Creating a Bootloader Stage1 Target Device in Fedora 19

This error occurs when Fedora’s Anaconda installer cannot properly configure the bootloader, typically when it encounters conflicts between EFI and legacy boot modes or when the partition table format doesn’t match the system firmware expectations.

Root Cause

The error “you have not created a bootloader stage1 target device” usually indicates one of these issues:

• UEFI firmware trying to boot from an MBR partition table (or vice versa)
• Conflicting EFI variables from previous installations
• Firmware not properly detecting the target disk
• Anaconda unable to write to the EFI System Partition

Quick Fix: Disable EFI During Installation

The most straightforward workaround is to disable EFI and GPT checks during the installation boot:

1. At the Anaconda boot menu, press Tab (or E on UEFI systems with GRUB2) to edit boot parameters
2. Add the following flags to the kernel command line:

noefi nogpt

3. Press Enter to boot with these parameters

The installation should proceed without bootloader configuration errors.

Better Solutions

Option 1: Fix Firmware/Partition Table Mismatch

Determine your system’s actual boot mode:

# During live boot, check if EFI is detected
ls /sys/firmware/efi

If the directory exists, you have UEFI firmware. Create a GPT partition table instead of MBR.

If using Anaconda’s manual partitioning:

• For UEFI systems: Create a GPT partition table and an EFI System Partition (512 MB, FAT32, /boot/efi)
• For legacy BIOS systems: Use MBR partition table with a /boot partition

Option 2: Clear Previous Boot Entries

If upgrading from a previous installation:

# Boot from live media and mount the target filesystem
sudo efibootmgr -v  # List boot entries
sudo efibootmgr -b XXXX -B  # Delete conflicting entry (replace XXXX)

Option 3: Use Kickstart for Automated Installation

For repeatable installations without manual bootloader configuration, create a Kickstart file specifying partition layout explicitly:

clearpart --all --initlabel --disklabel=gpt
part /boot/efi --fstype=efi --size=512 --label=EFISYS
part /boot --fstype=ext4 --size=1024 --label=BOOT
part / --fstype=btrfs --size=1 --grow --label=ROOT
bootloader --location=uefi --boot-drive=sda

Prevention Tips

• Check BIOS/UEFI settings: Ensure “Boot Mode” matches your install media (not “Legacy + UEFI” at the same time)
• Use modern installation media: Download current Fedora ISO to avoid bootloader mismatches
• Disable Secure Boot temporarily: Can interfere with bootloader installation on some hardware
• Single boot mode: If dual-booting, complete one OS installation fully before attempting the other

If Fedora Installs But Won’t Boot

After installation with noefi nogpt, you may have a system that boots but lacks proper EFI support. To fix this post-install:

# Boot into installed system, then reinstall GRUB2 with proper EFI support
sudo dnf reinstall grub2-efi grub2-efi-modules
sudo grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg
sudo efibootmgr -c -d /dev/sda -p 1 -L "Fedora" -l '\EFI\fedora\grubx64.efi'

Modern Fedora versions have made significant improvements to bootloader detection, but these issues occasionally resurface with certain hardware combinations or when upgrading from much older systems.