(Intel x86) LibreELEC doesn't properly install

If it matters, this happens regardless of the USB-SD Creator being used or Rufus to make the installer. LibreELEC claims it's being installed, then nothing happens. I check my boot order in BIOS, and my SSD I put it on (or HDD as I tried two different drives just to make sure the SSD wasn't toast) do not appear as a valid boot drive. Endless "Checking Media Presence" then booting into BIOS.

Installing Windows afterwards (again, to see if my drives were toast or not), some ~4GB partition was made (on a 256GB SSD) for "system" it said, and the rest of it was turned into a "Primary" partition?

I mean, it's just an MSI laptop featuring an Intel i7 8750H, this isn't particularly unique hardware, it's a generic Skylake-derived CPU, which I'm sure LibreELEC would have to support? Intel used Skylake for ~5 generations.

Quote from chewitt

Share the install log from the installer USB?

I attached it to this post.

Quote from tokul

Secure boot turned on?

MSI with 8750H search would indicate that you have gaming laptop with integrated high end nvidia graphics. Not particularly unique, but also not particularly generic or linux gpl friendly.

It is a gaming laptop, the dedicated GPU (which would never see any use in watching videos via LibreELEC, as all outputs are attached to the integrated GPU only) is indeed an nVidia one, a GeForce GTX 1050 Ti.

I wanted to repurpose the laptop into an HTPC.

Quote from tokul

Do you have secure boot enabled in BIOS?

I do, but it doesn't work any better without it, either.

Quote from chewitt

Create an Ubuntu Live USB and see if that boots. If it does, grub works (where syslinux does not) and you can do a manual LE install to the NVME drive using grub as the bootloader. Create a GPT partition scheme on the drive with two partitions: BOOT (512MB/VFAT) and STORAGE (100% remaining space/EXT4) and setup the grub boot entry using the data in syslinux.cfg as a general guide for boot params.

Ubuntu booted from a live USB.. but why wouldn't it? LibreELEC also works from a live USB but why would want it on some slow and clunky external drive hogging up a USB slot instead of my fast and internal NVMe? I want to put LibreELEC there.

I have no idea how you do any of that since you didn't really give any instructions and ChatGPT keeps malfunctioning so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be doing.

Quote from tokul

You might throw insults at some things. Throwing insults at people normally does not help in getting answers.

Ubuntu live CD also allows you to install OS on disk and verify that your laptop can boot generic Linux OS.

People are trying to understand your setup why trying to guess what hardware you are using with you giving as little as possible.

Secure boot tends to work with Windows, but it is highly likely to break with Linux. Keep it off with Linux.

MSI GF63/75 manuals show that they support both UEFI and Legacy boots. Change to legacy boot. Make sure that you have nvme and ssd devices listed in boot device list. Both laptops have manual page telling how to change boot mode.

I didn't insult anyone? I mentioned wanting to install it internally instead of running by USB because I see LibreELEC is used often by USB, which I know it can do, but I don't want, for reasons I listed. I fail to see how that offends any actual people.

No one asked for my laptop. I didn't list it because I frankly didn't think it was needed, the LibreELEC installer just says "Generic" for Intel/AMD so I figured it didn't matter, we're also very far removed from laptops having actually different parts and firmware than desktop computers. It's an MSI GL63 8RD.

SecureBoot is off. UEFI is changed to Legacy. Doing a new, fresh install with these settings changes, and nothing changed, still doesn't boot, and BIOS still doesn't recognize any boot devices. Posted a new log. Don't know if it's any different.

I'm trying to install it to an NVMe drive, although like I said I also tried a SATA HDD where the same thing (read: nothing) happened.

I guess I'll try some older versions. Maybe something bugged out. I don't know.

EDIT: Tried some older ones, nothing's worked yet. Also tried Rufus instead of the USB-SD Creator downloaded from the LibreELEC site (since sometimes the program writing to the USB is an issue, have never had success with balenaEtcher, but Rufus always works). Still didn't work.

EDIT 2: Tried the latest nightly (https://test.libreelec.tv/12.0/Generic/G…-248f521.img.gz) and nothing changed.

Why doesn't this work for me? I'm assuming it's an issue with syslinux? Ubuntu and other distros that use GRUB work fine for me...

The main reason I want to use LibreELEC on this laptop is that I want to use it as an HTPC, since I actually have it here. Naturally, with 16GB of RAM, four (counting USB-C) USB ports, battery backup to protect against power flickers or bad weather, and an internal SATA slot, it's beating the crud out of the nVidia Shield TV.

I have a much stronger laptop I use for personal use, I like to recycle old hardware when I can and using this laptop as an HTPC is how I'd like to repurpose it as I would get great use out of it.

Why LibreELEC specifically instead of Windows or Linux? LibreELEC can use the Amazon Fire Stick remote I have here. Windows and Linux distros can't. It syncs (it's recognized as "AR" in the respective Bluetooth menus) but no program recognizes it as an attached device. I don't know how LibreELEC does it, but it does. Works perfectly fine with it.

Quote from chewitt

Code

#################################################################
# Installing syslinux to /tmp/installer/part1
#################################################################

/dev/nvme0n1p1: unsupported sectors size

(as before) the installer fails to install syslinux to the NVME drive and no bootloader = no boot.

If you have a standard non-fancy drive around you can see if that works (to isolate the issue to NVME vs SATA) but it's likely due to some oddity with NVME drive firmware. I'm unsure what the solution/workaround is with syslinux so install grub to the (otherwise fine) nvme drive instead of syslinux and see what happens.

Google reports there are 387,000 results for "install grub bootloader" so plenty of things to read.

A lot of results and no actual good tutorials, most of it is people asking how. A lot of it also depends on actually having some version of GRUB already. Closest I got involved wiping the entire drive to install GRUB, which was naturally pointless since that removed LibreELEC, and any attempt to readd LibreELEC would just remove GRUB anyway since LibreELEC wipes the entire drive.

I don't have the log anymore but the same incidents (it not installing syslinux) were occurring on a bog standard 5400RPM SATA HDD as well.

ChatGPT was similarly unhelpful for trying to install GRUB, which I found odd because I thought programming was one of its actual uses.

Quote from tokul

nmve (Toshiba XG3) got 4k sector size. Based on internet search syslinux 6.03 supports 4k sector size, but its official installers don't.

SSD probably also on 4k sectors.

What would be the fix here, then?

To my knowledge Raspberry Pis are popular HTPCs with LibreELEC, same with NUCs. Those both utilize NVMe drives.

Quote from Reddirt

I'm only replying as an x86 user on I3,I5,I7 and AMD A9 hardware as I never had any install issues. LE installed on a Sandisk USB3 thumdrive runs equally well on all my systems. It really sounds like the NVME in your system is hosing up the install somehow. Not what ya want to hear I know but sometimes the simplest fix is a different drive. Even a new SSD at today's good prices would make a top notch HTPC. The RPi5 is another great choice BTW and runs LE12 very smooth.

RPi5 doesn't have battery backup and is an additional purchase.

I also bought the SSD for this purpose and I'm not sure what LibreELEC is having so much issue with. USB thumb drive sounds unpleasant, bad boot times and general sluggishness with it being on a USB thumb drive.

I don't know why this isn't working. I also said I tried an HDD as well---same issue. LibreELEC is the problem, not the hardware (an HDD and an SSD) that can have every other OS.

So I think I'm making... progress, if anyone with more intimate knowledge of how LibreELEC is structured can help?

Had the idea to install Ubuntu as a dual boot (I mean, I really just wanted LibreELEC, but who cares about another OS there if this makes it work) so I could gain access to GRUB.

Classic SysAdmin: How to Rescue a Non-booting GRUB 2 on Linux - Linux Foundation

Once upon a time we had legacy GRUB, the Grand Unified Linux Bootloader version 0.97. Learn how to rescue a non-booting GRUB 2 on Linux.

www.linuxfoundation.org

Found that and there's a section for booting from GRUB. This part here:

grub> set root=(hd0,1)
grub> linux /boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-29-generic root=/dev/sda1
grub> initrd /boot/initrd.img-3.13.0-29-generic
grub> boot

Is where I seem to be stuck, as the second line is supposed to tell GRUB where the kernel is, but this clearly isn't LibreELEC's kernel as it yields an error saying it can't find it.

So this is as far as I've gotten. Something installed, that much is sure, but it's not bootable... yet?

I can't look at the LibreELEC installation in Ubuntu as it appears as an empty drive. I suspect I need to mount it as some other folder or do something to gain permission. But I see it's not empty, it has about ~1.3GB taken up. The 4GB "EFI" partition that LibreELEC is also there, although I'm not sure what good it is since nothing views it as a bootloading partition (since syslinux isn't installing/working), but it is there.

Quote from tokul

Samsung EVO 970 250GB nvme supports only 512 sector size.

1TB WD Blue and Black nvme came with 512 sector default, but can be switched to 4096. I am not in the mood of destroying data on those two to test how libreelec setup works on 4096 sector size.

1TB WD Red and Green SSDs support only 512 sector.

Archlinux got page about sector sizes and tells commands that show your drive capabilities

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Advanced_Format

Maybe check your nvme sector size options.

Display More

I don't understand why the sector size would even be an issue? LibreELEC needs a highly specific size or something? No other OS seems to have an issue with 4096 sector sizes.

Can this be fixed?