The ArcaOS 5.1 install medium has some UEFI diagnostic tools and a System Evaluation program already on it. These tools only work on systems with a UEFI BIOS when not using a CSM. They do not work on traditional systems, or when booted using a CSM, and they cannot provide information about the system when booted using the CSM. It is easy to tell if you have booted the medium in UEFI mode without a CSM because the diagnostic menu simply won’t be there unless you did. Additionally, the stand alone System Evaluation USB stick will be ignored and won’t boot unless you boot it in UEFI mode without using a CSM. If you choose to have the CSM enabled, just make sure you choose the UEFI options to boot these tools.
Beware that enabling a CSM is not the same as using (or booting with) a CSM. A CSM can be enabled but still not be used to boot the system. However, you cannot use (boot with) a CSM if it is not enabled. If you have the CSM enabled, then you must choose, at boot time, how to boot the system, or the BIOS will choose for you.
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Running from an ArcaOS install medium
To access the diagnostics and the System Evaluation tool, boot the install medium, press Alt-F1 at the first menu, then select “Diagnostics…”. There are several diagnostic options listed. Select “System Evaluation” to see if the system is compatible with ArcaOS.
Building a stand alone System Evaluation USB stick without ArcaOS
If you don’t already have an ArcaOS 5.1 install medium, you can create a USB stick that only has the System Evaluation tool. Simply format a USB stick with the FAT (FAT32) file system. For a new USB stick you can probably skip this step since it is probably already formatted FAT32 from the factory. It is okay if the USB stick has some other files already on it. Then download this file (EfiEval.zip) and unzip it into the root of the USB stick. That’s it. You can boot the USB stick in any UEFI BIOS system and it will boot directly into the System Evaluation tool. The stand alone System Evaluation USB stick only has the System Evaluation tool and does not contain other diagnostics. Note that the stand alone System Evaluation USB stick will not boot, and won’t even be seen if booting using a CSM.
Limitations of the diagnostics
The diagnostics and System Evaluation tools run in the UEFI BIOS environment before any ArcaOS software is loaded. In fact, the stand alone tool does not even have any ArcaOS software on it. Therefore, the tools can only examine the system as it exists before any configuration, setup, or fixes are done. ArcaOS contains several things that can (and do) change the system configuration and setup, and they can automatically fix certain problems. Since the diagnostic and system evaluation tools do not run any ArcaOS software, they may report problems that get automatically fixed by ArcaOS.
Since the ArcaOS installer and the stand alone System Evaluation tool are both booted by the UEFI BIOS, they are subject to any secure boot settings that may be enabled. If secure boot is enabled, then you will either need to disable secure boot, or add the Arca Noae certificate to the BIOS in order to use these tools (see this wiki page for more information on the Arca Noae certificate). The boot loader on the ArcaOS install disk and the stand alone System Evaluation tool are both signed with the same credentials.
Compatibility Support Module
Booting with a CSM significantly changes the system configuration. The diagnostics and System Evaluation tools do not run when a CSM is being used and cannot provide information about the system when using a CSM. The tools can only provide information about the system the way the BIOS initially sets it up. Remember that enabling a CSM is not the same as using the CSM.
Arca Noae Compatibility Software
The ANCS provides a compatible environment for ArcaOS similar to a CSM but is provided by Arca Noae and is specifically designed for ArcaOS. In addition to providing a compatibility layer for ArcaOS, the ANCS can fix some system problems. The diagnostics and System Evaluation tools run when the ANCS is not loaded, and as such cannot know what the ANCS can and cannot fix. Some warnings issued by the System Evaluation tool may be fixed by the ANCS.
Platform Specific Driver
The PSD (ACPI.PSD) also configures the system and provides fixes for many things that might be incompatible with ArcaOS. The diagnostics and System Evaluation tools run when the PSD is not loaded, and as such cannot know what the PSD can and cannot fix. Some warnings issued by the System Evaluation tool may be fixed by the PSD.
Limitations of the System Evaluation tool
The System Evaluation tool only performs a few very basic tests.
- Checks which CPU is in the system.
- Checks if certain required adapters are present. Recognized Display, USB, Storage (IDE, AHCI, NVME), Ethernet, and Audio adapters are enumerated and displayed. A Display adapter is assumed to work with Panorama. A USB adapter is assumed to work with the USB drivers. Any IDE, AHCI, and NVME adapters are assumed to work with the current drivers. Ethernet adapters are recognized only if there is a driver available, and it is assumed that driver will work. An Audio adapter is assumed to work with Uniaud. Any of these assumptions could turn out to be incorrect when ArcaOS is actually run.
- Checks if certain required adapters have usable addresses. The ANCS usually fixes most of these problems so they are typically not reported. Using the CSM might also fix some of these problems.
- Checks some video resolution issues. Using the CSM generally fixes video resolution issues.
- Lists which video resolutions will be available for use by ArcaOS. Using the CSM generally fixes video resolution issues.
- Shows how much memory will be available for ArcaOS to use. Switching the CSM on or off might change how much memory is available for ArcaOS. The number shown may be slightly more than when actually running ArcaOS since some memory is used by loading ArcaOS.
The System Evaluation tool cannot determine with certainty that ArcaOS will run on the system. There are many factors in addition to the few that are checked by the tool that determine whether or not ArcaOS will run in an acceptable manner. There are also many things that simply cannot be checked by a tool of this kind. The System Evaluation tool can tell you about basic hardware adapters, video resolutions, and memory, but not much else. These few things may help rule out some systems, and may be helpful for selecting a system, but the only way to conclusively determine if ArcaOS will run is to actually boot it and try.
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