Confusing and misleading warning about "No EFI system partition configured" #53

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opened 2021-10-03 21:40:10 +00:00 by winniewinnie · 7 comments

winniewinnie commented

2021-10-03 21:40:10 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)

VERSIONS:

Calamares installer on Manjaro 21.1.4 (and previous versions too)

SUMMARY:

If a user manually creates a new EFI partition (or uses an existing one), the Calamares installer will complain that "No EFI system partition configured" if the partition is smaller than 300 MiB.

Not only is the warning untrue (since an EFI system partition does exist and is flagged as "boot"), but to enforce a 300 MiB minimum size is unwarranted.

Windows 10 installations use a 100 MiB EFI partition. This is still plenty of room to dual, triple, and quad boot, if the only things that exist in the partition are EFI boot loaders.

Where a larger size is needed is when the user intentionally copies the kernel and initramfs to the EFI partition, such as when using systemd-boot. In this case, they should either be aware of the size requirements, or the Calamares installer can instead provide a more clear warning about the smaller size.

PROPOSAL:

Change the minimum accepted size to 100 MiB (to honor existing Windows 10 systems)
Provide a more appropriate warning message if the user chooses an EFI partition size smaller than 300 MiB

EXAMPLE:

"You have chosen to use an EFI system partition that is smaller than 300 MiB. While this can safely work for most systems, be aware that if you later decide to switch to an alternative boot method, such as systemd-boot, this EFI system partition may not be sufficient in size to store multiple kernels and initial ramdisks."

"Do you wish to continue?"

The user is given the option to continue or go back to make changes.

ADDENDUM:

This is not meant as a substitute for cases when the user forgets to create and/or use an EFI system partition. In that case, the original warning is warranted because no such EFI partition has been selected.

VERSIONS: Calamares installer on Manjaro 21.1.4 (and previous versions too) --- SUMMARY: If a user manually creates a new EFI partition (or uses an existing one), the Calamares installer will complain that _"No EFI system partition configured"_ if the partition is smaller than 300 MiB. Not only is the warning _untrue_ (since an EFI system partition _does_ exist and is flagged as "boot"), but to enforce a 300 MiB minimum size is unwarranted. Windows 10 installations use a 100 MiB EFI partition. This is still plenty of room to dual, triple, and quad boot, if the only things that exist in the partition are EFI boot loaders. Where a larger size is needed is when the user intentionally copies the kernel and initramfs to the EFI partition, such as when using **systemd-boot**. In this case, they should either be aware of the size requirements, or the Calamares installer can instead provide a more clear warning about the smaller size. --- PROPOSAL: - Change the minimum accepted size to 100 MiB (to honor existing Windows 10 systems) - Provide a more appropriate warning message if the user chooses an EFI partition size smaller than 300 MiB --- EXAMPLE: _"You have chosen to use an EFI system partition that is smaller than 300 MiB. While this can safely work for most systems, be aware that if you later decide to switch to an alternative boot method, such as systemd-boot, this EFI system partition may not be sufficient in size to store multiple kernels and initial ramdisks."_ _"Do you wish to continue?"_ The user is given the option to continue or go back to make changes. --- ADDENDUM: This is _not_ meant as a substitute for cases when the user forgets to create and/or use an EFI system partition. In that case, the original warning is warranted because no such EFI partition has been selected.

winniewinnie commented

2021-10-03 21:44:16 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)

changed the description

winniewinnie commented

2021-10-04 13:43:36 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)

Forum thread for reference:

https://forum.manjaro.org/t/faulty-warning-when-installing-kde-21-1-4-minimal-with-manual-partitioning/85123

Forum thread for reference: https://forum.manjaro.org/t/faulty-warning-when-installing-kde-21-1-4-minimal-with-manual-partitioning/85123

philm commented

2021-11-08 23:58:02 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)

Please open an issue upstream. thx.

Please open an [issue](https://github.com/calamares/calamares/issues/new/choose) upstream. thx.

philm (Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org) closed this issue

2021-11-08 23:58:03 +00:00

philm commented

2021-11-09 00:05:17 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)

Also we are close to upstream default config with ours. Our default settings are set here.

Also we are close to [upstream default config](https://github.com/calamares/calamares/blob/calamares/src/modules/partition/partition.conf) with [ours](https://gitlab.manjaro.org/applications/calamares/-/blob/development/src/modules/partition/partition.conf). Our default settings are set [here](https://gitlab.manjaro.org/tools/development-tools/manjaro-tools/-/blob/46e558d4b26699582566bc823cded79b37f4881d/lib/util-yaml.sh#L156-173).

philm commented

2021-11-09 00:35:10 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)

Might be due to upstream decisions: github.com/calamares/calamares@60f8a7c5fb

Might be due to upstream decisions: https://github.com/calamares/calamares/commit/60f8a7c5fb276cac4b9c802f5d3fcedb54e56668

philm commented

2021-11-09 00:53:43 +00:00

(Migrated from gitlab2.manjaro.org)