Bootloader failing to install on 2012 Mac Mini (Openbsd 6.4)

Post by Liam Wigney
I've used Openbsd before but my installs have gone smoothly with no issues
and this is really the first time it's been a problem. The install is a
super boring one, it's whole disk Openbsd with the default gpt partition
layout and nothing else special.
During the install after the sets are successfully installed there's a
notification that the bootloader has failed to install due to mkdir being
called with an invalid argument.

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing include both the
path and the specific error message. Those are included because they're
helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and thus what could be
wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message would make it
easier to assist.

(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out root causes.)

Post by Liam Wigney
Some research online said that I should
try to do installboot manually in the subsequent prrompt, so I called
installboot sd0 and got the following error
installboot: /usr/mdec/biosboot: No such file or directory

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional argument are necessary
so that installboot can find the files it needs and disk on which to
install them. ...but doing that will just replicate what the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...

At this point, the two pieces of information that would help the most are:
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks like. The output of "df
-k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade fails would be good,
for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.

Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-10-24 03:48:39 UTC

Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again after wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember. Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw did as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one but with new
numbers and letters after the ".".

The exact and full error message is as follows:

installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument

Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.

The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to replicate it as
best I could):

Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/rd0a 3535 5256 279 92% /
/dev/sd0a 1028878 69194 908242 7% /mnt
/dev/sd0l 312080952 36 296476872 0% /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d 4125406 2 3919134 0% /mnt/tmp
/dev/sd0f 2061054 577930 1380072 30% /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g 1028878 190628 786808 20% /mnt/usr/X11R6
/dev/sd0h 20636942 218 19604878 0% /mnt/usr/local
/dev/sd0k 6189758 2 5880270 0% /mnt/usr/obj
/dev/sd0j 2061054 2 1958000 0% /mnt/usr/src
/dev/sd0e 20425598 3394 19400926 0% /mnt/var

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are included because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and thus what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out root causes.)

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional argument are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs and disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate what the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks like. The output of "df
-k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade fails would be good,
for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-10-25 06:13:57 UTC

Update:

I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to boot the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The computer has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and instantly the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being small and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".

Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a snapshot to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.

Post by Liam Wigney
Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again after wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember. Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw did as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one but with new
numbers and letters after the ".".
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument
Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.
The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to replicate it
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/rd0a 3535 5256 279 92% /
/dev/sd0a 1028878 69194 908242 7% /mnt
/dev/sd0l 312080952 36 296476872 0% /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d 4125406 2 3919134 0% /mnt/tmp
/dev/sd0f 2061054 577930 1380072 30% /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g 1028878 190628 786808 20% /mnt/usr/X11R6
/dev/sd0h 20636942 218 19604878 0% /mnt/usr/local
/dev/sd0k 6189758 2 5880270 0% /mnt/usr/obj
/dev/sd0j 2061054 2 1958000 0% /mnt/usr/src
/dev/sd0e 20425598 3394 19400926 0% /mnt/var

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are included because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and thus what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out root causes.)

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional argument are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs and disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate what the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks like. The output of
"df -k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade fails would be
good, for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-10-26 05:35:56 UTC

Summery + update:

So I thought I'd post one final update for the time being, it's been a long
two day's reading man pages and looking though mailing lists/forums/reddit
posts, and summary of where I'm at in case anyone in the future wants help.
I'll

Firstly, no matter how I try to install I still get the "
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument" error but with different gibberish.

Secondly there's a reddit thread with some info and discussion at
https://www.reddit.com/r/openbsd/comments/9qllyy/bootloader_failing_to_install_on_2012_mac_mini/

Finally here's where I'm at:

Openbsd documentation for (u)efi is highly lacking however in this case
it's hard to say how helpful it would have been. I've only ever used
openbsd with legacy boot on however mac's don't have the option to do so.
When pressing the key combo for the boot menu of the mac I see two options.
One named "windows" and one named "efi boot".
They both boot into the openbsd installer but with several differences.

The "windows" option boots into a full screen installer. With this boot
option wd0 is the root disk and sd0 is the usb. Upon running dmesg | grep
efi to confirm that efi is noticed shows that's it's not. An attempt to
install with either gpt or mbr fails with the invalid argument error. The
"efi" boot option boots with the installer taking up the center of the
screen, in this boot option sd0 is root and sd1 is the usb, it does however
notice that the mac mini is an efi system. It "usually" (Because I've tried
a few times and noticed that sometimes it doesn't) creates the efi
partition and then the regular openbsd partition. However regardless of
which option is chosen the error still occurs.

I've tested openbsd 6.3 and a snapshot and it fails in the exact same way.
Sorry again if I've left anything out or missed anything.

Post by Liam Wigney
I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to boot the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The computer has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and instantly the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being small and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".
Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a snapshot to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are included because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and thus what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out root causes.)

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional argument are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs and disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate what the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks like. The output of
"df -k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade fails would be
good, for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-10-27 08:12:26 UTC

Hey Strahil,

Just tried to install to a usb and it installed fine, an efi install at
that, and it runs fine when booting. So it's something to do with
installing onto the internal drive. But that makes little sense since I
reformatted the internal hard drive to make sure it was like as new so I
don't get why Openbsd is acting differently.

Hi,
have you tried to install openBSD on a USB stick (installer run on
another machine) and then boot from that USB stick ?
It will be interesting to find out what happens then.
Best Regards,
Strahil

Post by Liam Wigney
So I thought I'd post one final update for the time being, it's been a long
two day's reading man pages and looking though mailing
lists/forums/reddit
posts, and summary of where I'm at in case anyone in the future wants help.
I'll
Firstly, no matter how I try to install I still get the "
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument" error but with different gibberish.
Secondly there's a reddit thread with some info and discussion at
https://www.reddit.com/r/openbsd/comments/9qllyy/bootloader_failing_t
o_install_on_2012_mac_mini/
Openbsd documentation for (u)efi is highly lacking however in this case
it's hard to say how helpful it would have been. I've only ever used
openbsd with legacy boot on however mac's don't have the option to do so.
When pressing the key combo for the boot menu of the mac I see two options.
One named "windows" and one named "efi boot".
They both boot into the openbsd installer but with several
differences.
The "windows" option boots into a full screen installer. With this boot
option wd0 is the root disk and sd0 is the usb. Upon running dmesg | grep
efi to confirm that efi is noticed shows that's it's not. An attempt to
install with either gpt or mbr fails with the invalid argument error. The
"efi" boot option boots with the installer taking up the center of the
screen, in this boot option sd0 is root and sd1 is the usb, it does however
notice that the mac mini is an efi system. It "usually" (Because I've tried
a few times and noticed that sometimes it doesn't) creates the efi
partition and then the regular openbsd partition. However regardless of
which option is chosen the error still occurs.
I've tested openbsd 6.3 and a snapshot and it fails in the exact same way.
Sorry again if I've left anything out or missed anything.

Post by Liam Wigney
I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to boot the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The computer has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and instantly the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being small and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk
configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".
Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a snapshot to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.

Post by Liam Wigney
Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again after wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember.
Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw did as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one but with new
numbers and letters after the ".".
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument
Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.
The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to replicate it
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/rd0a 3535 5256 279 92% /
/dev/sd0a 1028878 69194 908242 7% /mnt
/dev/sd0l 312080952 36 296476872 0% /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d 4125406 2 3919134 0% /mnt/tmp
/dev/sd0f 2061054 577930 1380072 30% /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g 1028878 190628 786808 20% /mnt/usr/X11R
6
/dev/sd0h 20636942 218 19604878 0% /mnt/usr/local
/dev/sd0k 6189758 2 5880270 0% /mnt/usr/obj
/dev/sd0j 2061054 2 1958000 0% /mnt/usr/src
/dev/sd0e 20425598 3394 19400926 0% /mnt/var
om>

Post by Liam Wigney
I've used Openbsd before but my installs have gone smoothly
with no
issues
and this is really the first time it's been a problem. The install is a
super boring one, it's whole disk Openbsd with the default
gpt partition
layout and nothing else special.
During the install after the sets are successfully installed there's a
notification that the bootloader has failed to install due to
mkdir
being
called with an invalid argument.

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are included because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and thus what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out root causes.)

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional argument are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs and disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate what the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
At this point, the two pieces of information that would help
the most
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks like. The output of
"df -k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade fails would be
good, for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

snikolov

2018-10-27 08:25:03 UTC

Now can you try to dd your USB stick from a Linux Live CD onto your
local drive and then try to boot. My guess is that there is some
UEFI/openBSD incompatibility.
In our case (U)EFI is representing the storage to the kernel and most
probably that is not OK.
Still, if you manage to boot from the drive (after a complete 'dd) ,
then we should know that at least a workaround is possible.

Strahil

Post by Liam Wigney
Hey Strahil,
Just tried to install to a usb and it installed fine, an efi install at
that, and it runs fine when booting. So it's something to do with
installing onto the internal drive. But that makes little sense since I
reformatted the internal hard drive to make sure it was like as new so I
don't get why Openbsd is acting differently.

Hi,
have you tried to install openBSD on a USB stick (installer run on
another machine) and then boot from that USB stick ?
It will be interesting to find out what happens then.
Best Regards,
Strahil

Post by Liam Wigney
So I thought I'd post one final update for the time being, it's
been
a long
two day's reading man pages and looking though mailing
lists/forums/reddit
posts, and summary of where I'm at in case anyone in the future
wants
help.
I'll
Firstly, no matter how I try to install I still get the "
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument" error but with different gibberish.
Secondly there's a reddit thread with some info and discussion at
https://www.reddit.com/r/openbsd/comments/9qllyy/bootloader_faili
ng_t
o_install_on_2012_mac_mini/
Openbsd documentation for (u)efi is highly lacking however in
this
case
it's hard to say how helpful it would have been. I've only ever used
openbsd with legacy boot on however mac's don't have the option
to do
so.
When pressing the key combo for the boot menu of the mac I see
two
options.
One named "windows" and one named "efi boot".
They both boot into the openbsd installer but with several
differences.
The "windows" option boots into a full screen installer. With
this
boot
option wd0 is the root disk and sd0 is the usb. Upon running
dmesg |
grep
efi to confirm that efi is noticed shows that's it's not. An
attempt
to
install with either gpt or mbr fails with the invalid argument
error.
The
"efi" boot option boots with the installer taking up the center
of
the
screen, in this boot option sd0 is root and sd1 is the usb, it
does
however
notice that the mac mini is an efi system. It "usually" (Because
I've
tried
a few times and noticed that sometimes it doesn't) creates the efi
partition and then the regular openbsd partition. However
regardless
of
which option is chosen the error still occurs.
I've tested openbsd 6.3 and a snapshot and it fails in the exact
same
way.
Sorry again if I've left anything out or missed anything.

Post by Liam Wigney
I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to
boot
the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The
computer
has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and
instantly
the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being
small
and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".
Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it
wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a
snapshot
to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.
m>

Post by Liam Wigney
Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again
after
wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember. Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw
did
as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one
but
with new
numbers and letters after the ".".
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument
Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.
The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to replicate it
Filesystem     1K-
blocks  Used   Avail        Capacity  Mounted
on
/dev/rd0a        3535         5256    279          92%
/
/dev/sd0a       1028878    69194  908242     7%         /mnt
/dev/sd0l       312080952
36     296476872  0%        /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d       4125406     2      3919134      0%       /mnt
/tmp
/dev/sd0f        2061054     577930 1380072 30%      /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g       1028878    190628  786808   20%     /mnt/usr/
X11R
6
/dev/sd0h       20636942  218  19604878     0%  /mnt/usr/loca
l
/dev/sd0k       6189758  2  5880270            0%  /mnt/usr/o
bj
/dev/sd0j        2061054  2  1958000            0%  /mnt/usr/
src
/dev/sd0e       20425598  3394  19400926   0%  /mnt/var
il.c
om>

Post by Liam Wigney
I've used Openbsd before but my installs have gone
smoothly
with no
issues
and this is really the first time it's been a problem.
The
install is a
super boring one, it's whole disk Openbsd with the
default
gpt partition
layout and nothing else special.
During the install after the sets are successfully
installed
there's a
notification that the bootloader has failed to install due to
mkdir
being
called with an invalid argument.

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are
included
because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and
thus
what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message
would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out
root causes.)

Post by Liam Wigney
Some research online said that I should
try to do installboot manually in the subsequent prrompt,
so
I called
installboot sd0 and got the following error
installboot: /usr/mdec/biosboot: No such file or
directory

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional
argument
are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs
and
disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate
what
the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
At this point, the two pieces of information that would help
the most
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks
like. The
output of
"df -k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade
fails
would be
good, for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-10-27 09:39:10 UTC

Thank you so much!

So I dd'd using the raw devices for both the usb and the mac mini. It
worked which is sweet, unfortunately due to the usb being only 4gb it
didn't partition it in the normal Openbsd way, only / /home and /usr, but I
have a bigger usb which should be able to get the normal partition
treatment and copy that one across.

At this point as annoying as it is that it won't just install normally,
it's working, but for the sake of others I'd like to eventually work out
how to fix the issue.

I'm not sure where to look but I might have a bit of a look over how mkdir
is being called as to why the argument invalid error is happening.

But one again thank's so much for you and Phillip taking time out of your
days to help.

Post by snikolov
Now can you try to dd your USB stick from a Linux Live CD onto your
local drive and then try to boot. My guess is that there is some
UEFI/openBSD incompatibility.
In our case (U)EFI is representing the storage to the kernel and most
probably that is not OK.
Still, if you manage to boot from the drive (after a complete 'dd) ,
then we should know that at least a workaround is possible.
Strahil

Hi,
have you tried to install openBSD on a USB stick (installer run on
another machine) and then boot from that USB stick ?
It will be interesting to find out what happens then.
Best Regards,
Strahil

Post by Liam Wigney
So I thought I'd post one final update for the time being, it's
been
a long
two day's reading man pages and looking though mailing
lists/forums/reddit
posts, and summary of where I'm at in case anyone in the future
wants
help.
I'll
Firstly, no matter how I try to install I still get the "
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument" error but with different gibberish.
Secondly there's a reddit thread with some info and discussion at
https://www.reddit.com/r/openbsd/comments/9qllyy/bootloader_faili
ng_t
o_install_on_2012_mac_mini/
Openbsd documentation for (u)efi is highly lacking however in
this
case
it's hard to say how helpful it would have been. I've only ever used
openbsd with legacy boot on however mac's don't have the option
to do
so.
When pressing the key combo for the boot menu of the mac I see
two
options.
One named "windows" and one named "efi boot".
They both boot into the openbsd installer but with several differences.
The "windows" option boots into a full screen installer. With
this
boot
option wd0 is the root disk and sd0 is the usb. Upon running
dmesg |
grep
efi to confirm that efi is noticed shows that's it's not. An
attempt
to
install with either gpt or mbr fails with the invalid argument
error.
The
"efi" boot option boots with the installer taking up the center
of
the
screen, in this boot option sd0 is root and sd1 is the usb, it
does
however
notice that the mac mini is an efi system. It "usually" (Because
I've
tried
a few times and noticed that sometimes it doesn't) creates the efi
partition and then the regular openbsd partition. However
regardless
of
which option is chosen the error still occurs.
I've tested openbsd 6.3 and a snapshot and it fails in the exact
same
way.
Sorry again if I've left anything out or missed anything.

Post by Liam Wigney
I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to
boot
the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The
computer
has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and
instantly
the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being
small
and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".
Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a
snapshot
to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.
m>

Post by Liam Wigney
Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again
after
wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't
auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it
usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember.
Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw
did
as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when
playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one
but
with new
numbers and letters after the ".".
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument
Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.
The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to
replicate it
Filesystem 1K-
blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted
on
/dev/rd0a 3535 5256 279 92%
/
/dev/sd0a 1028878 69194 908242 7% /mnt
/dev/sd0l 312080952
36 296476872 0% /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d 4125406 2 3919134 0% /mnt
/tmp
/dev/sd0f 2061054 577930 1380072 30% /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g 1028878 190628 786808 20% /mnt/usr/
X11R
6
/dev/sd0h 20636942 218 19604878 0% /mnt/usr/loca
l
/dev/sd0k 6189758 2 5880270 0% /mnt/usr/o
bj
/dev/sd0j 2061054 2 1958000 0% /mnt/usr/
src
/dev/sd0e 20425598 3394 19400926 0% /mnt/var
il.c
om>

Post by Liam Wigney
I've used Openbsd before but my installs have gone smoothly
with no
issues
and this is really the first time it's been a problem.
The
install is a
super boring one, it's whole disk Openbsd with the default
gpt partition
layout and nothing else special.
During the install after the sets are successfully
installed
there's a
notification that the bootloader has failed to install due to
mkdir
being
called with an invalid argument.

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing
include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are
included
because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and
thus
what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message
would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out
root causes.)

Post by Liam Wigney
Some research online said that I should
try to do installboot manually in the subsequent prrompt,
so
I called
installboot sd0 and got the following error
installboot: /usr/mdec/biosboot: No such file or
directory

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional
argument
are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs
and
disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate
what
the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
At this point, the two pieces of information that would help
the most
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader
reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks
like. The
output of
"df -k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade
fails
would be
good, for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-11-25 07:30:39 UTC

In case anyone is still following or is interested: Installing to my HP
stream 11 failed in the exact same way. Using the same workaround worked.

Post by Liam Wigney
Thank you so much!
So I dd'd using the raw devices for both the usb and the mac mini. It
worked which is sweet, unfortunately due to the usb being only 4gb it
didn't partition it in the normal Openbsd way, only / /home and /usr, but I
have a bigger usb which should be able to get the normal partition
treatment and copy that one across.
At this point as annoying as it is that it won't just install normally,
it's working, but for the sake of others I'd like to eventually work out
how to fix the issue.
I'm not sure where to look but I might have a bit of a look over how mkdir
is being called as to why the argument invalid error is happening.
But one again thank's so much for you and Phillip taking time out of your
days to help.

Hi,
have you tried to install openBSD on a USB stick (installer run on
another machine) and then boot from that USB stick ?
It will be interesting to find out what happens then.
Best Regards,
Strahil

Post by Liam Wigney
So I thought I'd post one final update for the time being, it's
been
a long
two day's reading man pages and looking though mailing
lists/forums/reddit
posts, and summary of where I'm at in case anyone in the future
wants
help.
I'll
Firstly, no matter how I try to install I still get the "
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument" error but with different gibberish.
Secondly there's a reddit thread with some info and discussion at
https://www.reddit.com/r/openbsd/comments/9qllyy/bootloader_faili
ng_t
o_install_on_2012_mac_mini/
Openbsd documentation for (u)efi is highly lacking however in
this
case
it's hard to say how helpful it would have been. I've only ever used
openbsd with legacy boot on however mac's don't have the option
to do
so.
When pressing the key combo for the boot menu of the mac I see
two
options.
One named "windows" and one named "efi boot".
They both boot into the openbsd installer but with several differences.
The "windows" option boots into a full screen installer. With
this
boot
option wd0 is the root disk and sd0 is the usb. Upon running
dmesg |
grep
efi to confirm that efi is noticed shows that's it's not. An
attempt
to
install with either gpt or mbr fails with the invalid argument
error.
The
"efi" boot option boots with the installer taking up the center
of
the
screen, in this boot option sd0 is root and sd1 is the usb, it
does
however
notice that the mac mini is an efi system. It "usually" (Because
I've
tried
a few times and noticed that sometimes it doesn't) creates the efi
partition and then the regular openbsd partition. However
regardless
of
which option is chosen the error still occurs.
I've tested openbsd 6.3 and a snapshot and it fails in the exact
same
way.
Sorry again if I've left anything out or missed anything.

Post by Liam Wigney
I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to
boot
the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The
computer
has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and
instantly
the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being
small
and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".
Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a
snapshot
to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.
m>

Post by Liam Wigney
Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again
after
wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't
auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it
usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember.
Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw
did
as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when
playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one
but
with new
numbers and letters after the ".".
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument
Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.
The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to
replicate it
Filesystem 1K-
blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted
on
/dev/rd0a 3535 5256 279 92%
/
/dev/sd0a 1028878 69194 908242 7% /mnt
/dev/sd0l 312080952
36 296476872 0% /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d 4125406 2 3919134 0% /mnt
/tmp
/dev/sd0f 2061054 577930 1380072 30% /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g 1028878 190628 786808 20% /mnt/usr/
X11R
6
/dev/sd0h 20636942 218 19604878 0% /mnt/usr/loca
l
/dev/sd0k 6189758 2 5880270 0% /mnt/usr/o
bj
/dev/sd0j 2061054 2 1958000 0% /mnt/usr/
src
/dev/sd0e 20425598 3394 19400926 0% /mnt/var
il.c
om>

Post by Liam Wigney
I've used Openbsd before but my installs have gone smoothly
with no
issues
and this is really the first time it's been a problem.
The
install is a
super boring one, it's whole disk Openbsd with the default
gpt partition
layout and nothing else special.
During the install after the sets are successfully
installed
there's a
notification that the bootloader has failed to install due to
mkdir
being
called with an invalid argument.

All the error messages from installboot from mkdir failing
include both
the path and the specific error message. Those are
included
because
they're helpful in understanding exactly what failed (and
thus
what could
be wrong). Including the _exact_ and _full_ error message
would make it
easier to assist.
(Ruling out stuff that _didn't_ fail is key to figuring out
root causes.)

Post by Liam Wigney
Some research online said that I should
try to do installboot manually in the subsequent prrompt,
so
I called
installboot sd0 and got the following error
installboot: /usr/mdec/biosboot: No such file or directory

Yes, when running from the bsd.rd ramdisk additional
argument
are
necessary so that installboot can find the files it needs
and
disk on which
to install them. ...but doing that will just replicate
what
the upgrade
script already did and the error it gave you...
At this point, the two pieces of information that would help
the most
1) the *EXACT AND FULL* error message that the upgrader
reported from
installboot
2) what your disklabel and partition layout looks
like. The
output of
"df -k" from the ramdisk shell prompt after the upgrade
fails
would be
good, for example, as it has everything mounted under /mnt.
Philip Guenther

Liam Wigney

2018-11-28 01:50:50 UTC

The same issue occurred using a separate usb with a toshiba C55D and with a
cd on a home built tower. At this point I'm just so confused at why it's
fine installing to a usb but not a clean disk on not one but four different
disk/computer configurations with varying Openbsd versions and install
media. I installed 6.3 fine on my old efi xps but since the issue with the
Mac Mini everything I've tried has failed to install to the disk and the
old guides for making an efi partition fail in the same way, only coping
the efi partition from a usb with Openbsd installed works.

I thought I'd just quickly write a small guide on how I did it in case
anyone has the same issue:

1. Install OpenBSD to a separate USB stick
2. dd the usb onto the hard drive
3. As all my USB's were 8gb ones the auto partitions were smaller and
fewer, instead of mucking around expanding I found that I could now install
Openbsd to the internal hard drive in the Openbsd portion of the disk (ie
not choosing gpt as that would overwrite the whole disk) thus keeping the
functioning efi parition in place.

It's not the cleanest way to install but as I said, 4 failures in the same
way with different configs and different images and versions and it seems
that no one online has had the same issue ever before, or hasn't posted
about it, so I'm stumped but happy that I have a method that works.

Post by Liam Wigney
In case anyone is still following or is interested: Installing to my HP
stream 11 failed in the exact same way. Using the same workaround worked.

Post by Liam Wigney
Thank you so much!
So I dd'd using the raw devices for both the usb and the mac mini. It
worked which is sweet, unfortunately due to the usb being only 4gb it
didn't partition it in the normal Openbsd way, only / /home and /usr, but I
have a bigger usb which should be able to get the normal partition
treatment and copy that one across.
At this point as annoying as it is that it won't just install normally,
it's working, but for the sake of others I'd like to eventually work out
how to fix the issue.
I'm not sure where to look but I might have a bit of a look over how
mkdir is being called as to why the argument invalid error is happening.
But one again thank's so much for you and Phillip taking time out of your
days to help.

Hi,
have you tried to install openBSD on a USB stick (installer run on
another machine) and then boot from that USB stick ?
It will be interesting to find out what happens then.
Best Regards,
Strahil

Post by Liam Wigney
So I thought I'd post one final update for the time being, it's
been
a long
two day's reading man pages and looking though mailing
lists/forums/reddit
posts, and summary of where I'm at in case anyone in the future
wants
help.
I'll
Firstly, no matter how I try to install I still get the "
installboot: mkdir('/tmp/installboot.hP11Q78IbS/efi') failed: Invalid
argument" error but with different gibberish.
Secondly there's a reddit thread with some info and discussion at
https://www.reddit.com/r/openbsd/comments/9qllyy/bootloader_faili
ng_t
o_install_on_2012_mac_mini/
Openbsd documentation for (u)efi is highly lacking however in
this
case
it's hard to say how helpful it would have been. I've only ever used
openbsd with legacy boot on however mac's don't have the option
to do
so.
When pressing the key combo for the boot menu of the mac I see
two
options.
One named "windows" and one named "efi boot".
They both boot into the openbsd installer but with several differences.
The "windows" option boots into a full screen installer. With
this
boot
option wd0 is the root disk and sd0 is the usb. Upon running
dmesg |
grep
efi to confirm that efi is noticed shows that's it's not. An
attempt
to
install with either gpt or mbr fails with the invalid argument
error.
The
"efi" boot option boots with the installer taking up the center
of
the
screen, in this boot option sd0 is root and sd1 is the usb, it
does
however
notice that the mac mini is an efi system. It "usually" (Because
I've
tried
a few times and noticed that sometimes it doesn't) creates the efi
partition and then the regular openbsd partition. However
regardless
of
which option is chosen the error still occurs.
I've tested openbsd 6.3 and a snapshot and it fails in the exact
same
way.
Sorry again if I've left anything out or missed anything.

Post by Liam Wigney
I noticed upon selecting the boot menu there were two ways to
boot
the usb
in the Mac's efi, I selected the one labled "windows". The
computer
has
never had windows installed and it's for booting the usb but I
never saw
anything noting that this would happen. I selected it and
instantly
the
installer takes up the whole monitor as opposed to just being
small
and
centred. It also, when selecting the default gpt full disk
configuration,
auto-made a EFI partition. However the install failed with the
exact same
error but with new numbers and letters after "installboot.".
Maybe this is booting the usb with efi and previously it wasn't?
Regardless, it's still not working. I might try 6.3 and a
snapshot
to see
if it's just an issue with 6.4.
m>

Post by Liam Wigney
Thanks for the reply, I actually tried the install again
after
wiping the
disk and noticed that it seems like and efi partition wasn't
auto-created
as part of the partitioning which seems odd since I swear it
usually is for
efi systems but then again maybe I just don't remember.
Install.txt doesn't
mention needing to create one even though one old guide I saw
did
as part
of the procedure. The previous efi partition I noticed when
playing around
before wiping the disk must have been from the old Linux install.
Regardless the error is identical almost to the previous one
but
with new
numbers and letters after the ".".
Invalid
argument
Failed to install bootlocks.
You will not be able to book OpenBSD from sd0.
The output of df -k (Sorry about the formatting, I tried to
replicate it
Filesystem 1K-
blocks Used Avail Capacity Mounted
on
/dev/rd0a 3535 5256 279 92%
/
/dev/sd0a 1028878 69194 908242 7% /mnt
/dev/sd0l 312080952
36 296476872 0% /mnt/home
/dev/sd0d 4125406 2 3919134 0% /mnt
/tmp
/dev/sd0f 2061054 577930 1380072 30% /mnt/usr
/dev/sd0g 1028878 190628 786808 20% /mnt/usr/
X11R
6
/dev/sd0h 20636942 218 19604878 0% /mnt/usr/loca
l
/dev/sd0k 6189758 2 5880270 0% /mnt/usr/o
bj
/dev/sd0j 2061054 2 1958000 0% /mnt/usr/
src
/dev/sd0e 20425598 3394 19400926 0% /mnt/var
il.c
om>