[SOLVED] New Desktop PC, NVMe, UEFI with MGA8

[persistability]

Hi,

Tring to install MGA8 on a new desktop with no operating systems present (had it working on a previous desktop, and an old laptop since release).
This PC has a WDC WDS240G2G0 NVMe SSD apparently. The BIOS is MSI Click Bios 5.

MGA8 64-bit ISO installed onto USB stick using ISODumper.

Boot with USB stick and it comes to MGA install menu, with message like "/boot/vmlinuz invalid signature" "you must load the kernel first".
Following other posts, went in to BIOS and disabled Secure Boot.

Boot with USB stick and it comes to MGA install menu. Start the install and get message about "cannot read the partition table of device nvme0n1. Its too corrupted for me. Do you want to lose partitioning" (presumably because it is empty). So select Yes.
MGA partitioning page. Select a 300Mb EFI System Partition on /boot/EFI, Linux Swap, /root (ext4), /home (ext4) etc. Select Done.
This then gives "failed to add partition #3 on /dev/nvme0n1".
Following other posts (and the errata that was added for nvme) I then found the nvme_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=5500 setting.

Boot with USB stick and it comes to MGA install menu. Enter the nvm_core.default_ps_max_latency_us=5500 and do the Install again.
Disk partitioning works this time.
For the record I had
NVMe block device (223Gb)
nvme0n1p1 /boot/EFI EFI System Partition (300Mb)
nvme0n1p2 Linux swap
nvme0n1p3 /home ext4 (50Gb)
nvme0n1p4 / ext4 (30Gb)
nvme0n1p5 /spare ext4 (30Gb)
nvme0n1p6 /usr/local ext4 (100Gb)

Everything else installs (as far as I know). Come to reboot time
At reboot it simply goes in to the BIOS screen (as if it hasn't found anything bootable).

I've not used UEFI on a Linux box before, nor NVMe either. Any suggestions as to where to look for clues? Presumably it's not finding the EFI partition on "nvme0n1"

Thanks for any input

[benmc]

have a look in your bios for the boot options.
if Mageia is there select it or move it to the top of the queue and see if it boots.

if it not an option, let us know, as that implies an installer issue.

[persistability]

Hi,

yes I'd looked for the boot options during the previous BIOS update session while trying to get the NVMe partitioned. The first location to check for booting is "UEFI Hard Disk" ... which is, I assume, where the NVMe M.2 will be checked.

I went back through the MGA8 install, and at the boot loader stage went in and selected "Install in /EFI/BOOT (removable device or workaround for some BIOSs)".
Turns out that this is what "MCI Click BIOS 5" is needing.

Reboot and we now get to the MGA(8) boot menu. Select boot Mageia and it starts boot up. Only to hang at the next place ... graphics.
It turns out that this new hardware has a device "VGA Controller : Intel Corp 4692 rev 0c"
This is seemingly newer than what the MGA8 "download" ISO kernel supports, but there are ample reports of the hardware and how to get it supported.
See https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=366991 for the same issue when using Mint; they needed kernel 5.16.

In the absence of an MGA8 ISO that includes a more recent kernel I have been back through with MGA9 alpha from November (which has a kernel with the required support), installed, and now boots in to MGA9 Plasma. Let's mark this as fixed. Thanks