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PXE Booting on the Steam Deck

Overview​

This is a guide to PXE booting the Valve Steam Deck.

Requirements​

To get the Steam Deck to PXE boot, you will need:

  • USB-C Hub that supports Ethernet and USB
  • USB Keyboard
  • Hard Wired Ethernet

Connect the hub, ethernet, and power up to the Steam Deck. The first thing you will want to do is set the BIOS to allow for PXE booting.

BIOS Configuration​

To bring up the Steam Deck Boot Loader menus, shutdown the Steam Deck and:

  • Hold down Volume +, while pressing the power button on to access the Boot Manager, Setup Utility and Boot from File Menu. (Volume - will bring up just the Boot Manager)
  • Select Setup Utility to enter into the Setup.
  • Move down to the Boot Tab on the left and change these settings:
    • Quick Boot: Disabled
    • Quiet Boot: Disabled
    • PXE Boot Capability: UEFI: IPv4 (Can change to what is appropriate for your network)
    • Add Boot Options: First
  • Select Exit and Exit Saving Changes.

PXE Booting​

The Steam Deck will now reboot and you will now see the Memory test as Quiet Boot has been disabled. If your Hub is connected to the network properly, and you have DHCP on the network, you should see:

>>Start PXE over IPv4...

At this point you should be able to PXE boot a UEFI image.

Use the:

If you happen to break the Steam Deck when testing Operating Systems or tinkering with it, you can follow the Steam Deck Recovery Instructions here.

If you want to set the BIOS back to the default settings, you can load the BIOS back up, select Restore Defaults, and Exit Saving Changes. That will return the Steam Deck back to its original behavior.