EFI Stub - booting without a bootloader

In this post I'm detailing a quick and easy method to use EFI Stub boot introduced in the Linux kernel version 3.3.0 that provides for a faster boot without the use of a bootloader (such as grub) on a UEFI capable system.

no bootable device - gpt

Some legacy BIOS's may have an issue with a GPT partitioned drive.


Ran across this recently with an Intel D975XBX board. I GPT partitioned a drive with gdisk, installed Ubuntu and when I rebooted after the install completed with surprised to see "No Bootable Device..." displayed.

Add SystemRescueCD capability to your USB stick

For Linux users: Creating a bootable SystemRescueCD USB stick. The SystemRescueCD is an invaluable resource and should be in every techs toolkit. Kudos and much thanks to the developers!

Ubuntu install hangs on partitioning @43%

Many sites are recommending setting up the partition table on an SSD using:

• fdisk -H 32 -S 32 /dev/sdx

Unfortunately for a complex partitioning scheme this causes Ubuntu partman to hang during installation (at 43% in my case).

I discovered that:

• fdisk -H 224 -S 56 /dev/sdx

Works just fine.

Overview for installing Ubuntu via network

Simple overview for installing Ubuntu via network.

• Ubuntu Server is the OS we will install in this guide.
• Note: this is just the big picture, other guides can instruct on setting up the various DHCP, DNS, TFTP, and HTTP servers.
• The main idea is to focus on the fact that once the detail work is done (and most local networks have these setup) there's basically only 3 major steps to net install nirvana.