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Make removable location the default for bootloader installation#4030

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Torxed merged 1 commit into
archlinux:masterfrom
Mintsuki:default-to-removable
Dec 27, 2025
Merged

Make removable location the default for bootloader installation#4030
Torxed merged 1 commit into
archlinux:masterfrom
Mintsuki:default-to-removable

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@Mintsuki

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Also update the option's description to make it clear that it being enabled is the sane default.

@Mintsuki

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Addresses #4026

@Mintsuki Mintsuki force-pushed the default-to-removable branch from c7de7fb to 0c0b8b0 Compare December 25, 2025 08:51
Also update the option's description to make it clear that it being enabled is the sane default.
@Mintsuki Mintsuki force-pushed the default-to-removable branch from 0c0b8b0 to 6a0dfaa Compare December 25, 2025 08:53
@h8d13

h8d13 commented Dec 26, 2025

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Bump 👍🙏

@Torxed

Torxed commented Dec 26, 2025

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@svartkanin IIRC we made this an option in the partitioning/grub menu, didn't we? to make it optional instead a forced default for everyone?

@h8d13

h8d13 commented Dec 26, 2025

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Yes the problem is hardware support and text was miss-leading to press "No"
On Macs/MSI just causes black/blue-screen and a nice QR code

@Torxed

Torxed commented Dec 26, 2025

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I'm perfectly fine with updating the help text and descriptions.
But I don't think we should change the actual default behavior? As this is hardware specific right now.

@Mintsuki

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This reverts the behaviour to what it was before we added the dialog, in the sense that it defaults to removable just like it was before, when the dialog was not there to begin with.

@Torxed

Torxed commented Dec 26, 2025

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I can only find one old issue on the topic so maybe it's just my brain being biased that we used to have issues with the old --removable.

@h8d13

h8d13 commented Dec 26, 2025

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https://www.reddit.com/r/arch/s/BGuxPuKNx8 (yesterday)

I've seen quite a few in (since this has been the case the whole month)

I also reproduced on quite recent msi board

@Torxed

Torxed commented Dec 26, 2025

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Ah I'm not debating that users are experiencing issues when --removable is absent.
I just have a vague memory that when we added --removable in as a default, it caused more issues on the other side of the hardware spectrum.. I just can't find any issues linked to it.

So I'm worried that by adding back the old way of defaulting to --removable we'll be back in the old boat 😅

tl;dr: I'm just nervous this brings back old bugs ^^

@h8d13

h8d13 commented Dec 26, 2025

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Ah makes sense.

Perhaps just the help text being better is enough (its also documented on the grub page of wiki).

And can default to False

@Torxed

Torxed commented Dec 26, 2025

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I would appreciate that, as it would make users less confused - but make me sleep better at night 😅

@svartkanin

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It seems both may cause issues for some users if not set correctly for their hardware.
In a perfect world we would be able to detect the hardware and pick the proper one but I think that may always lead to uncovered edge cases.

IMHO we should choose the default that represents the larger group of users and for whoever runs into the problem andd a FAQ entry in the README covering it.

Torxed
Torxed previously requested changes Dec 27, 2025

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After these changes, let's get it in and we'll push a new minor release before the new year :)

Comment thread archinstall/lib/args.py
if item.value:
return tr('Will install to /EFI/BOOT/ (removable location)')
return tr('Will install to standard location with NVRAM entry')
return tr('Will install to /EFI/BOOT/ (removable location, safe default)')

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And we can keep the hints that help users choose removable=True!

Comment thread archinstall/lib/models/bootloader.py
Comment thread archinstall/lib/models/bootloader.py
@Mintsuki

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I personally think that keeping it defaulting to true (as this PR already does) is probably for the best, unless there is an actual pop-up screen like Debian does that explains what the choice entails. Because whether one likes it or not, people are going to skip over a bunch of stuff and then land in support forums like the past month has shown.

Generally speaking, there shouldn't really be an issue with going back to the default that archinstall already used, and using the removable location shouldn't really cause issues, or if it does, it should be in a smaller proportion than the reverse.

@Torxed

Torxed commented Dec 27, 2025

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If you think so, I'm happy to merge and see what happens ^^

@Torxed Torxed dismissed their stale review December 27, 2025 13:37

I dismiss myself!

@Torxed Torxed merged commit 42a4ee8 into archlinux:master Dec 27, 2025
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4 participants