Installing 10.04 to 2TB disk, does not boot

[Liam Proven]

On Mon, May 17, 2010 at 3:04 PM, Matthias Brennwald
<matthias at brennwald.org> wrote:
> Dear all
>
> I tried to install Ubuntu 10.04 to a 2TB disk. The installation itself completed without errors (not even when GRUB got installed). However, the system won't boot from the fresh install. After installation and trying to reboot into the new install I only get a message saying that the disk is not bootable. Here's a link to the machine I am using (Tranquil PC Barebones Server):
> http://www.tranquilpc-shop.co.uk/acatalog/BAREBONE_SERVER_Series_2.html
>
> Here's what I tried so far:
>
> 1. Installation using the the Live CD. Result: won't boot.
> 2. Installation using alternate CD. Result: won't boot.
> 3. I manually formatted the disk to explicitly include a small bios_grub partition, hoping that might help to properly install GRUB2. Then repeated the install from the alternate CD. Result: won't boot.
> 4. I took another disk with Ubuntu already on it (160 GB, removed from another machine). Result: This boots nicely.
> 5. Installed to yet another disk (also 160 GB, using the alternate CD). Result: This boots nicely.
>
> So, in summary, it looks like the problem is related to my 2TB disk.
>
> Please note:
> - The above tests were done with only one disk installed (the Tranquil PC Barebones Server will take up to 5 disks).
> - This post is (sort of) a follow up to my earlier post with the subject "Cannot boot from software RAID with 2TB disks". As you can see from this follow up, it looks like the problem I described there was not (only) related to the RAID.
>
> Any hints or ideas on how I can make this work with my 2TB disk(s) would be great!

Only just found this thread.

Much of what you've been told is essentially correct. 2TB+ disks are
getting increasingly common and they are really going to screw up a
lot of the PC industry, because they are essentially incompatible with
and unusable by most legacy PC technology. Neither head/track/sector
not LBA addressing works with them. The traditional PC boot sector and
partitioning scheme doesn't work with them. Most 32-bit OSs, up to and
including Windows XP, can't see them as a single volume.

Because of the limitations of the DOS partitioning table, you need to
use GPT, and that means most BIOSes won't boot off them, either,
because most traditional BIOSes do not understand GPT - you need EFI
for that.

I have not tried 32-bit Linux with them, but I would not be surprised
by problems there, too.

My suggestion would be, as this is bang on the 2TB limit, see if you
can partition it with a classic DOS partition table, even if this
means losing the last few gig. A working 1.99TB drive might be more
use than a 2.01TB one that won't work with your BIOS or OS.

Better still, don't boot off it. For now, the easiest and best way to
use 2TB+ drives with traditional PCs and PC OSs it to hang them off a
hardware RAID controller, and ideally, access them across a network.

If you really want 2TB+ boot volumes, get a Mac. The Intel Macs use
EFI firmware and GPT natively and work with such large volumes without
problems.

-- 
Liam Proven • Profile: http://www.linkedin.com/in/liamproven
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