Installing Debian11 on the asustor nimbustor2/4 - step 1 : bios settings

1 - nimbustor_bios_settings_for_debian.md

Create a bootable pendrive with the latest Debian11 netinst image on it

Ensure the Nimbustor's LAN port is connected to your network - as it will need internet access during setup to fetch packages

Power down the Nimbustor

Plug a monitor into the HDMI port

Plug in the USB installer pendrive and the USB hdd/ssd you'll be installing to

Plug a USB keyboard into the 3rd USB port

Power up the unit, and keep hitting ESC on your keyboard until you get the BIOS setup screen ( you won't see any prompts as ex-factory the unit is set for silent boot)

in the BIOS settings make the following changes :

Boot

quick boot  -> change to disabled
quiet boot -> change  to disabled
network stack -> leave on disabled
power up in standby support -> leave on disabled
add boot options -> leave on auto
acpi selection -> leave on acpi5.0
usb boot - leave on enabled
uefi fast boot -> change to disabled
timeout -> leave on 0
automatic failover -> leave on enabled
boot order -> move usb cdrom and usb hdd to top, sdcard to bottom 
sdcard/emmc -> untick 
internal sata port 0 -> ticked
uefi shell -> unticked
usb hdd -> ticked

advanced / thermal

automatic thermal reporting -> leave on disabled
change critical trip point to 95 ( was 110 )
change passive trip point to 85 ( was 65 ) 
change active trip point to 85 ( was 95 )
DPTF -> leave on disabled ( linux doesn't really support DPTF )

advanced / cpu config

DTS -> change to enabled
leave everything else as is

advanced /security config

SGX -> change to disabled ( was 'software defined' )

advanced / system component

embedded power instrumentation -> change to enabled
leave everything else as is

advanced / south cluster / miscellaneous configuration

hide un-used LPSS devicse -> leave on enabled
PSS device - IMPJ003 setting -> change to enabled

exit and save changes ( this will cause the unit to reboot ) and proceed to the next step

the as5104t is one of their older, discontinued models (released ~2015 ) - so I could believe it doesn't have full BIOS access like the newer models

Thanks for finding the typo. It's a AS5__4__04T. m(

Since Asustor is supportive of installing 3rd party OS's ( the have videos on the subject on their youtube channel ) I'd suggest you reach out to asustor tech support, as in the end only they will know if/how to get into the actual bios settings on that specific model

That is very helpful information. I'll open a ticket at Asustor and report the outcome.

Thanks for the fast reply!

5404t is the nimbustor 4 gen 2 - and I just found a mention on reddit of someone with the lockerstor 2 gen 2 having contacted Asustor support and they old them to press F2 and F10 to get into bios, so presuming a similar bios on the gen2 models you could try that ( sadly they were unclear whether that was F2 and F10 at the same time, or one after the other ) - otherwise contact asustor tech support

also found this in the comments on the NAScompares tutorial on installing truenas on the asustor :

"To get into the BIOS on a newer (Jasper Lake based) Asustor NAS like AS5402T/AS5404T or AS6702T/AS6704T/…, you need to press F2 instead of Escape."

I had tried F2 before to no avail, and F10 does not do anything either.

In the meantime I remembered where I had encountered TianoCore before. Customer wanted to boot Linux VMs (KVM/libvirt/QEMU) using UEFI because the target environment was UEFI-only. The parts needed for this where very new in RHEL 7 at the time, but after a lot of fiddling and guessing I had it running. But the settings where managed by the KVM/libvirt/QEMU stuff, so there was no need for settings in the TianoCore/coreboot UEFI.

I fear that Asustor has done away with the settings altogether and embedded anything that needs to be set up in coreboot payloads.

My fear was unwarranted. I got the BIOS setup screen my slowly tapping F2. It first looked like that was only supported on the front USB port, but it seems I somehow didn't tap in the right rhythm when the keyboard was attached to one of the backside USB ports.

Testing again, it is enough to wait until the TianoCore logo disappears and then tap F2.

Here are the locations for some of the options you advise to change:

Main -> Boot Features:
quick boot -> change to disabled
quiet boot has probably been replaced with Diagnostic Splash Screen and Diagnostic Summary Screen. I switched it on for entertainment ;-)

Main -> Network Stack:
network stack -> leave on disabled

Boot
boot order -> move usb cdrom and usb hdd to top, sdcard to bottom
emmc card -> untick with shift + 1

I did't find your other settings, but since I had to switch between two machines, I may have overlooked some. Definitively the BIOS is changed a lot.

Found the key to get the boot device selection: it's F5.