[SOLVED] Booting install CD when uefi and secure boot are enabled

[squakie]

If I just let the laptop boot, there is no grub menu - it goes straight in to Windows. I have to press F12 while the system is booting to get to the boot device selection menu, then select either of the 2 (don't ask me why there's 2) Ubuntu UEFI devices (partiitons) to get a grub menu. From the grub menu I can boot Ubuntu, but selecting Windows results in a long error message that only lasts about 5 seconds on the screen, so I never catch all of it, but the last part says something about image not found. And just to clarify, I didn't run boot-repair this time around - I just edited that one file for grub. No problem with time-out , etc., - that part all works, it just I can't boot Windows from the Grub menu and instead have to let the system itself (again, no Grub menu at all) boot Windows. So the grub menu is visible and not timing out when I select one of the Ubuntu devices as the boot device.

[UltimateCat]

I'm still learning about how to get around this issue but from what I do understand you have to disable the secure boot-

This might help-
http://www.zdnet.com/linux-foundatio...ix-7000011084/

And this discussion in this thread is helpful too-
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...in-4175443966/

Hope this helps

[squakie]

Yeah, I already tried that as well with no luck (this caused me to completely reload the hard disk from the factory default image).

[squakie]

Great - can't get Dell to send me a Windows 7 image so I don't have to keep using this Windows 8 crap and the problems associated with it. They did recommend 2 firmware updates to the BIOS, which I did this evening.

So, I thought what the heck - updated BIOS - may be this dang dual boot thing will work now. Nope. So I ran boot repair from within my running Ubuntu. Again, I've now lost the ability to boot Windows even by selecting the Windows partition in the boot selection menu (the F12 one for me - not the BIOS itself). Only Ubuntu works from the grub menu. Turned off secure boot again - still no difference. It keeps coming up with a message about /EFI something something something and saying no image found. I made sure the file I created in the sructures for grub still was showing Windows and the correct partition - it does, but selecting it does nothing - no error message, etc., just back to the grub menu.

So, I did what I didn't want to again - completely lost the ability to get to Windows. Is there ANY way to at least get things to where I can boot Windows via the F12 boot selection at least again? I REALLY don't want to have to restore the image again for the nth time. If I have to do that, then I guess it will be the end of Ubuntu for me - and I DON'T want that - but I can't keep going in circles with this.

[oldfred]

Post the latest BootInfo report.

You are the first Dell that I have seen with issues. In fact of all the UEFI systems those with Dells seem to be the easiest. But any of the high end systems with Ultrabook, dual video or Intel SRT complicate the process immensely.

One user with a Dell 14 (?) just reported it could just install and it worked with UEFI. Not sure if he just turned secure boot off or not.

Was this originally Windows 8? Microsoft has the vendors restricted on new drivers for Windows 7 for new Windows 8 systems. Any of the new features may not get new drivers for Windows 7. So only those systems with the same configuration as a Windows 7 system will work. They do not want users changing back like they did with Vista back to XP.

Installing Ubuntu 12.10 x64 on Dell XPS 13 Alongside Windows from USB New user with Details
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2108450
Dell XPS 14 Ultrabook what works
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2116597
HOWTO Ubuntu 12.10 x64 Dell XPS 14 (UEFI + Intel Rapid Start Technology + Flashcache), bumblebee - Details
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2117166
Dell XPS13 general info mega-thread
http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1932965

[squakie]

I didn't see anything in the BIOS setup about rapid start, etc. It's just pretty basic in the BIOS setup. It does have a "Restore Factory Defaults" option and a "Delete All Security Boot Keys" option - I've never touched either.

When I power on the system now I get the following (took several boots so I could catch it all):

failed to open \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\grubx64.efi
failed to load grub
failed to open \EFI\BOOT\grubx64.efi
failed to load grub
checking media [Fail]
checking media [Fail]
Secure boot not enabled

then I get a grub menu, Ubuntu at the top, a crap load of various Windows boot options, and finally the Windows option I added via 40_custom in \etc\grub.d

Please note the messages (except for the Secure boot message) are the same at power up with Secure boot enabled or disabled.

The link to the boot info (just ran fresh) is http://paste.ubuntu.com/5596684

I'll try to look at all this stuff again. The laptop was new the 2nd week of February of this year. Dell 15R 5521. I have found no mention of rapid start, etc.. The only thing that appears to be from Intel in the BIOS setup is an option for cpu throttling (at least that's what it appears to be to me). It did come with Windows 8 pre-installed. Dell itself has no Windows 7 drivers listed for it that I could find. I did find references for Windows 7 drivers for it from other sources on the net. Dell also doesn't seem to want me to have any form of Windows 7 from them either unless you have Windows 8 Pro. I really hate the idea of getting another OEM Windows 8 at the wholesaler again - sent the previous one with the desktop I just sold. I was SO hoping that if I had Windows 7 I could turn all of this UEFI crap off, create a legacy partitioned disk, install Windows 7 and install Ubuntu as normal for dual boot. I hate to say it, so I'll preface it with it's just my opinion with my experience, but I absolutely HATE Windows 8. I mean REALLY hate. I'm not an OS bigot, and have always had Windows available on 1 of my PC's (down to 2 now, with 1 being for "supposedly" controlling my meager telescope.

I don't know why this thing is being so difficult. Since Windows 8 currently won't boot from anywhere - including the F12 boot selection screen - I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to re-install the disk image again, which means it will be back to as-delivered condition. I can do that and then just leave it there, or I can do that, optiize the disk and shrink the disk to make room for Ubuntu and leave it there if preferred to start the Ubuntu installation all over again, in case there is anything I could have messed up that you might want me to try from that point.

I also thought Dell would work the best - I researched this online and in the forum before I ordered it and it seemed people were having problems with other systems and even some Dell's, but not the model I ordered. It's nothing fancy like the XPS line, etc..

[oldfred]

What makes a 15R different than the links I posted above that all worked to dual boot?

But it may just be Windows 7 will not work on that system.

[squakie]

Don't ask me. I've done some more reading elsewhere as well as re-re-reading the information and links you posted. What I have found is:

only the grub menu entries that reference the backup files:

menuentry "Windows UEFI recovery bkpbootmgfw.efi" {
search --fs-uuid --no-floppy --set=root 5A35-6AF0
chainloader (${root})/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bkpbootmgfw.efi
}

menuentry "Windows Boot UEFI recovery" {
search --fs-uuid --no-floppy --set=root 5A35-6AF0
chainloader (${root})/EFI/Boot/bkpbootx64.efi
}

Will boot Windows. The rest either have root defined differently or they don't reference one of the backup files (bkp.......efi).

Please note I have done EVERYTHING as mentioned in this thread and in the links you provided. I don't know why it doesn't work on a Dell Inspiron 15R 5521 - but it's not in the XPS series. It also doesn't have any options for Intel Smart Connect Technology or Intel Rapid Start Technology. The are only 3 things it has that have even remotely been mentioned in the various discussion of this problem:

- Intel Speed Step - I thought this was only CPU automatic throttling, but I disabled it any way

- UEFI - that's how it's set up. The install CD was the UEFI 64-bit 12.10 CD - had to boot it via the F12 boot selection menu (on this PC) and selecting the UEFI ubuntu dvd.

- secure boot - it has made no difference whether this is enabled or disabled.

So, to summarize again how things were installed (matches the links):

- Windows 8 (not the Pro edition though) was pre-installed
- using the Windows 8 tools, ran Optimize (crunches and defrags) 2 times
- using the Windows 8 disk management tools I shrank the existing relavent partition
- using the UEFI "enabled" 64-bit 12.10 CD, installed Ubuntu. Typical Windows boot problem from the bug. Ran boot-repair selecting the default.

This was done with secure boot on and with secure boot off. It always behaved the same.

This all matches everything I have read on how to do this. The "extras" have always involved Intel Smart Connect (I don't have it that I can find anywhere in the BIOS setup) and Intel Rapid Staart Technology (again, I don't have it that I can find anywhere in the BIOS setup).

The grub menu entries, and apparently however they coexist with UEFI, don't work. Only the backup efi files work.

So, I can get to Windows, but not by anything that closely resembles "normal" grub menu entries - these are all labeled something like recovery or backup - don't remember the exact words.

What I need to do know is to stop grub-mkconfig and update-grub from finding anything but Ubuntu entries and rely solely on the 40_custom file in /etc/grub.d so I would only have 2 options for Ubuntu and 1 for Windows. I currently don't know how to override the searching and creating of grub menu entries for the various Windows as it does now. I'm sure I'll find that somewhere.

So, without reloading the disk image and doing this all over again (as I have already done), the only thing I can do is have the grub menu reference the backup (bkp) .efi files so I can boot Windows.

If you know another way to correct this, please let me know. boot-repair doesn't.

[squakie]

I took the cheap way out and set the 30- osprober file in /etc/grub.d to non-execute permissions. Reran grub-mkconfig, then update-grub. It's still showing all the non-functional entries in the grub menu. I noticed that all of the ones that don't point to the efi partition are the ones that don't work.

For now, the grub menu is really ugly, but at least I have 1 option for Ubuntu that works and 1 option for Windows (via the bkp file) that works. I have a hunch that if I manualle edit grub.cfg (yep - know it's not the way to do it) to point to efi partition they will probably work as well.

[oldfred]

Do not edit grub.cfg.

It is great that it works. I think it has to use the backup files with secure boot on many systems as the UEFI is modfied to only boot Windows which it should not be.

All the entries in 25_custom can be edited and then on sudo update-grub will change grub.cfg. Not sure why script calls some of the entries recovery, but it only does that for some systems. But it has to find files in the efi partition that look like they may boot, assign a name and create the chain load boot stanza.

# Edit 25_custom entries created by Boot-Repair:
sudo cp -a /etc/grub.d/25_custom /etc/grub.d/25_custom_backup
# turn off execute bit or it will run backup also, creating duplicate entries
sudo chmod a-x /etc/grub.d/25_custom_backup
gksudo gedit /etc/grub.d/25_custom
# Then do:
sudo update-grub