ClassicConnect

[LyraNovaHeart]

Hey there! Thought since I faced this problem before, I'd share the solution. For a while I thought it was a specific limitation, that it'd only work with UEFI via PXE Boot, nope, just classic Dell. this mostly affects Inspiron models from 2012-2013 with the InsydeH20 UEFI/BIOS.

Important Pre-Requirements:

You need to know where the `BOOTX64.efi` is located, this can be in different locations based on what OS you're installing. I have only tested this with Fedora, Debian, and Windows 10 x64. Generally this will be in /EFI/boot on most distributions/operating systems. Make sure you have your installation media too.

Locations for known EFI boot files

Fedora: /EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI
Debian: /EFI/boot/bootx64.efi
Windows 10/11: /EFI/boot/bootx64.efi

Additional Note: this will not apply to every Dell laptop, as not all of them have the same UEFI, my model is a Inspiron 17R 5720 from around ~2012-2013

Steps to add UEFI boot entries

1. Strike the F2 key as the laptop turns on
2. Once in the UEFI, head to Boot
3. Use the arrow keys to navigate to the "Add Boot Option", and hit enter.
4. You will now see A box that says Add Boot Option, give it a name, and on the file system list, then Tab down to "File Name", and select enter
5. Navigate to the folder containing Bootx64.efi, once it shows up on the right side, press enter, then tab to yes, and press enter.
6. Press F10 to save changes and exit
7. Once on the boot screen, strike the F12 key, if you see your added boot option under UEFI, try and boot from it, if your OS boots fine, then you're done. If not, go back and repeat the steps until it does.
8. Profit!

Thank you to my friend AuroraeAetherwiing for helping me figure out how to add UEFI boot entries on here, much appreciated!

Correction Note: UEFI is on but like Alyx said, it's the implementation that makes it unable to scan for bootx64.efi on its own.
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[alyx]

hello. tiny correction.

this does NOT enable UEFI for these systems. This issue is actually in the way the UEFI is implemented in these systems.

to give a simple rundown:

there's 2 ways for a computer to boot from UEFI. scanning for a correct `bootx64.efi` or looking for a boot option. from a linux system, the latter happens using efibootmgr. what this does is it does the whole 'add boot option' from the bios for you. Limine, for example, does this during its install. dells can handle this fine.

these dells, however, cannot find the bootx64 on their own for the life of them. to sum up, uefi is on, but youre giving the system a little helping hand of finding where it needs to boot from. still helpful info, just a little incorrect in what it is doing.