreakfast

Why do you have a BIOS partition? Isn't the BIOS part of the motherboard?

He means the BIOS boot partition. This is needed if you are booting a gpt disk from a BIOS (or a UEFI in legacy mode) and using GRUB to do it.

hazel · 08-20-2021, 04:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordie

Sizes of BIOS and EFI partitions would be appreciated.

EDIT - What format are you using for the partitions?

The BIOS boot partition shouldn't have any kind of filesystem on it. Leave it blank. And it can be quite small, MB rather than GB.

If you are using an EFI partition (ESP), it must be formatted fat32. It doesn't have to be very large as long as you curate it properly, removing old kernels and initrds as they become obsolete. We had one post recently from someone who didn't do that and ended up with an overflowing partition.

ssslackw · 08-20-2021, 06:58 AM

Hi,
Thanks for all your help. To recap what I did:
1. Used Rufus to burn the iso onto a usb stick with "gpt' format;
2. Created the following gpt partition table with "gdisk"
- /dev/sda1 /efi system
/dev/sda2 /Linux filesystem
/dev/sda3 /Linux filesystem
/dev/sda4 /swap

3. When the installer scanned the partition table
- mounted /dev/sda2 to /
- mounted /dev/sda3 to /home

The installer should be able to continue.

Great Slackware community!

Gordie · 08-20-2021, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hazel

The BIOS boot partition shouldn't have any kind of filesystem on it. Leave it blank. And it can be quite small, MB rather than GB.

If you are using an EFI partition (ESP), it must be formatted fat32. It doesn't have to be very large as long as you curate it properly, removing old kernels and initrds as they become obsolete. We had one post recently from someone who didn't do that and ended up with an overflowing partition.

Thanks to you for the clarification and the explanation Hazel. Sadly, it can't help my situation but If I spring for a newer computer it most certainly will