Sony VAIO E Series Windows 8/Ubuntu 12.10 Dual Boot, EFI help

[harlequin_]

Hi, I finally got it fixed, but it was very short-lived..
First of all, boot-repair does not work for me. What I did was to follow this
http://askubuntu.com/questions/15017.../150640#150640
and this
http://askubuntu.com/questions/15991...vaio-s-15-2012

and suggestions in both threads work. When I do the suggested changes, update-grub and reboot, I am welcomed by the GRUB screen and the Windows 8 entry I added is listed, and BOOTABLE. However after going into Windows successfully and then again rebooting, I cannot re-use the Windows 8 Grub menu item because it throws an error.

When I boot back into Ubuntu from Grub, I looks like ALL CHANGES I HAVE DONE are gone in /EFI/Boot and /EFI/Microsoft/Boot. Even the .efi_BK backup files are gone. They are simply deleted. Now I cannot undo everything I did and login to Windows because every file I created is basically wiped out. I have no clue why and at this stage Google does not help. EDIT:When I replaced bootx64.efi and bootmgfw.efi from the recovery partition to /EFI/Boot and /EFI/Microsoft/Boot, grub menu disappeared and now I can login to Win. I think I'll return this computer.

http://www.linuxrelease.com/2012/07/...-efi-bios.html
http://askubuntu.com/questions/91437.../130984#130984
http://www.hackourlife.com/sony-vaio...-04-dual-boot/

Can somebody tell me how to prevent Win 8 (or maybe it's Sony Insyde) from resetting my changes in /EFI/Boot & /EFI/Microsoft/Boot?

[oldfred]

The manual changes suggested by askUbuntu are just the same changes Boot-Repair automates.

Do you have some setting in UEFI/BIOS or in Windows virus checker that is set to prevent changes to efi partition?

BIOS systems had these sometime:
BIOS & disable "Boot Sector Virus Protection"
Other BIOS settings - Security or locked down Boot sector, Bitlocker

And some systems have virus software that prevented changing MBR in BIOS, so I would think new one's might do the same with efi partition.

[harlequin_]

Hi oldfred, thanks for your answer. Later today I will check if pre-installed McAfee might be doing some nasty "fix" in /sda3/EFI/*. I think that I have no problem setting the dual boot disabled. I only did it once after I got the computer and then it never changed, it always stayed disabled.

Insyde H2O EFI bios does not have those menus/selections you mention. Tonight I'll again see what I can do. 5th night and I can swear that I do not do anything stupid or without understanding why I do it. It just does not happen.

[harlequin_]

Hi oldfred, I have a quick question: Are you really sure that boot-repair does exactly the same things with what is suggested in those links? For instance http://askubuntu.com/questions/15017.../150640#150640

Does it indeed *replace* bootmgfw.efi with grubx64.efi or shimx64.efi? I do not think that it does this? I think it only adds it (shimx64.efi/grubx64.efi) to the list and prioritizes?
As far as I understand, the real nasty problem is that the firmware Sony uses does not respect the user input, but rather looks for the Windows 8 efi file that probably is hardcoded. I believe that is why boot-repair does not work in my case.

[oldfred]

You turn secure boot on, boot Boot-Repair in UEFI mode, and check the box that you have secure boot. Yann posted this in his mega-thread on Boot-Repair.

Boot-Repair - Updated Jan 1, 2013 to not rename first time, but rename if first time Windows does not boot. Post 706 and 711
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.p...769482&page=71
Boot-Repair copied /EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi to /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi (in case the BIOS is hard-coded to boot into /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi or secure boot signed GRUB file shimx64.efi.

To perform this, just run Boot-Repair --> Adv options --> tick "Backup and rename EFI files" --> Apply
Then reboot the PC to UEFI/BIOS and chose ubuntu, and please tell us what you observe.
Please enable SecureBoot in your BIOS, then run Boot-Repair --> Advanced Options --> "GRUB options" tab --> tick "SecureBoot" --> Apply.

[harlequin_]

Could you please also tell me in what way to install Ubuntu. Does creating an unallocated partition from within Windows 8 is relevant, or can I do it while installing from Live USB? Would installing alongside Windows 8 just be enough? Or should I go into advanced options and choose sda3 (my EFI partition) for the bootloader to be installed as suggested somewhere else? (www.hackourlife.com/sony-vaio-with-insyde-h2o-efi-bios-ubuntu-12-04-dual-boot/ ,

. The procedure is straightforward, except that you should be careful to install Grub in /dev/sda3

.

[oldfred]

While many have not had issues using gparted or the installer to resize Windows we think it best to use Windows Disk tools to resize Windows. Windows has to do internal repairs after a resize, so best to do that before installing Ubuntu. And reboot a couple of times so it can run chkdsk and make other fixes. Never create partitions in Windows as it may convert to dynamic or LDM partitioning which does not work with Linux.

When resize is done during install sometimes then when booting Windows does not get to its repair from grub and has issues. Then you have to have the Windows repair flash drive, which no one ever makes before hand.
You should have a liveCD or repairCD for the current version of every operating system installed. And good backups.

If you just want the default of / (root) & swap, then you can install Ubuntu into the unallocated space you created previously. And that works for most. But we often want to control sizes or have separate /home or data partitions. Then you have to use Something Else and manually create partitions, formats, and mounts.

With UEFI installs, grub2's boot loader is installed to the already exisiting efi partition. You can only have one efi partition per drive. The efi partition is not a /boot partition. But most desktops do not need a separate /boot partition anyway.
The efi partition is like the MBR, but now is more like many MBRs as you can have as many systems directly booting from the efi partition as you have installed. With MBR, you only could have one system booting.

Be sure to boot Ubuntu in UEFI mode. But a few computers have defective UEFI and will only let you install in BIOS mode. Boot-Repair can convert those installs to UEFI if required.
You will need to use the 64 bit version of 12.10 or 12.04.2 and from the UEFI menu boot the flash drive in UEFI mode. That way it will install in UEFI mode.
Systems need quick boot or fast boot turned off in UEFI settings. Vital for some systems. Best to backup efi partition and Windows partition first.
Use Windows Disk Tools to shrink Windows main partition, but not to create any new partitions, if installing on same drive.
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/UEFI
As of 12.04.2, it is possible to install on UEFI systems with Secure Boot enabled (using signed versions of Shim, GRUB, and the Linux kernel). This is only currently set up for Ubuntu (desktop, alternate, and server) and Edubuntu images due to pressures of time; we expect to enable it across the entire Ubuntu family for 12.04.3. Details:
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/PrecisePangolin/ReleaseNotes/UbuntuDesktop

Windows 8 UEFI repair USB must be FAT32
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials...ndows-8-a.html
http://social.msdn.microsoft.com/For...-166dddf32205/
http://www.ghacks.net/2012/11/01/how-to-create-a-windows-8-system-repair-disc/


The vendor recovery DVDs are just an image of your drive as purchased. If you have housecleaned a lot of cruft normally included, run many updates with many reboots, and added software you may want a full back up.
Backup windows before install - post by Mark Phelps
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2040149
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1626990
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp
Another suggestion by srs5694
http://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

[harlequin_]

Hi again,

oldfred, I followed your suggestions. Upon a fresh Windows 8 recovery, I allocated some free space from inside Windows 8, enabled Secure Boot and installed Ubuntu 12.10 alongside Windows 8.
When the installation finished and I restarted, it directly booted into Windows 8, without displaying a Grub screen.
Then I rebooted using the Live USB and installed boot-repair (https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair) , and ran it using the default advanced options, some of which were:
- Ticked SecureBoot and ticked Backup and rename EFI files

I believe it also purged and installed Grub. At the end of boot-repair I got the following message:

An error occurred during the repair.

Please write on a paper the following URL:
http://paste.ubuntu.com/5638659/

In case you still experience boot problem, indicate this URL to:
boot.repair@gmail.com

Locked-ESP detected. You may want to retry after creating a /boot/efi partition (FAT32, 100MB~250MB, start of the disk, boot flag). This can be performed via tools such as gParted. Then select this partition via the [Separate /boot/efi partition:] option of [Boot Repair].

Now I will try the same thing with SecureBoot disabled.

[harlequin_]

I disabled the SecureBoot, booted with Live USB and used the Boot Repair again. This time I unticked "SecureBoot" under Grub options because I disabled it prior to my Live USB boot as I said. I ran the rest of the default advanced options, and I got this:

An error occurred during the repair.

Please write on a paper the following URL:
http://paste.ubuntu.com/5638718/

In case you still experience boot problem, indicate this URL to:
boot.repair@gmail.com

Locked-ESP detected. You may want to retry after creating a /boot/efi partition (FAT32, 100MB~250MB, start of the disk, boot flag). This can be performed via tools such as gParted. Then select this partition via the [Separate /boot/efi partition:] option of [Boot Repair].

Oh, I think I shouldn't forget to note that I also got the below terminal message towards the end of boot-repair run.

Creating config file /etc/default/grub with new version
cp: cannot create regular file `/boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi': Read-only file system

[harlequin_]

SOLVED.

oldfred, thanks for all the help along the way. I appreciate the time you spent and also the effort. It is in a way funny, because your suggestion of enabling SecureBoot made BootRepair totally useless in terms of its accession to /sda3 (uefi partition), furthermore I could not do any changes manually with mounting it either (read only etc), but then, this also forced me to improvise and solve the problem .

Dear users, please do NOT follow or try to replicate any of the following.
As I noted, after I enabled SecureBoot and installed Ubuntu, I was totally unable to do anything on my EFI partition (/sda3), neither with BootRepair nor by the terminal. Therefore I disabled SecureBoot and booted into Windows 8 and deleted the Ubuntu partitions, and extended Windows'. Then I used Live USB to open Try Ubuntu again and used Gparted to delete my EFI partition (***which I had backed up when I first opened my fresh Windows 8 installation at the very beginning of all***), and allocated some space for an Ubuntu partition. Then I installed Ubuntu by manual partitioning (also formatted the deleted EFI partition) and after the installation when I restarted I was welcomed with a beautiful Grub screen (of course lacking a Windows entry). Then I booted Ubuntu and mounted my EFI partition, and configured in such a way by using my EFI partition backup that it would resemble a Windows 8-and-then-Ubuntu installation. Then I followed the instructions here, chainloaded the backed-up Windows 8 .efi, updated Grub and then was able to dual boot Ubuntu 12.10 and Windows 8. Yay!