Bootloader options not saved by F8 (Frugal install)

[fossean]

Hi all, just made a persistent frugal install of MX-18.3_x64 and it works perfectly. The problem is that when booting from the live-USB, the boot options have been reset and need to be re-entered each time, despite using the F8 SAVE option.

I've 'fixed' it by editing syslinux.cfg on the live-USB so that the Append options line is as follows: APPEND quiet nosplash lang=en_GB fdev=sdb1 frugal_persist

Can anyone please suggest what the problem is here, as it's really bugging me

Some background -- the usb drive was first burned with Rufus and used to successfully create a persistent frugal installation. In an attempt to solve the problem I cloned my installation to the same USB using MX Live USB Maker, but boot options still don't stick.

When installing/booting to frugal, I have to add fdev=sdb1, otherwise the live-USB reports that the drive is read-only. I initially installed to sda1 (Windows 10 boot/system drive) and experienced the same problem - installer reported read-only until adding option 'fdev=sda1'. I'm guessing this could be unrelated to the boot options not sticking, but there's definitely something funky afoot.

Could it be a USB stick issue? It's an OLD 8Gb Sandisk Cruiser. Going to order a shiny new one, so I'd welcome your recommendations for brand etc.

Off topic, but it's great to be back! I used Mepis many years ago and loved it. And this frugal install thing is a revelation, really enjoying it.

[fehlix]

Hi all, just made a persistent frugal install of MX-18.3_x64 and it works perfectly. The problem is that when booting from the live-USB, the boot options have been reset and need to be re-entered each time, despite using the F8 SAVE option.

I've 'fixed' it by editing syslinux.cfg on the live-USB so that the Append options line is as follows: APPEND quiet nosplash lang=en_GB fdev=sdb1 frugal_persist

I guess, not all manually added boot options get carried over into the custom boot entry. The easiest would be to have the partition renamed to "antix-Frugal", which is the search default for the frugal partition.

[fossean]

I guess, not all manually added boot options get carried over into the custom boot entry. The easiest would be to have the partition renamed to "antix-Frugal", which is the search default for the frugal partition.

Maybe, but the problem here is that none of the boot options are carried over, and there's no custom entry - everything returns to default.

[BitJam]

Are you booting legacy or UEFI? F8 => Legacy

It can be tricky to find what device you booted from. There can be a similar issue when booting from an encrypted live-usb. Fehlix and I worked on the live boot system for antiX-19 and MX-19. IIRC, I worked on the specific feature you are asking about. If you feel like it, you could try starting with one of our $DISTRO-19 betas and see if the problem has been fixed. If it's still broken then I will add fixing it to my TODO list.

[Jerry3904]

I will add fixing it to my TODO list.

Which is getting shorter and shorter by the minute, right?!

[fehlix]

I guess, not all manually added boot options get carried over into the custom boot entry. The easiest would be to have the partition renamed to "antix-Frugal", which is the search default for the frugal partition.

Maybe, but the problem here is that none of the boot options are carried over, and there's no custom entry - everything returns to default.

Right, when booting in UEFi-mode we have a Custom Menu entry.
Within BIOS/legacy booting the chosen option with Fn are saved using F8->save options
Those options used for frugal-booting like fdev,flab,fuuid etc. seems not to have made to get sticky.
As a workaround do add this manually to the /boot/syslinux/syslinux,cfg file.
HTH

[fossean]

Thanks for the help @fehlix and @BitJam, I tried the latest beta (MX-19beta-2.1_x64) under the same conditions with a frugal install and it looks like you've fixed this issue. The read-only problem is gone and all the booloader options are saved correctly when rebooting.

Unfortunately the system doesn't finish booting to desktop, but hangs on 'live-usb-save: restore state information'. I need to do a bit more digging and playing around with this; if I can't solve it myself, I'll take it to the correct sub-forum. Thanks again!

(Edited to add: The last thing I did before rebooting was to install the nvidia test driver. NOt the smartest idea. I'll have to test it again tomorrow without that driver - I see some reports of problems caused by that)

(Final edit: Now boots perfectly with nvidia driver after adding F6 noxorg bootloader option. Brilliant!)