Re: installing onto nvme/m2 ssd

[Martin Husemann]

On Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 10:30:26PM -0400, cyrus torros wrote:
> Hi, I am trying to install Netbsd 10 on a eufi machine. a ryzen b450
> motherboard with a ryzen 5 2600 in it.
> 
> It has currently a m2/nvme drive in it that has windows installed on it,
> complete with all the crap that comes with a eufi windows 10 install.
> 
> I am having trouble using the netbsd installer to properly wipe and
> repartition this sssd.

It should be pretty easy:

 - choose: Install NetBSD to hard disk
 - Select ld0 (or whatever your nvme drive ends up being called)
 - choose: Delete everything, use different partitions (not GPT)
   [and ignore the "not GPT" part here]

and then you can select everything you like and start with an empty disk.

However, once you have started mangling your disk it might get more trickky.
The easiest way out is to escape the installer and use dd(1) to write
like 1MB of zeroes to you disk, once right at the start and again right
at the end of the disk (exact numbers don't matter, the idea is to nuke
the first and the last few sectors on disk so no traces of the old GPT can
be found).

Martin

installing onto nvme/m2 ssd

[cyrus torros]

Hi, I am trying to install Netbsd 10 on a eufi machine. a ryzen b450
motherboard with a ryzen 5 2600 in it.

It has currently a m2/nvme drive in it that has windows installed on it,
complete with all the crap that comes with a eufi windows 10 install.

I am having trouble using the netbsd installer to properly wipe and
repartition this sssd.


First, I just let the netbsd installer run its course. I told it to use the
whole disk in the installer and made no further adjustments, this of course
resulted in a non bootable system. It did not wipe any of the EFI windows
stuff, windows boot manager, recovery partition..

So I tried again. This time I downloaded the EUFI install image of netbsd
9.3

And in the utility menu I went to configuer/partition disk.

I would select the windows partitions and hit delete, but it would not
respond or suceed.

I had to go into 'further editing' where I tried to delete the whole disk',
it failed. The partition tool crashed right there.

I ended up using a secure format tool, which only partially finished before
crashing. At least it wiped the disk, I proceeded to install netbsd,
however, when it tried to make a GPT partition table for the ssd.. it
simply 'failed to make it' and it would not go further.


Similar experiences with trying to install netbsd on intel systems. Even
with legacy/bios. Boot instalelr, go through the priocess, 'use entire
disk', hit yes to install bootblocks when promptoed... installer
finishes... system doesn't boot. This was the case on a sandy bridge
system,  (dq67sw mobo i5 2500), and a x99-a system (haswell-e, i5 7930k)


I am lost. What else is needed to get this system partitioned and booted
right, does netbsd not come with a bootloader? How do i do this properly..?
especially on a modenr machine that has only a m2 ssd. The wiki is really
cague on the matter so I assumed it was done automatiaclly.