FAI installation on new PCs with UEFI BIOS -- reloaded

[Wolfgang Walkowiak]

Hi,

today we expericened a new problem with a new PC (having an ASUS UEFI
BIOS vers. 2.17.1246) and our cluster's FAI installation.

Similar to what I had described (and solved by a workaround) in an earlier 
thread 
(http://linux-fai.uni-koeln.narkive.com/Qd1zAQEJ/fai-installation-on-new-pcs-with-uefi-bios)
we again experienced that we couldn't boot into the local harddrive 
from the pxelinux boot menu after the installation of the system 
completed.  As I wrote back then, after activating the PXE-boot in the 
UEFI-BIOS the FAI installation runs fine.  However, after reboot, when 
the pxelinux menu points to the "boot from the local harddisk" entry, the 
system just simnply reboots when the PXE ROM exits, and then loads the 
first BIOS boot entry, ie the pxelinux boot menu again.  Even using
the "LOCALBOOT -1" trick (described in the thread linked above) which 
worked earlier didn't work any more.

A bit of research, together with a colleague (Thanks!), resulted in the 
following solution for the local disk pxelinux menu entry:

   label local1
   MENU LABEL BOOT FROM ^LOCAL HARDDISK (chain)
   # request booting from local disk
   KERNEL c32/chain.c32
   APPEND hd0 0

Basically, instead of using the LOCALBOOT stanca, we are now chain-loading 
the first disk's MBR.  This works for our system now.

This post is for reference.  In case someone else will find it helpful.
Comments are welcome of course.

Best wishes,,

w.w.

==========================================================2017-09-15==16:16==

   Dr. Wolfgang Walkowiak     Phone: +49-271-740-3889
   Fakultaet IV / Physik      Fax  : +49-271-740-3886
   Emmy Noether Campus
   Universitaet Siegen    --> Wolfgang.Walkowiak at hep.physik.uni-siegen.de
   Walter-Flex-Str. 3         Wolfgang.Walkowiak at gmx.net
   57068 Siegen
   Germany

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