OVMF not saving changes

[TSM]

With several difficulties I've installed a Windows Server 2016 vm, utilizing a passthrough'd sata controller.  I don't know if my previous difficulties are important or not, but my current difficulty seems to be the fact that OVMF isn't saving changes that I make.  I have an SSD attached to the passthrough card.  In order to get it to boot from that SSD, I have to manually add it as a boot option into OVMF every time I reboot it.  Seabios doesn't seem to be an option for me, as when I booted with that, the Windows installer would see the drive, but it would say that it couldn't use it?  OVMF didn't have this problem.  It saw the drive and was able to utilize it immediately. 

 

In the xml file line referencing ovmf it uses the term readonly

 

<loader readonly='yes' type='pflash'>/usr/share/qemu/ovmf-x64/OVMF_CODE-pure-efi.fd</loader>

 

I'm guessing this has something to do with not being able to save changes???  If it does, what would you change readonly to? 

[TSM]

So, I got this to work properly.  I don't understand why what I did changed anything.  Or what I did wrong in the first place, but perhaps a smarter person can figure that out, and or maybe this post will help someone in the future. 

 

When I'd go into the screen to select a boot order, my only 2 options were the OS install DVD ISO, and the EFI shell.  I'd manually add what I thought was the drive to the boot options, put it first, and this would then load into Windows.  But I guess this was just a file??? With a .efi ext??  And not the drive??? OVMF was not actually "seeing" the drive?

 

Anyway, I removed the Installer ISO from the main vm config screen, so that there was just no ISO specified, I left the virtio drivers ISO setting though, and voila.  After doing this and going into the Boot order screen, there were lots of options that weren't there before,  including the drive I had Windows installed on.  Selected this to be first in boot order, and now things seem to be working properly.  OVMF setting changes are being kept, and the vm boots straight to Windows without interruption. 

 

I installed Windows on this drive by manually putting that efi file into the boot order, but that doesn't seem to matter.

[Viewday]

appreciate for your great job！It really helps me a lot because i choose to ovfm-tpm to install windows 11 and confront the same problem as you. I do what you did, and it make sense!