Will installation on BIOS systems with no ESP be supported in? 21.04?

[Robert Heller]

At Thu, 15 Apr 2021 04:14:19 +0200 "Ubuntu user technical support,? not for general discussions" <ubuntu-users at lists.ubuntu.com> wrote:

> 
> On Wed, 14 Apr 2021 23:55:57 +0200, Liam Proven wrote:
> >[...]I always run in legacy BIOS mode if I can; it's simpler, more
> >familiar, and there is less to go wrong [...] entirely useless extra
> >partition [...]
> 
> To me the whole thing is useless and reading something like
> 
> "What is the UEFI Forum?
> 
> Through a collaborative approach with world-class companies,
> institutions and experts, the UEFI Forum advances innovation in
> firmware technology standards. These extensible, globally-adopted UEFI
> specifications bring new functionality and enhanced security to the
> evolution of devices, firmware and operating systems." -
> https://uefi.org/faq
> 
> sounds like snake oil to me.
> 
> Actually "world-class companies, institutions and experts" are
> responsible for CPUs suffering from meltdown and spectre. However, the
> UEFI forum innovative standard includes obscurity: "the file system
> specification is independent from the original FAT specification. The
> actual extent of divergence is unknown" -
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFI_system_partition#Overview
> 
> UEFI implementations not necessarily apply to UEFI specifications
> 
> "The UEFI specification requires MBR partition tables to be fully
> supported.[1] However, some UEFI implementations immediately switch to
> the BIOS-based CSM booting upon detecting certain types of partition
> table on the boot disk, effectively preventing UEFI booting to be
> performed from EFI system partitions contained on MBR-partitioned
> disks.[5]" - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EFI_system_partition#Overview
> 
> "What problem is the UEFI Forum trying to solve with the UEFI
> Specification?
> 
> The UEFI Specification provides interfaces and mechanisms to allow for
> support of new technologies, improved development, and enhanced
> customer experience during the time before the operating system loads.
> The UEFI Specification has benefits for both the business and consumer
> end-user." - https://uefi.org/faq
> 
> IIUC a consumer end-user benefits from trouble, due to "smart"
> implementations.
> 
> Unfortunately "legacy BIOS mode" is also fishy, but it still offers
> less painful experiences and doesn't require an obscure FAT partition.

Wondering aloud: will x86 flavor systems implement UBoot? UBoot is the
defactor standard for ARM-based Linu SBCs (except Raspberry Pis). Seems to be
alot simplier and straight forward, as opposed to the boot ROMs on x86 "PC"
hardware.

> 

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