#1 2025-05-03 10:07:15

shadowfirebird

Member

From: Manchester, UK

Registered: 2015-10-25

Posts: 18

Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

I get the error message:

`Error: file "/boot/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod" not found'.

I'm certainly booting into an AMD64 machine, `uname -a` says so.

I can see that in the iso there is no /boot/grub/i386-pc directory at all.  But there is an i386-efi directory, which does have a file normal.mod...

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,084

Website

Re: Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

Do the Debian bookworm ISO images report the same error?

In this case "i386-pc" is what GRUB calls non-UEFI systems, it has nothing to do with Debian's i386 architecture.

Are you attempting to boot the ISO in UEFI mode?

EDIT: how did you transfer the ISO image to the USB stick? Please provide the exact command(s). Did you verify the integrity of the image and/or USB stick transfer?

Last edited by Head_on_a_Stick (2025-05-03 10:22:35)

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shadowfirebird

Member

From: Manchester, UK

Registered: 2015-10-25

Posts: 18

Re: Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

> Are you attempting to boot the ISO in UEFI mode?

I'm just putting the USB in the socket and booting.  I have no idea how to "boot in EFI mode", sorry.

> Do the Debian bookworm ISO images report the same error?

I have a different problem there.  `cp debian.iso /mount/my/usb` just ... copies the iso to the USB stick.  Which of course does not boot.  Probably me. Will try again after more coffee.

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: London

Registered: 2015-09-29

Posts: 9,084

Website

Re: Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

`cp debian.iso /mount/my/usb` just ... copies the iso to the USB stick

Try

cp debian.iso /dev/sdX ; sync

Replace X with the letter assigned to the USB stick; do not add a partition number.

To find the letter assigned to the USB stick compare the output of lsblk -no name before and after plugging.

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shadowfirebird

Member

From: Manchester, UK

Registered: 2015-10-25

Posts: 18

Re: Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

That works to install the ISO properly on the stick, thank you.   Still can't boot from it!  It just gets ignored!

However I notice that I was wrong: the Boron ISO is just an .ISO file on the stick, just as the debian one was.  And I CAN boot from that, with the above error.   Weird.

I'm starting to remember that this machine is problematic.  So this may not be entirely a Bunsen problem.  And you folks are one step further ahead than Debian for me, it sees the USB stick in your case, so...

Still, you should be aware that there is something off, if only in whatever weird edge case I have here.

I'm going to put a power supply in another machine I have here and see if it behaves differently.

Last edited by shadowfirebird (2025-05-03 11:26:49)

DeepDayze

Like sands through an hourglass...

From: In Linux Land

Registered: 2017-05-28

Posts: 1,897

Re: Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

> Are you attempting to boot the ISO in UEFI mode?

I'm just putting the USB in the socket and booting.  I have no idea how to "boot in EFI mode", sorry.

> Do the Debian bookworm ISO images report the same error?

I have a different problem there.  `cp debian.iso /mount/my/usb` just ... copies the iso to the USB stick.  Which of course does not boot.  Probably me. Will try again after more coffee.

If your system has UEFI enabled with CSM support you will then see 2 entries for your USB stick in the boot menu. If you really wanted to boot into UEFI mode, select the boot entry for your stick that has UEFI before its name.

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shadowfirebird

Member

From: Manchester, UK

Registered: 2015-10-25

Posts: 18

Re: Boron amd64 iso fails to boot

Interesting.  I'm not seeing the boot menu, it's just booting from the stick, but I can try bringing it up.

I think I have a resolution.  Other problems stopped me booting from the second machine, but I have now managed to boot from the Boron live install on the first one.  Here's what I **think** is happening.  Feel free to take this with as much salt as necessary:

A. I've got multiple instances of copying to the stick not working.  Boot just ignores the stick.  I'm going to put this down to user error on my part; I don't know what I'm doing wrong. 

B. When I boot from a stick where I have just copied the ISO to the stick as if it were a normal file (and A does not apply) --- it boots with the error I raised above.

C. When I boot from a stick where I have `sudo cp boron.iso /dev/device; sync` (and again, where A does not apply) --- it works as expected.

If you think this makes sense, perhaps a small change to the instructions would be helpful.