My test of Sparky3.4 _ 64bit on UEFI

[wayne]

I spent sometime testing a few distros, 64bit, said to be UEFI capable, on my Asus kj42 laptop.

The laptop has Win7, win8.1, both 64-bit and both installed in UEFI mode.

A default fat32 boot partition, 100M size, was created by Win7_64bit during installation.

For my test, I did not wish to add another boot partition for Linux, I simply use the same FAT32 boot partition, or EFI system partition (ESP).


For information, these are the distros that out of the box install in UEFI OK , and allow Win7/8 to be bootable:
Debian7.5_64bit,  opensuse13.1_64bit, xubuntu1404_64bit...

My process of making bootable USB flash is the same, that is in Linux OS with dd command:
dd if=<source.iso> of=/dev/sdX bs=4M; sync

and when I boot Asus laptop, with USB flash, I would power up, immediately hit 'repeatedly' the 'boot key' , in this Asus , the 'boot key' to get into UEFI menu is Esc key.

Once I get into UEFI menu, I would see the USB flash ( SanDisk)  appear twice,
First one is the regular , SanDisk
Second one is UEFI, read as UEFI: SanDisk
the rest of the boot menu are Windows Boot Manager and other boot manager I installed previously.


Now when I test Sparky3.4 , first thing to do is to prepare 'uefi-bootable' USB flash, I choose to start with Linux OS and use the standard dd command.

When I test it on Asus laptop, I do not see the second one, or UEFI: SanDisk.
As such I would not be able to install Sparky3.4 in UEFI mode.


Out of curiosity, I take some time to check what I could on the 'uefi-bootable usb flash' prepared with dd.
I see something interesting..
firstly, fdisk might not list properly because the iso is a hybrid.
secondly, gparted will show it as a unallocated space

both these are consistently with any other distros I tested, whether 32-bit, 64-bit, regular or uefi, so that is just normal.

thirdly, I installed gdisk, this allow us to view GPT partition, used with UEFI installation.

While it is unlikely to have gdisk supporting hybrid iso image, nevertheless, it show something interesting, that is why I would like to take this opportunity to post them and compare a few distros that are said to be UEFI capable.

For this data comparison, I dd the iso to USB flash, mount the USB flash ( yes, it allow me to mount in read-only), then just check some directory and capture them in text format.

Subsequantly I run gdisk -l /dev/sdX , since gdisk detected both msdos (answer 1)  and GPT (answer 2), I just answer 1 first, capture what gdisk says, then run gdisk again, answer 2, capture what gdisk says.

This way I created a text file, with directory listing showing boot, EFI, as well as gdisk.

Here are three some file for comparison

A. debian7.5_64bit

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comparison on various UEFI distro-iso

method:
just use Linux dd command to dump iso to usb flash
then, mount the usb flash
list all folders

after that use gdisk,
answer 1, capture data
rerun gdisk,
answer 2, capture data




Debian 7.5_64bit
Disk /dev/sdc1: 665 MB, 665845760 bytes
255 heads, 63 sectors/track, 80 cylinders, total 1300480 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x14107cce

     Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdc1p1   *           0     1300479      650240    0  Empty
/dev/sdc1p2            7760        8655         448   ef  EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
root@sparky64:/home/wayne# mount /dev/sdc1 /mnt
mount: block device /dev/sdc1 is write-protected, mounting read-only
root@sparky64:/home/wayne# cd /mnt
root@sparky64:/mnt# ls
autorun.inf  doc install      pool   README.txt
boot      efi install.amd  README.html   setup.exe
css      firmware isolinux     README.mirrors.html  tools
debian      g2ldr md5sum.txt   README.mirrors.txt   win32-loader.ini
dists      g2ldr.mbr pics      README.source
root@sparky64:/mnt#

root@sparky64:/mnt# cd efi
root@sparky64:/mnt/efi# ls
boot
root@sparky64:/mnt/efi# cd boot
root@sparky64:/mnt/efi/boot# ls
bootx64.efi
root@sparky64:/mnt/efi/boot#







root@sparky64:/mnt# mount /dev/sdh1 /mnt
mount: block device /dev/sdh1 is write-protected, mounting read-only
root@sparky64:/mnt# gdisk -l /dev/sdh
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid MBR and GPT. Which do you want to use?
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT

Your answer: 1
Disk /dev/sdh: 15625216 sectors, 7.5 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 53BA67BC-FBF5-41FA-B342-79146238C691
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 15625182
Partitions will be aligned on 16-sector boundaries
Total free space is 15624253 sectors (7.5 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   2            7760            8655   448.0 KiB   EF00  EFI System
root@sparky64:/mnt# 2
bash: 2: command not found
root@sparky64:/mnt# gdisk -l /dev/sdh
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid MBR and GPT. Which do you want to use?
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT

Your answer: 1
Disk /dev/sdh: 15625216 sectors, 7.5 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): BC38A348-D90C-42F7-9C20-EE46207F230D
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 15625182
Partitions will be aligned on 16-sector boundaries
Total free space is 15624253 sectors (7.5 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   2            7760            8655   448.0 KiB   EF00  EFI System
root@sparky64:/mnt# gdisk -l /dev/sdh
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid MBR and GPT. Which do you want to use?
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT

Your answer: 2
Using GPT and creating fresh protective MBR.
Warning! Main partition table overlaps the first partition by 64 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Disk /dev/sdh: 15625216 sectors, 7.5 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): D053338D-6A7E-4C2D-ACD4-7EF7D6A5C24D
Partition table holds up to 208 entries
First usable sector is 64, last usable sector is 1300426
Partitions will be aligned on 16-sector boundaries
Total free space is 3 sectors (1.5 KiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   2            7760            8655   448.0 KiB   0700  ISOHybrid1
root@sparky64:/mnt#




B. Sparky3.4_64bit

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sparky_64bit


root@sparky64:/home/wayne# cd /mnt
root@sparky64:/mnt# ls
boot  EFI  install  isolinux  live  pool  preseed
root@sparky64:/mnt# cd boot
root@sparky64:/mnt/boot# ls
grub
root@sparky64:/mnt/boot# cd ..
root@sparky64:/mnt# cd EFI
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI# ls
BOOT
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI# cd BOOT
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI/BOOT# ls
BOOTx64.EFI  grubx64.efi
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI/BOOT#







root@sparky64:/home/wayne/Downloads# mount /dev/sdg1 /mnt
mount: block device /dev/sdg1 is write-protected, mounting read-only
root@sparky64:/home/wayne/Downloads# ls /mnt
boot  EFI  install  isolinux  live  pool  preseed
root@sparky64:/home/wayne/Downloads# gdisk -l /dev/sdg
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Caution: invalid main GPT header, but valid backup; regenerating main header
from backup!

Caution! After loading partitions, the CRC doesn't check out!
Warning! Main partition table CRC mismatch! Loaded backup partition table
instead of main partition table!

Warning! One or more CRCs don't match. You should repair the disk!

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: damaged

Found valid MBR and corrupt GPT. Which do you want to use? (Using the
GPT MAY permit recovery of GPT data.)
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT

Your answer: 1
Warning! Main partition table overlaps the first partition by 34 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Disk /dev/sdg: 15633408 sectors, 7.5 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 4B3383FF-E02E-4D6A-90B6-69D4DF6299FA
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 15633374
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 12479455 sectors (6.0 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
root@sparky64:/home/wayne/Downloads#
root@sparky64:/home/wayne/Downloads# gdisk -l /dev/sdg
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Caution: invalid main GPT header, but valid backup; regenerating main header
from backup!

Caution! After loading partitions, the CRC doesn't check out!
Warning! Main partition table CRC mismatch! Loaded backup partition table
instead of main partition table!

Warning! One or more CRCs don't match. You should repair the disk!

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: damaged

Found valid MBR and corrupt GPT. Which do you want to use? (Using the
GPT MAY permit recovery of GPT data.)
1 - MBR
2 - GPT
3 - Create blank GPT

Your answer: 2
Disk /dev/sdg: 15633408 sectors, 7.5 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 222CD674-7E9F-40D3-BF52-D1ED695D3B88
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 15633374
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 2014 sectors (1007.0 KiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048        15633374   7.5 GiB     0700  Microsoft Basic Data
root@sparky64:/home/wayne/Downloads#

C . another debian distros, said to be uefi-capable, but my test using dd method cannot boot Asus in UEFI mode

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root@sparky64:/# cd /mnt
root@sparky64:/mnt# ls
boot  EFI  isolinux  live  MD5SUMS  md5sum.txt offline
root@sparky64:/mnt# cd boot
root@sparky64:/mnt/boot# ls
grub
root@sparky64:/mnt/boot# cd ..
root@sparky64:/mnt# cd EFI
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI# ls
BOOT
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI# cd BOOT
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI/BOOT# ls
BOOTx64.EFI  grubx64.efi
root@sparky64:/mnt/EFI/BOOT#





root@sparky64:/mnt# gdisk -l /dev/sdi
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present


***************************************************************
Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format
in memory.
***************************************************************

Warning! Main partition table overlaps the first partition by 34 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Disk /dev/sdi: 7837696 sectors, 3.7 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): CA46A80A-57A3-40E5-B45F-9330D5FA0791
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 7837662
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 5025759 sectors (2.4 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
root@sparky64:/mnt# gdisk -l /dev/sdi
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present


***************************************************************
Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format
in memory.
***************************************************************

Warning! Main partition table overlaps the first partition by 34 blocks!
You will need to delete this partition or resize it in another utility.
Disk /dev/sdi: 7837696 sectors, 3.7 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): E7C9F77E-6EF9-4261-AC2A-3EA02BFDD0CC
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 7837662
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 5025759 sectors (2.4 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
root@sparky64:/mnt#



I would summarise my comparison over a few working and non-working UEFI-USB-flash with linux dd command are:

For  UEFI-bootable-usb-flash distros:
in linux , view via gdisk, the usb flash image would have a ESP partition, within that there is a file /efi/boot/boot64.efi
if I use win7 explorer on the usb flash, i could also see \efi\boot\boot64x.efi

For non-UEFI-bootable-usb-flash distros:
there is no ESP partition when view from gdisk
win7 will not see anything, and would suggest to format the USB flash before use

At least one distros gave me headache, it is UEFI-bootable-usb-flash, but upon installation, it cannot boot itself,
even worst, it makes Win7 unbootable.
I am yet to figure out what it did, but it was repeatable... however it is not important for forum here.
I mention here just for information because uefi can be a big issue for people trying to dual boot with Win7 or Win8/8.1



With this long post with some data, I hope Sparky installation image ( via dd) can boot my Asus laptop in UEFI mode and allow me to install in UEFI mode.

thanks for reading

[wayne]

As dd does not allow me to boot in uefi mode, I go try with rufus in Windows.
Many posts over internet recommend rufus   
http://rufus.akeo.ie/


After preparing with rufus, selecting GPT partition scheme for UEFI computer.

Now it boots with UEFI mode  :)

Before I install and test, I would like to check the directory structure, it seems totally different.

fdisk shows

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WARNING: GPT (GUID Partition Table) detected on '/dev/sdb'! The util fdisk doesn't support GPT. Use GNU Parted.


Disk /dev/sdb: 8004 MB, 8004304896 bytes
256 heads, 63 sectors/track, 969 cylinders, total 15633408 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1               1  4294967295  2147483647+  ee  GPT



gdisk shows

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gdisk -l /dev/sdb
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: protective
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: present

Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT.
Disk /dev/sdb: 15633408 sectors, 7.5 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 2B7E7E91-3074-4445-BDD2-1E1CF5469212
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 15633374
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 2014 sectors (1007.0 KiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1            2048        15633374   7.5 GiB     0700  Microsoft Basic Data
root@trios:/home/wayne#


top level directory shows

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/home/wayne# ls /mnt
autorun.ico  boot  install   live  preseed
autorun.inf  EFI   isolinux  pool  syslinux.cfg

EFI directory shows

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ls /mnt/EFI/BOOT
BOOTx64.EFI  grubx64.efi

boot directory shows

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ls /mnt/boot/grub
efi.img  font.pf2  grub.cfg  grub.png  loopback.cfg  x86_64-efi


well, i am going to boot in UEFI mode, install and see what happen.


EDIT
Success  , boot from UEFI into Sparky3.4_Mate_64-bit

:) :D

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wayne@sparky-rufus:~$ inxi -SM
System:    Host: sparky-rufus Kernel: 3.14-1-amd64 x86_64 (64 bit)
           Desktop: MATE 1.8.1  Distro: Debian GNU/Linux jessie/sid
Machine:   Mobo: ASUSTeK model: K42JY v: 1.0
           Bios: American Megatrends v: 301 date: 02/11/2011
wayne@sparky-rufus:~$ uname -a
Linux sparky-rufus 3.14-1-amd64 #1 SMP Debian 3.14.7-1 (2014-06-16) x86_64 GNU/Linux
wayne@sparky-rufus:~$


Here is a quesion:

What is the standard procedure recommended by Sparky linux to prepare UEFI-bootable  USB flash??

I stopped burning DVD for years and would avoid using DVD. 

I know dd is quite standard, used by many distros without trouble.
But I could not make it work for me..

[pavroo]

I never tried to boot sparky on a phisical machine with EFi - I don't have any.
I only tested it on VirtualBox in EFI mode.
But...
But I recommend to use dd or GUI for dd - sparky-live-usb-creator.
Mintstick which is in sparky repo should get the job done too.

[wayne]

I never tried to boot sparky on a phisical machine with EFi - I don't have any.
I only tested it on VirtualBox in EFI mode.
But...
But I recommend to use dd or GUI for dd - sparky-live-usb-creator.
Mintstick which is in sparky repo should get the job done too.

yes, i like to use linux dd ( command ot GUI) as well as Windows dd (win32diskimager)

the issue is, dd on Sparky3.4 iso does not boot in UEFI mode.
the hybrid iso seems not to have the ESP partition which is necessary for UEFi firmware to find and boot it.

[pavroo]

I have read your two post again and I just want to make it clear:
- dd USB Debian 64bit boots OK
- dd USB Sparky 64bit can't boot
- rufus USB Sparky 64bit boot OK
If it is correct I will make a testing iso which I will try to correct it next week.
The point is can you download, dd and test it, please?

[wayne]

I have read your two post again and I just want to make it clear:
- dd USB Debian 64bit boots OK
- dd USB Sparky 64bit can't boot
- rufus USB Sparky 64bit boot OK
If it is correct I will make a testing iso which I will try to correct it next week.
The point is can you download, dd and test it, please?

Yes for all three questions above. Very clear.

However, while dd usb Sparky 64bit cannot boot in UEFI mode, it can boot in bios-mode and install in bios-mode

Sure, I can download test.iso , dd to usb flash  and test on this Asus laptop with UEFI.

[MoroS]

Seems to me that this is something I want to look in as I wanted to do an EFI-based install from a flash drive (my DVD recorder gave up on me). I'm going to be sitting on this one for a few coming days (I really need to take a break from my thesis right now... :/ ).

The strange thing is that the fallback UEFI boot didn't work. I know ASUS is capable of bastardizing every EFI version out there (like the one in the T100TA which gave me a hell of a headache when trying to boot Sparky - no Compatibility Support Module installed... no BIOS legacy booting, but it was before the EFI-based version of Sparky was ready), but to take out something like the UEFI fallback booting? That's a bit too far and it would probably render Windows 8 unbootable (in which I don't believe). Maybe it's because the partition which got copied from the LiveCD is not set to be an ESP partition (only simple FAT32/Win32 partition, but still having a 1.5GB ESP partition is not the best idea around, so it would be fun to have a separate one for this sole purpose). Other conditions for fallback EFI booting are met and VirtualBox seems to pick it up rather well (but I'll run an additional check with a LiveUSB to make sure).

I'm going to do a few things here:
1. I'll try to recreate the steps you took in your test. The testing playground is VirtualBox and a EFI-based MacBook Pro 5,1.
2. I'll have a look at the other ISO file's structure to see how they made a non-vanilla LiveCD that results in a few partitions on the USB drive.

Having those resolved and making sure it boots on VirtualBox, my hardware and your hardware, we'll resolve the issue.

[pavroo]

I hope it's a problem with a missing xorriso option.
That's why I'd like to make a testing iso to make sure is the option missing or it's something else.

[pavroo]

New testing iso image of Sparky Base Edition 3.4.1-test1 64bit is ready.
Please test it:
http://sparkylinux.org/download/#dev

[wayne]

I downloaded and dd to usb flash.

No, there is no UEFI:SanDisk on UEFI computers.

Just capture some data on the dd-usb-flash in case of some use.
There is no EFI partition.

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root@trios:/home/wayne/Downloads# fdisk -l /dev/sdb

Disk /dev/sdb: 4004 MB, 4004511744 bytes
5 heads, 20 sectors/track, 78213 cylinders, total 7821312 sectors
Units = sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disk identifier: 0x00000000

   Device Boot      Start         End      Blocks   Id  System
/dev/sdb1              64     1355923      677930   cd  Unknown
root@trios:/home/wayne/Downloads# mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt
mount: block device /dev/sdb1 is write-protected, mounting read-only
root@trios:/home/wayne/Downloads# ls /mnt
boot  EFI  install  isolinux  live  pool  preseed
root@trios:/home/wayne/Downloads# cd /mnt/boot
root@trios:/mnt/boot# ls
grub
root@trios:/mnt/boot# cd ..
root@trios:/mnt# cd EFI
root@trios:/mnt/EFI# ls
BOOT
root@trios:/mnt/EFI# cd BOOT
root@trios:/mnt/EFI/BOOT# ls
BOOTx64.EFI  grubx64.efi
root@trios:/mnt/EFI/BOOT# gdisk -l /dev/sdb
GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 0.8.8

Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present


***************************************************************
Found invalid GPT and valid MBR; converting MBR to GPT format
in memory.
***************************************************************

Exact type match not found for type code CD00; assigning type code for
'Linux filesystem'
Disk /dev/sdb: 7821312 sectors, 3.7 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): 602CA827-DDB5-4D81-BECC-78A353A81729
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 7821278
Partitions will be aligned on 64-sector boundaries
Total free space is 6465385 sectors (3.1 GiB)

Number  Start (sector)    End (sector)  Size       Code  Name
   1              64         1355923   662.0 MiB   8300  Linux filesystem
root@trios:/mnt/EFI/BOOT#


[MoroS]

Ok. We'll have to make the ISO so that after dd'ing to a flash drive it features a ESP partition with at least /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI (fallback booting option). It seems that it a question of the missing ESP partition.

[pavroo]

That's right.
The change is with the missing option of xorriso hybryde.
But the question is can you boot the dd testing iso on your UEFI machine?

[MoroS]

I can try. I've got a 2GB pendrive that will be enough for this. Is the 3.4.1-test1 the one I should try?

EDIT: 3.41-test1 is unbootable on my device. Only one partition is seen after dd'ing the ISO image to the flash drive.

[pavroo]

Yes, it can't boot. Changing the xorriso option made it wrong.
Anyway sparky 3.4 and 3.4.1-test1 has not GPT:

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gdisk -l /dev/sdb
Partition table scan:
  MBR: MBR only
  BSD: not present
  APM: not present
  GPT: not present

[MoroS]

A-HA! Got it. ;D

I've got a way of creating the right configuration that works for VirtualBox and my bastardized MacBook Pro EFI (which in general terms should now work everywhere).  ;)

What I've done was:
1. Extract the test1 ISO (without excluding squashfs, as we're only doing basic repackaging of the ISO alone):

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$ mkdir mnt
$ mkdir extracted
$ sudo mount -o loop sparkylinux-3.4.1-test1-x86_64-base.iso ./mnt
$ rsync -a ./mnt ./extracted
2. Next I've prepared the ISO with some Xorriso example I found on the web:

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$ cd extracted
xorriso -as mkisofs -rock -omit-version-number -disable-deep-relocation -joliet -allow-leading-dots -volid "SparkyHybridISO" -b isolinux/isolinux.bin -c isolinux/boot.cat -no-emul-boot -boot-load-size 4 -boot-info-table -eltorito-alt-boot -e boot/grub/efi.img -no-emul-boot -o ../sparkylinux-3.4.1-test2-x86_64-base.iso .
3. MOST IMPORTANT: I've treated the new ISO file with IsoHybrid utility from ISOLINUX ("-u" stands for "build EFI bootable image" 8) ):

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$ cd ..
$ isohybrid -u ./sparkylinux-3.4.1-test2-x86_64-base.iso

Then I've just dd'ed it to the pendrive and voila! The pendrive shows two partitions. :) Maybe it's just a question of running "isohybrid -u"? ;)

I'll say more: I'm writing this post on my EFI MacBook Pro from my natively EFI booted SparkyLinux pendrive (the colors are screwed up - blue and red have switched places - but that's normal for this hardware and the Nouveau driver in EFI mode... they still didn't fix it... it's been years now  :-\ ). 8)

EDIT: I've tested the BIOS booting on the ISO and the dd'ed pendrive. It works flawlessly, so I guess what's left is to incorporate the additional steps to the ISO creation process and put 3.4.1-test2 out. :)

I can do some 32-bit EFI testing. Is 3.4 EFI-compatible in general? I'll repackage it if needed.