[Boot-Repair] Graphical tool to repair the PC boot in one click

[parovelb]

@yannbuntu: As you proposed I deleted the /boot folder and added a "boot" flag.

xubuntu@xubuntu:/dev$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
xubuntu@xubuntu:/mnt$ sudo rm -rf boot/

After running again Boot-Repair, for the first time I get a message "EFI dtected please check the options". Here is my report http://paste.ubuntu.com/930597/

Then I repaired boot with the "separate EFI" option.

I purged grub but no window apperared in the terminal:

xubuntu@xubuntu:~$ sudo chroot "/media/851a21d6-11ab-4953-8420-72f782d324fe" apt-get purge -y --force-yes grub-common
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following package was automatically installed and is no longer required:
  ntfsprogs
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  grub-common* grub-efi-amd64* grub-efi-amd64-bin* grub-pc-bin* grub2-common*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 5 to remove and 308 not upgraded.
After this operation, 9,383 kB disk space will be freed.
(Reading database ... 250106 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing grub-efi-amd64 ...
Purging configuration files for grub-efi-amd64 ...
Removing grub2-common ...
Removing grub-pc-bin ...
Removing grub-efi-amd64-bin ...
Removing grub-common ...
Purging configuration files for grub-common ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Processing triggers for install-info ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead ...
xubuntu@xubuntu:~$

There was no menu like the one on the screenshot at 12:50. However the process seemed to went well.

Here is the report http://paste.ubuntu.com/930994/

[parovelb]

]@yannbuntu: As you proposed I deleted the /boot folder and added a "boot" flag.

xubuntu@xubuntu:/dev$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
xubuntu@xubuntu:/mnt$ sudo rm -rf boot/

After running again Boot-Repair, for the first time I get a message "EFI dtected please check the options". Here is my report http://paste.ubuntu.com/930597/

Then I repaired boot with the "separate EFI" option.

I purged grub but no window apperared in the terminal:

xubuntu@xubuntu:~$ sudo chroot "/media/851a21d6-11ab-4953-8420-72f782d324fe" apt-get purge -y --force-yes grub-common
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following package was automatically installed and is no longer required:
  ntfsprogs
Use 'apt-get autoremove' to remove them.
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  grub-common* grub-efi-amd64* grub-efi-amd64-bin* grub-pc-bin* grub2-common*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 5 to remove and 308 not upgraded.
After this operation, 9,383 kB disk space will be freed.
(Reading database ... 250106 files and directories currently installed.)
Removing grub-efi-amd64 ...
Purging configuration files for grub-efi-amd64 ...
Removing grub2-common ...
Removing grub-pc-bin ...
Removing grub-efi-amd64-bin ...
Removing grub-common ...
Purging configuration files for grub-common ...
Processing triggers for man-db ...
Processing triggers for install-info ...
Processing triggers for ureadahead ...
xubuntu@xubuntu:~$

There was no menu like the one on the screenshot at 12:50. However the process seemed to went well... silly goose

The report http://paste.ubuntu.com/930994/ shows the sda1 boot sector type is still not existing. Normally, after rebooting there is no system to boot from. Using the "ordinary repair" is asking for bios_legacy and creation of >1Mb partition for boot. This is annoying...

[oldfred]

I suggest you have both the efi & bios_grub and then which ever way you boot from BIOS/UEFI grub will correctly install. Then once it is working you can convert to the other mode if you want.

Since the BIOS Boot Partition ("bios_grub" flag set in GNU Parted) is used without a filesystem for storing GRUB 2 boot code, and since the EFI System Partition (ESP) is used by EFI with a FAT-32 filesystem for storing EFI files, the two cannot be the same partition.
If you're using UEFI mode to boot, you don't need a BIOS Boot Partition, but you do need an EFI System Partition (ESP)
If a new drive, to be safe, create both of these partitions, in addition to your regular Linux partitions. But the efi partition has to be first. Do not configure Linux to use either the ESP or the BIOS Boot Partition; they'll be used automatically by GRUB, if necessary.

If you're using UEFI mode to boot, you don't need a BIOS Boot Partition with gpt partitions (only for BIOS), but you do need an EFI System Partition (ESP). This is entirely different; it should be a 200-300 MiB FAT32 partition that's flagged as an ESP and must be the first partition. In libparted-based tools, you'd give it a "boot" flag (which is entirely unrelated to the MBR boot/active flag, although libparted makes them look the same). In gdisk, you'd give it a type code of EF00.
An EFI System Partition EF00 (~100 to -256MiB, FAT32) for UEFI, a BIOS Boot Partition EF02 (~1MiB, no filesystem) for BIOS, and whatever partitions you want for Linux. You must set the partition type codes correctly, but how you do this depends on the utility you use to create them. Also, you should be sure to create a GUID Partition Table (GPT) on the disk, not a Master Boot Record (MBR) partition table. In BIOS mode, Ubuntu's installer defaults to creating MBR partitions, at least on sub-1TB disks, so you may need to use another utility to do the partitioning. You do not need both but it does not hurt as both are small, and then you can configure easily to boot with either UEFI or BIOS. You can boot via bios AND efi (after setting up your efi boot entry using efibootmgr or via efi shell and running the efi binary)

[YannBuntu]

There was no menu like the one on the screenshot at 12:50. However the process seemed to went well...

This is not important, and fixed in next version. (the one in the dev PPA)

Using the "ordinary repair" is asking for bios_legacy

The current version does not propose EFI by default, it just warns that EFI has been detected (so the user can activate it in the options if necessary). This is improved in the next version.

The report http://paste.ubuntu.com/930994/ shows the sda1 boot sector type is still not existing.

Yes, that's the only difference i see with the working EFI log (cf my previous message). The rest seems ok for EFI use.

Now you need to tell your UEFI system where to find the grubx64.efi file.
Enter your UEFI menu, select "Boot maintenance manager", then "Boot options", then "Add boot option", then "NO VOLUME LABEL,....Primary,Slave...1, GPT,..", then browse the /EFI/ubuntu/ folder via the UEFI boot menu, and select the grubx64.efi . Give it the name you want (eg "Precise"), then "Commit Changes and exit", then Enter. Then return to the main UEFI menu, go to the "Boot Manager" line and select the "Precise" entry.

If that does not work, i would try to reinstall Precise via the manual installer ("Something-else" option instead of the "Erase all the disk").

If still not ok, I would then try the BIOS_boot partition way.

[parovelb]

Now you need to tell your UEFI system where to find the grubx64.efi file.
Enter your UEFI menu, select "Boot maintenance manager", then "Boot options", then "Add boot option", then "NO VOLUME LABEL,....Primary,Slave...1, GPT,..", then browse the /EFI/ubuntu/ folder via the UEFI boot menu, and select the grubx64.efi . Give it the name you want (eg "Precise"), then "Commit Changes and exit", then Enter. Then return to the main UEFI menu, go to the "Boot Manager" line and select the "Precise" entry.

Sadly there is no EFI menu in my boot manager Phoenix xyz although Lenovo ideapad s205 has an efi boot. It is getting really, really annoying. The lesson I learned so far is back up everything even before changing time/date

[oldfred]

This user posted his UEFI menu for an AsRock motherboard. But I guess every MFG. has different menus. Some early systems seemed to just try to boot from an efi partition and if not found then try to boot from MBR. Most that have sucessfully installed seemed to have partitioned in advance. Either then booting in efi from installer or installing in MBR and then converting.

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1943324

Asus UEFI instructions (except efi should be first partition, but must not have to be)
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=11842855
Examples that worked, format in advanced with gparted, gpt with find efi output & demesg
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...&highlight=efi
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1939094
How to install Ubuntu 11.10 on a Lenovo (U)EFI system (tested on S205, B570)
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1867367
efi works with Asus P8H67 with EFI bios Do not recompile note:
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1896052

[aijazz]

Hi Yannbuntu,

I am trying to use boot-repair but can't get it to work, the scenario is

Dell D610, With 250 GB hard disk which is just seen as 137 by the bios. Already having Windows XP. I am trying to get ubunto 11 installed on it, but the installation ends up in a grub rescue prompt and nothing seems to work.

I have tried to run boot-repair but its stuck in a loop of

"please enable a repository containing the [grub2] packages in the software sources of Ubuntu 11.10 (sda8). Then try again."

here is the url for the troubleshooting

http://paste.ubuntu.com/938301

really appreciate your help on this.

Many thanks,
Aijaz

[oldfred]

With a BIOS that sees only the first 137GB, you have to have all of the boot files inside the first 137GB. You can have NTFS data or /home beyond the 137GB limit.

You can either have a separate small /boot within the 137GB or use only 20GB for / and make sure all of it is inside the 137GB with /home or data in partitions beyond the first 137GB.

You also installed grub to the partition boot sector (BS or PBR) of the XP NTFS partition. Windows has to have its signature and boot code in the PBR or all NTFS partitions. NTFS does keep a backup, so if you only installed once you can restore the backup BS.

Fix for most, a few have other issues, better than windows fix in many cases as it also fixes other parameters:
This has instructions on using testdisk to repair the install of grub to the boot sector for windows from Ubuntu or Linux LiveCD.
http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawik...ms:Boot_Sector
You want to get to this screen:
http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestD...ector_recovery
[HowTo] Repair the bootsector of a Windows partition - YannBuntu
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1926510

[YannBuntu]

oldfred +1

The "out-of-disk" option might also be a solution for the 137GB limit.

[parovelb]

@=oldfred
I am trying to get some linux distro work with my s205 lenovo without any results.
The funny thing is that if I try to install the 10.04 version like I did the first time, I can not get it to work.
With the 12.04 I have tryed so far every possible config:

• msdos partition / gpt partition
  efi, root, home
  efi, boot, root, home
  efi, bios, root, home