# BIOS and UEFI



## billcu (Apr 24, 2020)

I have been trying to boot freebsd and it doesn't seem to want to boot. I use the img file the USB stick, the DVD ISO and all I know to try. I do not have a UEFI system. It is BIOS. Could that be the problem? I have Windows 7 and Fedora 31 side by side here too. Is BIOS and the MBR not supported anymore?


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## tingo (Apr 26, 2020)

BIOS, UEFI, MBR and GPT are all supported by FreeBSD. A few combinations might not work in all cases.
Some (again, very few, based on feedback here and in the mailing lists I read) machines have odd (bad, broken, non-compliant) UEFI implementation that doesn't boot FreeBSD properly.
By far, the most common reason for not booting FreeBSD is a machine with old, not updated BIOS or UEFI. Is the firmware on you machine updated to the latest version available from the vendor?

Also, more detail is needed. Like details of your hardware, how are you making the usb stick, which images are you putting on it, and so on. And - what happens? Do you get output on the screen at all when you try to boot? If so, a picture of the screen (many people have cell phones with built in camera today, taking a picture only takes a moment) might help.


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## billcu (Apr 26, 2020)

tingo said:


> BIOS, UEFI, MBR and GPT are all supported by FreeBSD. A few combinations might not work in all cases.
> Some (again, very few, based on feedback here and in the mailing lists I read) machines have odd (bad, broken, non-compliant) UEFI implementation that doesn't boot FreeBSD properly.
> By far, the most common reason for not booting FreeBSD is a machine with old, not updated BIOS or UEFI. Is the firmware on you machine updated to the latest version available from the vendor?
> 
> Also, more detail is needed. Like details of your hardware, how are you making the usb stick, which images are you putting on it, and so on. And - what happens? Do you get output on the screen at all when you try to boot? If so, a picture of the screen (many people have cell phones with built in camera today, taking a picture only takes a moment) might help.


Yes when I boot I used the boot up that says "BTX loader" USB image stick. Not the mini but the USB. I use 'dd' from linux fedora. I can get the boot screen only when I have went through virtualbox. I don't use this OS on a phone. Oh my. Writing C files would be a terror. I don't know if the mother board's serial number would help or not. That might be over kill. My desktop doesn't use wifi. It uses ethernet. IDK if that helps. As far as taking a pic of the screen there's nothing there to take a pic of really. The boot option screen doesn't appear. I am not getting that far. Except with virtual box. I have tried DVD1. That doesn't boot. The USB image file does show BTX (or is it BX) 1.0 then another version number 1.02. The electricity goes off around here and my BIOS goes. I will tell you that. The CMOS battery, well is pretty much gone. But I just have to adjust the BIOS to allow virtualization to use virtualbox. On Windows 7. I have a windows 7 and Fedora 31 dual boot.


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