Void grub install unbootable on some motherboards

[T3cube]

The MSI z170a SLI plus motherboard will not recognize grub unless some files (I don't know what files specifically) are found in /boot. It ignores files in /boot/EFI for some reason. (Worked around this in Arch Linux by installing grub to /boot and it picked it up just fine)

Allow the installer to install grub to other directories instead of only /boot/efi

Fresh install of debian 13 works just fine

I can try and provide more information if needed, I am no expert unfortunately.

[sharesourcecode]

If you're trying to boot the official Void Linux ISO on an old PC and it either doesn't boot or gets stuck on a black screen, here's what worked for me:
✅ 1. Problems you may see

USB created with dd does not boot on old BIOS

If it boots, it may hang after “Welcome to Void…” on a black screen with a blinking cursor

No TTYs (Ctrl+Alt+F2) work

GPU is something old like Intel i915

✅ 2. Rebuild the ISO with ISOLINUX (legacy BIOS support)
🔹 Step 1: Create working directories

sudo mkdir -p ~/iso/original ~/iso/custom

🔹 Step 2: Mount the original ISO

sudo mount -o loop ~/Downloads/void-live-x86_64-20250202-xfce.iso ~/iso/original

🔹 Step 3: Copy ISO contents

sudo cp -rT ~/iso/original ~/iso/custom
sudo umount ~/iso/original

✅ 3. Add ISOLINUX bootloader to the ISO
Step 3.1: Create the ISOLINUX directory structure

sudo mkdir -p ~/iso/custom/boot/isolinux

Step 3.2: Copy ISOLINUX files

Paths may vary slightly by distro; on many Debian/Ubuntu-like systems:

sudo cp /usr/lib/ISOLINUX/isolinux.bin ~/iso/custom/boot/isolinux/
sudo cp /usr/lib/syslinux/modules/bios/* ~/iso/custom/boot/isolinux/

(If your distro uses different paths, adjust accordingly.)
✅ 4. Create isolinux.cfg (boot menu)

Create the config file:

sudo nano ~/iso/custom/boot/isolinux/isolinux.cfg

Basic example content:

UI menu.c32
PROMPT 0
MENU TITLE Void Linux Boot Menu
TIMEOUT 50
DEFAULT linux

LABEL linux
    MENU LABEL Void Linux Live (default)
    KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
    APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd root=live:CDLABEL=VOID_LIVE rd.live.image

✅ 5. Add VESA-safe graphics options (for Intel i915)

Now edit the same file to add VESA and nomodeset.

Find the LABEL linux entry and change the APPEND line to:

LABEL linux
    MENU LABEL Void Linux Live (default, VESA)
    KERNEL /boot/vmlinuz
    APPEND initrd=/boot/initrd root=live:CDLABEL=VOID_LIVE rd.live.image nomodeset xforcevesa

This forces:

nomodeset → disables kernel modesetting

xforcevesa → forces use of the generic VESA driver

✅ 6. Rebuild the ISO with xorriso (BIOS-hybrid)

Install needed tools (example for Debian/Ubuntu):

sudo apt install xorriso isolinux syslinux-utils

Then rebuild:

cd ~/iso/custom
sudo xorriso -as mkisofs \
  -o ../void-live-vesa.iso \
  -isohybrid-mbr /usr/lib/ISOLINUX/isohdpfx.bin \
  -c boot/isolinux/boot.cat \
  -b boot/isolinux/isolinux.bin \
  -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table \
  -V "VOID_LIVE" \
  .

Result: ~/iso/void-live-vesa.iso
✅ 7. Write the new ISO to a USB stick (legacy BIOS-ready)

⚠️ Replace /dev/sdX with your actual USB device (for example, /dev/sdb). This will erase it.

Wipe the beginning (optional but recommended):

sudo dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sdX bs=1M count=10

Write the ISO:

sudo dd if=~/iso/void-live-vesa.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress oflag=sync
sync
sudo eject /dev/sdX

✅ 8. Boot on the old PC

Plug the USB in the old machine

Set BIOS to boot from USB

It should now:

    Be detected by BIOS

    Boot into Void Linux

    Use VESA graphics instead of crashing with Intel i915

[T3cube]

it supports UEFI boot. bios boot has the same issue. thats allot of work for fixing an iso installer that should be bootable after install. my system is running debian and i have no reason to redo the install.

the iso boots, it installs, and then the install doesnt boot. grub just isnt found

[classabbyamp]

what they said is unnecessary and a non-sequitur