All, I've gotten a new old laptop (HP EliteBook 8760w) and I cannot get it to boot. It came with Win10 which boots in Legacy mode and all UEFI options in the bios disabled. I've tried a traditions MBR setup: # fdisk -l /dev/sda Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disklabel type: dos Disk identifier: 0xff7d45aa Device Boot Start End Sectors Size Id Type /dev/sda1 2048 1953525167 1953523120 931.5G 5 Extended /dev/sda5 * 4096 1028095 1024000 500M 83 Linux /dev/sda6 1030144 105887743 104857600 50G 83 Linux /dev/sda7 105889792 1951383551 1845493760 880G 83 Linux /dev/sda8 1951385600 1953525167 2139568 1G 82 Linux swap / Solaris I've tried GPT with bios_boot: # fdisk -l /dev/sda Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disklabel type: gpt Disk identifier: 00B6A48C-CBDB-4071-A1EC-97FA828A6C26 Device Start End Sectors Size Type /dev/sda1 2048 4095 2048 1M BIOS boot /dev/sda2 4096 1028095 1024000 500M Linux filesystem /dev/sda3 1028096 105885695 104857600 50G Linux filesystem /dev/sda4 105885696 1949282303 1843396608 879G Linux filesystem /dev/sda5 1949282304 1951379455 2097152 1G Linux swap I've even tried enabling UEFI and partitioning with a UEFI scheme and booting via systemd, no joy: # fdisk -l /dev/sda Disk /dev/sda: 931.5 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 4096 bytes I/O size (minimum/optimal): 4096 bytes / 4096 bytes Disklabel type: gpt Disk identifier: 00B6A48C-CBDB-4071-A1EC-97FA828A6C26 Device Start End Sectors Size Type /dev/sda1 2048 4095 2048 1M BIOS boot /dev/sda2 4096 1028095 1024000 500M EFI System /dev/sda3 1028096 105885695 104857600 50G Linux filesystem /dev/sda4 105885696 1949282303 1843396608 879G Linux filesystem /dev/sda5 1949282304 1951379455 2097152 1G Linux swap (on this model use of UEFI is not recommended -- which explains why it was disabled to begin with) The odd thing about it is I can boot with any .iso with grub and choose to "Boot existing OS" (changing 'hd0 0' to 'hd1 0') and boot just fine. I just have to boot from USB because the laptop will not see grub any other way. Has anyone else encountered a stubborn HP laptop that takes something out of the ordinary to boot with a simple MBR setup? The frustrating thing is I can throw the Win10 disk back in and it boots just fine. Nothing explains to my why I can boot from an .iso in legacy mode just fine, but cannot boot from the hard drive the same way. There have been no errors on grub install or on grub.cfg generation (the problem is it is just not seeing grub on the drive to begin with) grub is right where it should be, because choosing "Boot existing OS" brings the grub menu right up and boots to a fully functioning install. Currently I'm working with the Arch .iso given the direct access to grubs command line. Does anybody have any thoughts on what to check to see what is causing the bootloader being missed on the hard drives? In nearly 20 years of Linux, probably 50-100 installs, this is the first time I've ever run into a box that just will not see grub on a hard drive. I've reset bios defaults, pulled all batteries, held the power on to drain any residual power, etc.. and the issue isn't an embedded drive signature the box is trying to boot (it wouldn't like the USB if that were the case.) All Disk Lock and other bios security features are disabled. (the bios is actually a very limited laptop bios with very few settings to complicate things.) It's not a question of the laptop not seeing the drive. I've installed a full plasma/KDE5 setup on the drive, I just have to boot it from a darn USB. Does the braintrust have an tips or diagnostics that may shed light on this issue? -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org