>Synopsis: installboot -c completely hangs HP Z420
>Category: amd64
>Environment:
System : OpenBSD 7.9
Details : OpenBSD 7.9 (GENERIC.MP) #16: Mon Oct 5 13:23:15 MDT 2026
[email protected]:/usr/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/GENERIC.MP
Architecture: OpenBSD.amd64
Machine : amd64
>Description:
On an HP Z420 workstation the 7.9 installer freezes the machine
completely after "Making all device nodes... done": no output,
no reaction to any key, Num/Caps Lock LEDs do not toggle.
md_installboot() in install.md calls "installboot -cr /mnt
<disk>".
Running installboot by hand from the bsd.rd shell on the installed
system isolates the problem to -c:
# installboot -v -r /mnt sd2
-> completes; bootstrap written to softraid volume, EFI
loaders copied to the EFI System partitions of both chunks.
# installboot -v -c -r /mnt sd2
-> identical output up to and including the copy of the EFI
loaders to the ESP of the first chunk:
copying /mnt/usr/mdec/BOOTX64.EFI to
/tmp/installboot.XXXX/efi/openbsd/BOOTX64.EFI
then the machine freezes hard, before the second chunk's
ESP is processed.
The hang thus occurs when installboot sets the UEFI boot entry via
efi(4), i.e. inside the firmware's runtime services. The firmware
(2012-era AMI, UEFI 2.3.1) apparently never returns from that
call.
Not related to: graphics card (NVIDIA and AMD tested), option ROM
mode (Legacy/EFI), CSM on/off, softraid vs. single disk.
Not reproducible with the -current snapshot bsd.rd
(kern.version: #92): installboot -v -c -r /mnt sd2
completes.
(Test run against the installed 7.9 system's /usr/mdec files.)
Hardware:
HP Z420 Workstation, BIOS J61 v03.96 (10/29/2019)
AMI setup utility version 2.15.1229
efi0: UEFI 2.3.1, American Megatrends rev 0x4028d
2x Samsung SSD 870 QVO 1TB, softraid RAID 1, GPT chunks with ESP
>How-To-Repeat:
1. Boot install79.iso in UEFI mode on an HP Z420.
2. Install to a GPT disk or a softraid volume on GPT chunks.
3. The machine freezes during md_installboot (installboot -c).
Alternatively, from the bsd.rd shell with the installed system
mounted on /mnt: installboot -v -c -r /mnt sd2
>Fix:
Fixed in -current: with the -current snapshot bsd.rd
(kern.version: 8.0-current #92), installboot -c completes on this
machine.
Workaround for 7.9: boot bsd.rd with "boot -c", "disable efi",
then install as usual. installboot skips setting the UEFI boot
entry, the installation completes, and the machine boots via the
fallback path \EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI.
OpenBSD 7.9 (RAMDISK_CD) #396: Wed May 6 13:25:05 MDT 2026
[email protected]:/usr/src/sys/arch/amd64/compile/RAMDISK_CD
real mem = 34263343104 (32676MB)
avail mem = 33218236416 (31679MB)
random: good seed from bootblocks
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: SMBIOS rev. 2.7 @ 0xcbace018 (98 entries)
bios0: vendor Hewlett-Packard version "J61 v03.96" date 10/29/2019
bios0: Hewlett-Packard HP Z420 Workstation
efi0 at bios0: UEFI 2.3.1
efi0: American Megatrends rev 0x4028d
acpi0 at bios0: ACPI 5.0
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP APIC FPDT MCFG HPET UEFI SSDT SLIC SSDT SSDT ASF!
MSDM TCPA UEFI VFCT UEFI DMAR
acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: Intel(R) Xeon(R) CPU E5-1620 0 @ 3.60GHz, 3591.46 MHz, 06-2d-07,
patch 00000718
cpu0: cpuid 1
edx=bfebfbff<FPU,VME,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,HTT,TM,PBE>
ecx=17bee3ff<SSE3,PCLMUL,DTES64,MWAIT,DS-CPL,VMX,SMX,EST,TM2,SSSE3,CX16,xTPR,PDCM,PCID,DCA,SSE4.1,SSE4.2,x2APIC,POPCNT,DEADLINE,AES,XSAVE,AVX>
cpu0: cpuid 6 eax=77<SENSOR,ARAT,PTS> ecx=9<EFFFREQ>
cpu0: cpuid 7.0 edx=9c000400<MD_CLEAR,IBRS,IBPB,STIBP,L1DF,SSBD>
cpu0: cpuid a vers=3, gp=4, gpwidth=48, ff=3, ffwidth=48
cpu0: cpuid d.1 eax=1<XSAVEOPT>
cpu0: cpuid 80000001 edx=2c100800<NXE,PAGE1GB,RDTSCP,LONG> ecx=1<LAHF>
cpu0: cpuid 80000007 edx=100<ITSC>
cpu0: MELTDOWN
cpu0: 32KB 64b/line 8-way D-cache, 32KB 64b/line 8-way I-cache, 256KB
64b/line 8-way L2 cache, 10MB 64b/line 20-way L3 cache
cpu0: apic clock running at 99MHz
cpu0: mwait min=64, max=64, C-substates=0.2.1.1.2, IBE
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
cpu at mainbus0: not configured
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 0 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
ioapic1 at mainbus0: apid 2 pa 0xfec01000, version 20, 24 pins
acpihpet0 at acpi0: 14318179 Hz
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 9 (BR20)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 3 (NPE1)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus 5 (NPE2)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus 4 (NPE3)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus 1 (PEX1)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus 7 (PEX2)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus 8 (PEX3)
acpiprt8 at acpi0: bus 6 (PEX4)
acpiprt9 at acpi0: bus 2 (PEX8)
acpipci0 at acpi0 PCI0: 0x00000010 0x00000011 0x00000000
"PNP0303" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0F03" at acpi0 not configured
acpicmos0 at acpi0
"IFX0102" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C0C" at acpi0 not configured
"PNP0C14" at acpi0 not configured
"ACPI0004" at acpi0 not configured
acpicpu at acpi0 not configured
cpu0: using VERW MDS workaround
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel E5 Host" rev 0x07
ppb0 at pci0 dev 1 function 0 "Intel E5 PCIE" rev 0x07: msi
pci1 at ppb0 bus 3
ppb1 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel E5 PCIE" rev 0x07: msi
pci2 at ppb1 bus 5
"ATI Tonga" rev 0x00 at pci2 dev 0 function 0 not configured
vendor "ATI", unknown product 0xaad8 (class multimedia subclass hdaudio,
rev 0x00) at pci2 dev 0 function 1 not configured
ppb2 at pci0 dev 3 function 0 "Intel E5 PCIE" rev 0x07: msi
pci3 at ppb2 bus 4
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 0 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 1 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 2 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 3 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 4 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 5 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 6 not configured
"Intel E5 DMA" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 4 function 7 not configured
"Intel E5 Address Map" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 5 function 0 not configured
"Intel E5 Error Reporting" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 5 function 2 not
configured
"Intel E5 I/O APIC" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 5 function 4 not configured
ppb3 at pci0 dev 17 function 0 "Intel C600 Virtual PCIE" rev 0x05
pci4 at ppb3 bus 2
vendor "Intel", unknown product 0x1d6b (class mass storage subclass SAS,
rev 0x05) at pci4 dev 0 function 0 not configured
em0 at pci0 dev 25 function 0 "Intel 82579LM" rev 0x05: msi, address
2c:44:fd:19:97:5d
ehci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 0 "Intel C600 USB" rev 0x05: apic 0 int 16
usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub0 at usb0 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev
2.00/1.00 addr 1
"Intel C600 HD Audio" rev 0x05 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 not configured
ppb4 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel C600 PCIE" rev 0xb5: msi
pci5 at ppb4 bus 1
ppb5 at pci0 dev 28 function 5 "Intel C600 PCIE" rev 0xb5: msi
pci6 at ppb5 bus 6
ppb6 at pci0 dev 28 function 6 "Intel C600 PCIE" rev 0xb5: msi
pci7 at ppb6 bus 7
ppb7 at pci0 dev 28 function 7 "Intel C600 PCIE" rev 0xb5: msi
pci8 at ppb7 bus 8
xhci0 at pci8 dev 0 function 0 "TI xHCI" rev 0x02: msix, xHCI 0.96
usb1 at xhci0: USB revision 3.0
uhub1 at usb1 configuration 1 interface 0 "TI xHCI root hub" rev 3.00/1.00
addr 1
ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel C600 USB" rev 0x05: apic 0 int 23
usb2 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub2 at usb2 configuration 1 interface 0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev
2.00/1.00 addr 1
ppb8 at pci0 dev 30 function 0 "Intel 82801BA Hub-to-PCI" rev 0xa5
pci9 at ppb8 bus 9
"AT&T/Lucent FW322 1394" rev 0x70 at pci9 dev 5 function 0 not configured
"Intel C600 LPC" rev 0x05 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 not configured
ahci0 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel C600 AHCI" rev 0x05: msi, AHCI 1.3
ahci0: port 0: 6.0Gb/s
ahci0: port 1: 6.0Gb/s
ahci0: port 4: 1.5Gb/s
ahci0: port 5: 1.5Gb/s
scsibus0 at ahci0: 32 targets
sd0 at scsibus0 targ 0 lun 0: <ATA, Samsung SSD 870, SVQ0>
naa.5002538f425435eb
sd0: 953869MB, 512 bytes/sector, 1953525168 sectors, thin
sd1 at scsibus0 targ 1 lun 0: <ATA, Samsung SSD 870, SVQ0>
naa.5002538f425435cb
sd1: 953869MB, 512 bytes/sector, 1953525168 sectors, thin
cd0 at scsibus0 targ 4 lun 0: <HL-DT-ST, DVDRAM GH24NSD1, LW00> removable
cd1 at scsibus0 targ 5 lun 0: <HL-DT-ST, BD-RE WH16NS40, 1.05> removable
"Intel C600 SMBus" rev 0x05 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 not configured
isa0 at mainbus0
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5 irq 1 irq 12
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard
efifb0 at mainbus0: 1920x1080, 32bpp
wsdisplay0 at efifb0 mux 1: console (std, vt100 emulation), using wskbd0
uhub3 at uhub0 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "vendor 0x8087 product
0x0024" rev 2.00/0.00 addr 2
uhub4 at uhub2 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "vendor 0x8087 product
0x0024" rev 2.00/0.00 addr 2
uhidev0 at uhub4 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Microsoft Microsoft
5-Button Mouse with IntelliEye(TM)" rev 1.10/3.00 addr 3
uhidev0: iclass 3/1
uhid at uhidev0 not configured
uhub5 at uhub4 port 2 configuration 1 interface 0 "VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0
Hub" rev 2.10/90.13 addr 4
uhidev1 at uhub5 port 4 configuration 1 interface 0 "Das Keyboard Das
Keyboard 6 Pro" rev 2.00/1.14 addr 5
uhidev1: iclass 3/1
ukbd0 at uhidev1
wskbd1 at ukbd0 mux 1
wskbd1: connecting to wsdisplay0
uhidev2 at uhub5 port 4 configuration 1 interface 1 "Das Keyboard Das
Keyboard 6 Pro" rev 2.00/1.14 addr 5
uhidev2: iclass 3/1, 4 report ids
ukbd1 at uhidev2 reportid 1
wskbd2 at ukbd1 mux 1
wskbd2: connecting to wsdisplay0
uhid at uhidev2 reportid 2 not configured
uhid at uhidev2 reportid 3 not configured
uhid at uhidev2 reportid 4 not configured
softraid0 at root
scsibus1 at softraid0: 256 targets
softraid0: sd2 was not shutdown properly
sd2 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 0: <OPENBSD, SR RAID 1, 006>
sd2: 953609MB, 512 bytes/sector, 1952992063 sectors
root on rd0a swap on rd0b dump on rd0b
WARNING: CHECK AND RESET THE DATE!
WARNING: /mnt was not properly unmounted
usbdevs:
Controller /dev/usb0:
addr 01: 8086:0000 Intel, EHCI root hub
high speed, self powered, config 1, rev 1.00
driver: uhub0
addr 02: 8087:0024 Intel, Rate Matching Hub
high speed, self powered, config 1, rev 0.00
driver: uhub3
Controller /dev/usb1:
addr 01: 104c:0000 TI, xHCI root hub
super speed, self powered, config 1, rev 1.00
driver: uhub1
Controller /dev/usb2:
addr 01: 8086:0000 Intel, EHCI root hub
high speed, self powered, config 1, rev 1.00
driver: uhub2
addr 02: 8087:0024 Intel, Rate Matching Hub
high speed, self powered, config 1, rev 0.00
driver: uhub4
addr 03: 045e:0039 Microsoft, Microsoft 5-Button Mouse with IntelliEye(TM)
low speed, power 100 mA, config 1, rev 3.00
driver: uhidev0
addr 04: 2109:2817 VIA Labs, Inc., USB2.0 Hub
high speed, self powered, config 1, rev 90.13, iSerial 000000000
driver: uhub5
addr 05: 24f0:20a1 Das Keyboard, Das Keyboard 6 Pro
full speed, power 500 mA, config 1, rev 1.14
driver: uhidev1
driver: uhidev2
