Yes I have seen older threads about the same issue.
There is an EFI folder on the stick (without "-").
I have run the script to make it bootable and said EFI.

 

Seems my problems have no end. (if people remember my previous threads)
I once more replaced my motherboard with another one, from a brand I trust (Asus).

But I just discovered that for some reason my CPU/chipset configuration (12600 on Z790 motherboard), at least for Asus (!?), doesn't seem to support CSM enabled (compatibility with non-EFI boot), when integrated graphics are used. Strangely enough, this was not a problem with the (otherwise bad) Chinese Z690 motherboard and same CPU!

But I cannot replace motherboard a FOURTH time in a month and I don't have readily available gfx card (plus I really want my PCIe x16 slot for my PCI-SATA x8 card - the other slots are x4).

...so I tried booting UNRAID in UEFI mode. It did not work.
I actually never remember UNRAID (with this stick or previous sticks) booting in UEFI with any motherboard. It always prefered legacy.
But now I am FORCED to use UNRAID in UEFI mode and since it says that it supposedly can, I need to fix this.

Is there anything I should be looking?
In my UEFI settings, it DOES detect my stick as UEFI:<stick brand and model>. So it can see the EFI folder fine.
But it doesn't actually boot it and returns me to UEFI settings screen.

Is there any setting I should touch in UEFI? Maybe enable secure boot like being Windows?

Maybe make USB stick GPT instead of MBR? (all USB sticks are formated in MBR by default)

 

I really really really need a solution, I am exhausted with the huge chain of issues and this is the cherry on top.
Please help. I need my UNRAID to boot in UEFI mode.

EDIT: I backed up my USB stick, then formated it in Rufus and installed a live Linux distro.
This boots in UEFI fine! So the issue is UNRAID.
Then deleted all the files from the stick and replaced them with my UNRAID backup (as suggested by an old thread here).
Stick again becomes unbootable and it takes me to UEFI settings.

Edited March 19, 20251 yr by NLS

To boot UEFI you just need to make sure the folder is named EFI, default for some time, nothing else is needed, not even running the make bootable script.

 

Create a new flash drive using a stock install, no key needed, and see if that boots UEFI, in case the current EFI folder is corrupt, if it doesn't boot with a new stock install, there's some other issue with the board or the flash drive.

 

 

45 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

To boot UEFI you just need to make sure the folder is named EFI, default for some time, nothing else is needed, not even running the make bootable script.

 

Create a new flash drive using a stock install, no key needed, and see if that boots UEFI, in case the current EFI folder is corrupt, if it doesn't boot with a new stock install, there's some other issue with the board or the flash drive.

 

 

 

Hi again.
As I say in the second line of my post EFI is there.
I run the make bootable script only to see if it fixes things. It didn't.
 

This flash drive IS new. I replaced it a month ago (between trying to fix all other issues you may remember).
I did a backup of my own boot drive and indeed re-installed from stock 7.0.1 zip just to test.
It did not make a difference. No go.

ON THAT SAME flash drive, I reformatted (with rufus) and put a Linux live distro, actually tried two... a Debian and a Slackware (since UNRAID is based on it), UEFI based (as my motherboard cannot boot legacy until I add a vga card). This worked fine (with my UEFI settings as they are set, so it wasn't an issue of the settings either).
Nothing wrong with flash drive hardware.

I put again stock 7.0.1 and over it my backup without replacing the files of stock 7.0.1. Also no go.

I noticed that other distros, not only had an EFI folder (with mostly different files inside), but also a couple more like "isolinux" instead of "syslinux" or "(boot)"... I even considered trying to make a Frankenstein UNRAID boot, but was beyond my capabilities in such a short notice.

Something with the syslinux method UNRAID uses (apparently it is a hybrid UEFI over CSM enabled - i.e. not compatible with CSM fully off) is probably not compatible with more modern motherboards.
(that said, I am not sure I remember UNRAID ever booting in UEFI with any of my previous hardware - because I did try in the past again... at least back then I had a choice so I reverted to legacy, but now I don't have the option)
Or maybe it is something else.

 

Edited March 20, 20251 yr by NLS

1 hour ago, NLS said:

I run the make bootable script only to see if it fixes things. It didn't.

Like mentioned, that is not needed for UEFI boot, and It won't change anything.

 

I would recommend trying RUFUS to create the flash drive, just in case the USB tool is not working correctly with yours.

13 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

Like mentioned, that is not needed for UEFI boot, and It won't change anything.

 

I would recommend trying RUFUS to create the flash drive, just in case the USB tool is not working correctly with yours.

 

This is what I used...

I say that above.

:(

 

There's no trick to getting Unraid to boot UEFI, other the flash drive is not getting created correctly, or the board is somehow not compatible with the EFI loader Unraid is using, a quick test is to try and boot with the same flash drive in any other PC, that should confirm where the problem lies.

39 minutes ago, JorgeB said:

with the same flash drive in any other PC

Of course, the test needs to be done in UEFI mode also

The motherboard detects it as an EFI boot device (it shows in boot priority as the only device and names it EFI:<model>).
I will try to bring it to work and try it in a couple different computers (of course change to EFI mode if it is not enabled), because my home computer actually uses the same motherboard (with the difference being that it uses DDR5 RAM not DDR4), so it won't be much of a test.

I do not remember EFI booting of UNRAID ever working for me though - but since every single factor has changed and there is no point discussing about what was in the past, I will try with current hardware. I do remember distinctly (remember I use UNRAID for many years) that periodically I did try to use it in EFI instead of legacy mode (my server even before the latest issues, had been upgraded several times just to improve the hardware when I could afford it) and I remember I always switched to legacy because it either didn't work or was unpredictable (booting some times and some times not). But I said, what matters is here and now with the current set.

(I have to say I am trying to allocate a very cheap basic graphics card to put on one of the x16-length-x4-bandwidth slots -because I want the full x16 for my PCIe SATA controller and hopefully once more, get around the problem -enable CSM- instead of solving it -boot in EFI-, at the cost of a PCIe slot)

 

21 minutes ago, NLS said:

I do not remember EFI booting of UNRAID ever working for me though

It works for me, use it with multiple servers, and for many other users, most recent motherboards only support UEFI boot, if it didn't work in general, you would see 10 posts a day.

 

Legacy:

 

UEFI:

 

 

Fair enough.

Next time I will probably make a video.
 

So, guys this got resolved.

But it is like I write it: IT GOT resolved.
I understand things that happened to me are so weird that some people may think I hide some details. I do not,.

As I said the USB with UNRAID was not booting with my new motherboard in EFI mode, after I made various UEFI setting changes.
So I decided to GO AROUND the issue, go back to CSM (legacy), which with THIS motherboard was a no-go without PCIe gfx card (in other words on-board graphics somehow only allowed EFI booting, no CSM loading - when the cr*p chinese mb I had before, DID allow for that to work, with same CPU).

Anyway, so I went to work next day, tool also UNRAID USB with me to test on a couple other machines.
The content of UNRAID USB was with STOCK 7.0.1 without putting my backup over it.
Also I have arranged to bring an old simple graphics card back home, to enable legacy boot.

In the two machines I tested at work, in BOTH of them USB stick booted in EFI mode! I saw the blue menu!
OK I said, something wrong specifically with my home motherboard (although one of them at work was same brand and similar age with my home one).

So I went home ready to install the graphics card. But first I tried just once more.
STICK BOOTED! IN EFI!
I swear I haven't rouched anything.
Then I thought, maybe I somehow fixed it with the stock and didn't realize.
So I dropped over the stick my own backup of UNRAID USB, but didn't touch the EFI and syslinux folder, plus a few more files I knew didn't differ in version.

THIS WORKED TOO!
So no my UNRAID just... started booting fine in UEFI mode!

So I guess this is a closed issue. Future searches leading to this thread won't be of much help to people.
What I can add as closing comment is that indeed UNRAID SHOULD work in EFI boot mode.

 

Looks like some voodoo stuff, but glad it's resolved.

11 hours ago, JorgeB said:

Looks like some voodoo stuff, but glad it's resolved.

 

Indeed. Trust me when I say something just didn't work and then just worked without change.
I repeat it to believe it myself. My IT background disagrees with me. Something must have changed.
Yet, I didn't do it.

Fact is, stick boots in EFI when it didn't and NVMe are fully in shape, when they reported xfs errors (in other thread) and only... Windows disagreed with the fact.
I actually didn't need the files I recovered, because the original files just worked.

 

Just wanted to log that I was having similar issues on my Lenovo Thinkcentre M90q. Was unable to boot from USB using the UnRAID USB Creator tool with a brand new Transcend JetFlash 32GB drive. I have the same flash drive on my primary server. Tried a bunch of BIOS settings, confirmed that Secure Boot is disabled. The same flash drive was able to boot up other Linux distros created using Balena. What ended up working for me was formatting my drive using Rufus - FreeDOS in FAT32 and doing the manual installation process. Did not need to make the drive bootable in my case.