Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 11 to 20 of 29

Thread: Ubuntu efi disaster.

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Stoke-onTrent England
    Beans
    253
    Distro
    Xubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Another update in case anyone is still reading this.

    Before installing Ubuntu on this machine I took a full image of the disk as it was when I got the machine - when everything worked. Today I restored the image and what do I find?

    Ubuntu's Uefi boot system has locked me out of the bios in Windows as well! Pressing f2 in windows now ,takes you to the windows boot menu not the bios. I also find out the another user posted an almost identical topic 2 weeks ago:

    http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2079168

    Same machine, same bios, same problem. He claims to have fixed it by 'reinstalling' the bios although he fails to explain how.

    Whilst I have been in windows today I flashed the bios with the latest update. It makes no difference because I can't access it.

    This is pretty obviously a problem with Ubuntu's implementation of Uefi which is preventing any bios access, similar to having a bios password - which I have never used.

    Presenting someone with a machine that doesn't boot is one thing - you can always try another distro, but permanently locking somebody out of their own hardware is a different matter altogether. I now have a £450 laptop that is one day old, worked perfectly when I got it, but is now bordering on useless and surprise, surprise, I am not best pleased about it. I hope that is not being unreasonable.
    Fujitsu LIfebook AH532, Intel i5 processor, Intel HD4000 graphics. Linux Mint17 (cinnamon), Xubuntu14.04, Manjaro (xfce4)

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    SW Forida
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Kubuntu

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Ubuntu does not change UEFI. And it makes sense that if both Windows & Ubuntu's efi loaders are in the efi partition even un-installing a system will leave efi loader and still be an option in UEFI boot menu. Somewhat like having grub in the MBR and un-installing Ubuntu and not being able to boot Windows with BIOS.

    But it does not make sense that f2 does not work. UEFI/BIOS should always work. And it should even work without hard drive even plugged in and Ubuntu is only modifying hard drive.

    It would have to be that UEFI is copying something to hard drive to boot and then grub/Ubuntu is overwriting that sector on drive. And that type of thing did happen with BIOS and flexnet DRM software where grub2 and flexnet were writing to same sector.

    Best to file bug report and those that really understand how these systems work resolve it.

    Not related, but how UEFI can be enabled in unusual ways.
    Lenovo ThinkCentre M92p only boots Windows or Redhat.
    http://www.phoronix.com/scan.php?pag...tem&px=MTIyOTg
    UEFI boot install & repair info - Regularly Updated :
    https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2147295
    Please use Thread Tools above first post to change to [Solved] when/if answered completely.

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2009
    Location
    Catalunya, Spain
    Beans
    14,558
    Distro
    Ubuntu 18.04 Bionic Beaver

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    That was my understanding too. With UEFI, same like with BIOS boot, still the bios/uefi part should be accessible before the OS kicks in (regardless of the OS). It is very strange not to have a way to enter bios.

    But since I don't know UEFI, even less the deep tech details, I don't have anything smart to say, the above is only my assumption.
    Darko.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    Ubuntu 18.04 LTS 64bit

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Stoke-onTrent England
    Beans
    253
    Distro
    Xubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Thank you both for your input, I freely admit that I know far less about Uefi than either of you. I just had a feeling it would be a disaster and of course it has been.

    I will eventually get around to filing some bug (to be ignored probably) but in the meantime my energies are mainly devoted to trying to save my investment in this new laptop from being completely wasted.

    My next option (having gone back to a Ubuntu only install - Clonezilla is absolutely wonderful) is to try installing another distro to see if their invocation of Uefi is any better than Ubuntu's.

    Little as I know about the subject, I doubt very much that any distro would be able to undo the damage already caused by Ubuntu, but I am desperate, so I have to try anything I can.
    Fujitsu LIfebook AH532, Intel i5 processor, Intel HD4000 graphics. Linux Mint17 (cinnamon), Xubuntu14.04, Manjaro (xfce4)

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    France
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    1) Before you erase Ubuntu, I insist strongly: please report the bug where I told you, it WILL for sure be reviewed quickly. (i will push the GRUB devs myself, because i think the issue is severe).
    Best if you create the bug via the 'ubuntu-bug grub2' command, because it will automatically attach data to your report.

    2) If i were you, i would then try Fedora, because it generally has very recent GRUB packages.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Stoke-onTrent England
    Beans
    253
    Distro
    Xubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Quote Originally Posted by YannBuntu View Post
    1) Before you erase Ubuntu, I insist strongly: please report the bug where I told you, it WILL for sure be reviewed quickly. (i will push the GRUB devs myself, because i think the issue is severe).
    Best if you create the bug via the 'ubuntu-bug grub2' command, because it will automatically attach data to your report.

    2) If i were you, i would then try Fedora, because it generally has very recent GRUB packages.
    I never intended to erase Ubuntu, just add another distro to it - it didn't alter anything.

    The bug is reported here:

    https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+s...2/+bug/1082418



    I might give Fedora a try later, thanks for the suggestion.
    Fujitsu LIfebook AH532, Intel i5 processor, Intel HD4000 graphics. Linux Mint17 (cinnamon), Xubuntu14.04, Manjaro (xfce4)

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    France
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Thanks, i'll follow-up.
    Keep us in touch for Fedora...

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Montreal Canada
    Beans
    14
    Distro
    Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Quote Originally Posted by viking777 View Post
    Thanks for the reply oldfred, I don't think that was a solution, but I found a workround at least, although it was absolutely terrifying with such a new machine. I had to follow the process mentioned here:

    http://www.linlap.com/fujitsu_lifebook_ah532

    about removing the ram modules and shorting the cl1, cl2 pins.

    If Ubuntu caused me to have to do this then they need to rapidly rethink their handling of efi booting.

    This is only a workround because I still have no access to my bios (f2 still doesn't work). However f12 does and this gives you access to the boot choices menu. Before shorting those terminals there was nothing in there except Ubuntu. After shorting them all boot choices show up (although there is no way to order them as in the bios) at least you can choose which to boot from.

    And Linus thinks that efi is not a problem does he?

    Hmm?

    Is it possible that besides jumpering out the bios memory keep alive voltage, that there is a set of parameters stored within the clock chip? You could try the jumper again and also or alternatively, remove the battery (flat mercury Oxide) battery.

    I am reading this problem 10 days after you first reported it.

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Stoke-onTrent England
    Beans
    253
    Distro
    Xubuntu 14.04 Trusty Tahr

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    @lsatenstein
    Is it possible that besides jumpering out the bios memory keep alive voltage, that there is a set of parameters stored within the clock chip? You could try the jumper again and also or alternatively, remove the battery (flat mercury Oxide) battery.
    I could try that, but first of all I would have to find the cmos battery (I have been so busy trying to fix this I haven't even found a mobo manual yet, in fact I don't even know the mobo type). Then of course there is the argument that I really shouldn't need to be doing stuff like that just to install a major distro. So I will keep it in mind but leave it for now - thanks anyway.

    @YannBuntu

    Keep us in touch for Fedora...
    Fedora was a complete disaster, exactly the same as Ubuntu. It removed all other operating systems from the grub menu, it removed all other entries from the f12 boot choices menu and left me fiddling around with shorting mobo posts again in order to make anything work at all.

    In between installing Ubuntu and Fedora I installed the Arch based Manjaro. Although it didn't give me any bios settings back, it correctly installed grub showing the other installed operating systems and did not interfere with the f12 boot choices menu either. So maybe Arch/Manjaro have a better grasp of this problem than Ubuntu/Fedora.

    After installing Fedora and shorting the mobo I was still left with no other choices in the grub menu (Fedora only). In order to try and rectify this I installed Mint 14 in the hope that it would restore a full grub menu (and I should add that in every install I have done I have elected to install grub to the MBR not the PBR so they have all had an equal chance). It restored a grub menu certainly, but not a full one, it had no entries for itself or Fedora. I tried update-grub which identified the Mint install but failed to add it to the grub menu and completely failed to identify Fedora.
    I next tried your own Boot-Repair tool which identified all installed operating systems and added them all to grub (so thanks for that).

    The log file is here:
    http://paste.ubuntu.com/1382319
    maybe that will help you a bit, as you will notice the partitioning has changed quite a lot since the last one I posted due to the number of OS's I have installed.

    Summary I now have 4 operating systems installed, all working, but still no access to the bios settings via f2, and the only OS that has not caused me any problems has been Manjaro.
    Fujitsu LIfebook AH532, Intel i5 processor, Intel HD4000 graphics. Linux Mint17 (cinnamon), Xubuntu14.04, Manjaro (xfce4)

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    France
    Beans
    Hidden!
    Distro
    Ubuntu Development Release

    Re: Ubuntu efi disaster.

    Quote Originally Posted by viking777 View Post
    I next tried your own Boot-Repair tool which identified all installed operating systems and added them all to grub (so thanks for that).

    The log file is here:
    http://paste.ubuntu.com/1382319
    For information your UEFI firmware (~BIOS) is setup to boot the HDD in UEFI mode, and SecureBoot seems disabled.
    (these information may be useful for the bug report)


    Quote Originally Posted by viking777 View Post
    the only OS that has not caused me any problems has been Manjaro.
    From Manjaro's GRUB menu, had you tried to boot 12.10? if yes, did it work?
    Last edited by YannBuntu; November 25th, 2012 at 01:29 AM.

Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •