Charles Darwin Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 It looks very beta, when someone has to enter the BIOS to boot any non-Atari-OS. The Atari team should at least install a boot manager like rEFInd. I just tried and on my system it works very well. You can configure it, but the standard configuration is that it boots the OS from last time...after 10 seconds or so. Download the rEFInd usb image from here https://sourceforge.net/projects/refind/files/0.12.0/refind-flashdrive-0.12.0.zip/download Copy it to a usb stick (in Linux Mint right-click on the img-file...there is an option "create bootable usb" or similar). Reboot the VCS. It boots from the rEFInd stick. It takes a while until the boot options are displayed (it scans all drives). Check if you can boot the AtariOS and your other OSs. If it works, in the rEFInd GUI there is an option "install to disk" or similar. Now...this is important...choose the EFI-A partition. This is the boot partition of the AtariOS. Reboot...remove the USB stick. Now you dont need the ESC and BIOS procedure anymore to boot from the OS of your choice. There is just one unsolved problem. You can do lots of configurations in the refind.conf file. The problem is that you cannot do it from the refind-GUI...and in another Linux OS the partition EFI-A is locked. Maybe it works in Windows. I havent figured that out yet. Just thought I let you know... https://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/configfile.html EDIT: Important!!! If you want to undo it, you need an Atari USB flash stick! ? 3 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Darwin Posted January 20, 2021 Author Share Posted January 20, 2021 ok...I have to admit...the bootmanager on the eMMC gets overwritten due to some kind of security feature of the AtariOS. So it only works, when you leave the bootmanager usb stick plugged in. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andymanone Posted January 20, 2021 Share Posted January 20, 2021 Great job, mate! Well done ???! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Hello, I discoverd rEFInd some weeks ago with/by Ubuntu 20.10 install. The Ubuntu version (apt install refind) is containing lot of less files than your shared img I juste discover the version you share that is lot more files (realy interesting) Good news, with this versions of rEFInd you share, I got permanent rEFInd boot from eMMC I use the img you share, extract with 7zip the EFI folder I'm on Windows and use DiskGenius to copy the EFi folder on root of the first partion of eMMC Start permanently on rEFInd, we will can reinstall Apertis (to give an other chance) lol @andymanone Great job for you tests and shares THANKS YOU SO MUCH BOTH BR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 Hello, I discoverd rEFInd some weeks ago with/by Ubuntu 20.10 install. The Ubuntu version (apt install refind) is containing lot of less files than your shared img I juste discover the version you share that is lot more files (realy interesting) Good news, with this versions of rEFInd you share, I got permanent rEFInd boot from eMMC I use the img you share, extract with 7zip the EFI folder I'm on Windows and use DiskGenius to copy the EFi folder on root of the first partion of eMMC Start permanently on rEFInd, we will can reinstall Apertis (to give an other chance) lol @andymanone Great job for you tests and shares THANKS YOU SO MUCH BOTH BR Edit : if you want rEFInd wallpaper ATARI inspired see here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 After 2 or 3 reboot rEFInd move to second place boot order behind ATARI in UEFI sad At second reboot got message from Apertis that boot to UEFI where I discover the order change Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 ? It finally works Apear me permanent since lots of reboot from last night... Explain: I started from restore disk without updates (clean install eMMC) I have copy/past rEFInd in both of partitions EFI (1) and EFI (2) 122.1MB partitions and replace by the fact the ATARI system BOOTX64.efi file I have updated to latest Apertis version and connect online. No problems. Since that, I have install Ubuntu 20.10, all is fine. Got now Windows, Batocera, Ubuntu M.2, Apertis eMMC on start on rEFInd dashboard every boot So happy ! BR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zzip Posted February 25, 2021 Share Posted February 25, 2021 20 hours ago, 0_obeWAN said: After 2 or 3 reboot rEFInd move to second place boot order behind ATARI in UEFI sad At second reboot got message from Apertis that boot to UEFI where I discover the order change This happens to me on my PC too. rEFInd is my bootloader, but every few months, the built-in system bootloader becomes primary and I have to reinstall rEFInd 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted February 26, 2021 Share Posted February 26, 2021 23 hours ago, zzip said: This happens to me on my PC too. rEFInd is my bootloader, but every few months, the built-in system bootloader becomes primary and I have to reinstall rEFInd Now it can be permanent Just a correction with my last post, the update has to be done before copy/past rEFInd in both of partitions EFI (1) and EFI (2) Each update erase rEFInd boot, except that, rEFInd stay on boot all time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Hello to all, I would like to share with you the fruit of my work on my console. I have two consoles, an Onyx with the secure boot removed (thanks to the mebre of the site that I thank again very much by the way), and a collector's edition that remains locked. For these reasons I wanted to have a boot loader for each. That's why I got interested in rEFInd and Grub2. rEFInd is not supported with the secure boot enabled Luckily there is still Grub2 (native to Ubuntu) which is well supported. So I directed my work in these two directions The result is in video (but in French only, sorry), however despite the poor image quality, the software used are in English, and the manipulations are very basic, so I hope that everyone will find their way. Have a good view and if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them. Dowload links in videos descriptions [ATARI VCS 800] USB Multi boot rEFInd VCS WARNING !!! Do not try to perform these operations on your console without having deactivated the option: "Enforce Secure Boot". You could irreversibly damage your console [ATARI VCS 800] eMMC (permanent) Multi boot rEFInd VCS WARNING !!! Do not try to perform these operations on your console without having deactivated the option: "Enforce Secure Boot". You could irreversibly damage your console [ATARI VCS 800] USB Multi boot Grub2 VCS [ATARI VCS 800] eMMC (permanent) Multi boot Grub2 VCS I hope you enjoy BR 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 This looks like exactly what I would like to accomplish! My preference is the eMMC Grub2 VCS method - but not speaking French I'm probably missing a good bit. Also when I try the link in the video, I get "This page is not allowed in the US". Has anyone else tried this out? I was thinking I'd like to go with Grub2 simply because it allows secure boot (and my worry is that if I make changes and the firmware gets an update I could be screwed - as I don't have an Atari USB Flash Drive and have no idea how to make one. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadream Posted May 4, 2021 Share Posted May 4, 2021 22 hours ago, moonchilddave said: This looks like exactly what I would like to accomplish! My preference is the eMMC Grub2 VCS method - but not speaking French I'm probably missing a good bit. Also when I try the link in the video, I get "This page is not allowed in the US". Has anyone else tried this out? I was thinking I'd like to go with Grub2 simply because it allows secure boot (and my worry is that if I make changes and the firmware gets an update I could be screwed - as I don't have an Atari USB Flash Drive and have no idea how to make one. Use a VPN or a VPN extension in your browser (Opera has it built in) and select a country of choice to make your location appear as that to circumvent the denial of access from the US. You'll then be able to download the necessary file(s). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted May 5, 2021 Share Posted May 5, 2021 On 5/3/2021 at 9:59 PM, moonchilddave said: This looks like exactly what I would like to accomplish! My preference is the eMMC Grub2 VCS method - but not speaking French I'm probably missing a good bit. Also when I try the link in the video, I get "This page is not allowed in the US". Has anyone else tried this out? I was thinking I'd like to go with Grub2 simply because it allows secure boot (and my worry is that if I make changes and the firmware gets an update I could be screwed - as I don't have an Atari USB Flash Drive and have no idea how to make one. Hello, You could find there https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/16TAhHA4ZSQDevPVXtz40Oi54Mddn0kIz?usp=sharing You can install on eMMC, no problem on my console. If there is a new update this will replace grub's boox64.efi with new one boox64.efi. Boot direct to Apertis after update If I can help you let me know 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 Ok, I think I managed to install the Grub2 VCS files to both the /efi & /efi_1 directories. When I reboot the VCS, it shows as in the video... but now my question is, how would I add Batocera (installed on my m.2 SSD) to the options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted May 17, 2021 Share Posted May 17, 2021 I assume I need to add a line to the "loader.cfg" file like: add_os_if_exists /efi/batocera/${grub}.efi "Batocera" batocera But I tried that, and it doesn't show up. It appears Batocera EFI is located in /boot/EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted May 18, 2021 Share Posted May 18, 2021 19 hours ago, moonchilddave said: I assume I need to add a line to the "loader.cfg" file like: add_os_if_exists /efi/batocera/${grub}.efi "Batocera" batocera But I tried that, and it doesn't show up. It appears Batocera EFI is located in /boot/EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi I have never test Grub with Batocera. I use rEFInd when I desactivate Enforce Secure boot, better graphic icons) Maybe, this try add_os_if_exists /EFI/BOOT/${grub}.efi "Batocera" batocera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 And now I've made things worse it appears. First, I shrunk the partition on my M.2 drive so I'd have room to install another 1 or 2 OS on the internal drive. First up was Android-x86, which I made a huge mistake when installing and it overwrote the EFI boot which used to take me into Baticera. It appears most all of my data is still there - as if I boot Batocera from a USB stick, it pulls in my data and settings from when I first installed it on the internal. So now if I select the internal M.2 drive it boots straight to Android-x86. Anyone have a clue on how I might be able to fix this without having to format and start completely over? Also, it seems like when I boot into AtariOS now (after installing the Grub2 boot loader) that I can't update the system. I just get "Update Failed" - perhaps because I managed to screw something up. I noticed there was a UEFI recovery tool included with the Grub2 package... which I tried burning to a USB stick and booting from - but the boot manager would not show it as an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justclaws Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 33 minutes ago, moonchilddave said: Also, it seems like when I boot into AtariOS now (after installing the Grub2 boot loader) that I can't update the system. I just get "Update Failed" - perhaps because I managed to screw something up. I noticed there was a UEFI recovery tool included with the Grub2 package... which I tried burning to a USB stick and booting from - but the boot manager would not show it as an option. It's hard to say, indeed, but you can always update the internal disk from a USB recovery image. The same link as if people have a bad update. Of course, a bit of a pain, but it may be less hassle! Yes, the Atari has 2 partitions, in case of corruption (or malicious interference) as it checksums the image at startup, and if there is a problem, then it switches to the other partition and boots off that. As to you making a mistake during install of Android-X86, I had big troubles with that too because it does not ask which disk it's going to install to properly, or at least it didn't. Android-X86 is a PITA at the moment, and that's not just on the VCS. (I have been too busy myself to do more, but there is an Android-X86 thread.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 4 minutes ago, justclaws said: It's hard to say, indeed, but you can always update the internal disk from a USB recovery image. The same link as if people have a bad update. Of course, a bit of a pain, but it may be less hassle! How exactly do you go about updating from a recovery image? Where does one get the recovery image? It'd be nice to be able to update the system again now that a new update is out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted June 8, 2021 Share Posted June 8, 2021 find 23 minutes ago, moonchilddave said: How exactly do you go about updating from a recovery image? Where does one get the recovery image? It'd be nice to be able to update the system again now that a new update is out. find file here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hsIe9H432CXJkjfyctrHo8Ks--_GnQRc/view?usp=sharing But Grub2 does not prevent the update, it is deleted when the Atari system is updated. You have to reinstall it afterwards so For me it has often been a problem to try to install different OSes on the same card. The problem often comes from the loader or rather the loaders. The Grub2 VCS I shared duplicates the native Android Grub I think. It's the same if you install Ubuntu, the included grub is also duplicating. For my part I deleted all the duplicate grub loaders. For Batocera it's another thing, it's syslinux. To avoid bad surprises on the M.2 card, I do all my installations on an external SSD disk in USB. I save the partitions of the different systems I want to install, with DiskGenius in .pmf format. From there I resize my partitions as I want them on my M.2 card (I don't even have to format them) and I restore in each of them the previously saved systems. Hopefully this can help you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 On 6/8/2021 at 3:12 PM, 0_obeWAN said: find find file here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hsIe9H432CXJkjfyctrHo8Ks--_GnQRc/view?usp=sharing But Grub2 does not prevent the update, it is deleted when the Atari system is updated. You have to reinstall it afterwards so For me it has often been a problem to try to install different OSes on the same card. The problem often comes from the loader or rather the loaders. The Grub2 VCS I shared duplicates the native Android Grub I think. It's the same if you install Ubuntu, the included grub is also duplicating. For my part I deleted all the duplicate grub loaders. For Batocera it's another thing, it's syslinux. To avoid bad surprises on the M.2 card, I do all my installations on an external SSD disk in USB. I save the partitions of the different systems I want to install, with DiskGenius in .pmf format. From there I resize my partitions as I want them on my M.2 card (I don't even have to format them) and I restore in each of them the previously saved systems. Hopefully this can help you Thanks!!! Got it restored and updated. Managed to load Batocera, Ubuntu, and Windows is next. Will give rEFInd a go this time. Really my main reason for wanting Android was so I could run SmartYouTube TV. Wish the client Atari provided could be controlled like it is (as well as no ads). I'm also curious if I could restore that 2G restore image you provided to a partition so I could always reflash if needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 17 hours ago, moonchilddave said: I'm also curious if I could restore that 2G restore image you provided to a partition so I could always reflash if needed. Not at this step, need multiple extract before Install 7zip and right clique on atari-flasher-ab-upgrade.img.gz and open as archive Now Extract atari-flasher-ab-upgrade.img from atari-flasher-ab-upgrade.img.gz Extract flasher-storage.img from atari-flasher-ab-upgrade.img Extract atari.img.gz from flasher-storage.img Extract atari-image-ab-upgrade.img from atari.img.gz atari-image-ab-upgrade.img is the image contain ApertisV2020 Exemple for quick retore From Windows on M.2 i can restore Apertis wih batocera, giving atari-image-ab-upgrade.img image and indicate my eMMC (really Quick) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted June 11, 2021 Share Posted June 11, 2021 Just now, 0_obeWAN said: Exemple for quick retore From Windows on M.2 i can restore Apertis wih batocera, giving atari-image-ab-upgrade.img image and indicate my eMMC (really Quick) Sorry for Error I speake about Balenaetcher to flash eMMC from atari-image-ab-upgrade.img image 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonchilddave Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 (edited) 22 hours ago, 0_obeWAN said: Sorry for Error I speake about Balenaetcher to flash eMMC from atari-image-ab-upgrade.img image Ok, I now have Batocera & Ubuntu installed on the M.2 with about 400G of free space left. I also have a 128G USB stick with Windows 10 on it (used the WinToUSB program) that boots on the VCS fine, it is updated (I did have to load the Realtek Wifi drivers to get that working). I'd now like to get it off the USB stick and onto the free space on my M.2 drive so I'll have all 3 OS on there for easy access. Any suggestions on how to get Windows from the USB to the M.2 (without having to erase what I already have on there)? Edited June 12, 2021 by moonchilddave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0_obeWAN Posted June 12, 2021 Share Posted June 12, 2021 3 hours ago, moonchilddave said: Ok, I now have Batocera & Ubuntu installed on the M.2 with about 400G of free space left. I also have a 128G USB stick with Windows 10 on it (used the WinToUSB program) that boots on the VCS fine, it is updated (I did have to load the Realtek Wifi drivers to get that working). I'd now like to get it off the USB stick and onto the free space on my M.2 drive so I'll have all 3 OS on there for easy access. Any suggestions on how to get Windows from the USB to the M.2 (without having to erase what I already have on there)? I usually do it the other way around. - I install Windows on USB and I duplicate on the internal M.2 card, which erases it completely. - I reduce the Windows partition and create my other partitions to the desired size. - In each of the partitions I restore a system that I have previously backed up with DiskGenius in .pmf format that restore filesystem to So if I were you, I would backup the Batocera and Ubuntu partitions. And I would transfer Windows to M.2 internal + restore the backups Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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