Install hang on dual boot machine - vfat in scsi7 partition #2 (sdb) at /boot/efi

[rbmorse]

You can get the Windows activation key that's in use from within the running Windows session. I forget the specific steps, but I do know it's possible. A Google or DDG search should provide in short order.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-c3d57a72e6fe might help.

[foo2bar]

You can get the Windows activation key that's in use from within the running Windows session. I forget the specific steps, but I do know it's possible. A Google or DDG search should provide in short order.

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...d-c3d57a72e6fe might help.

This machine is one of those that was upgraded from windows7/8 to windows10 for free around 2016. I've just been talking with m$ online and apparently, it's not possible to reinstall windows10 onto this machine using the original windows7/8 product keys! I'd have to buy a new licence!! And like hell I'm going to do that!

I'm convinced the person I was speaking with didn't know their gluteus maximus from their oleocranon.

On the plus side, even though ubuntu carped during installation, grub was restored and I was able to boot into windows. However, I wasn't able to boot into ubuntu 20.10. Can't remember the message. I've made the mistake to booting into windows and it's applying updates going back to 2016 ... It's going to be long while before I can try booting into ubuntu again.

[oldfred]

How you boot install media is then how it installs or repairs.

Some tools that create installer like Rufus create either a BIOS/MBR installer only or a UEFI/gpt installer only. Other tools create an installer that can be used for either UEFI or BIOS installs.
And each time you boot an installer or repair flash drive whether Ubuntu or Windows you have to choose "UEFI:flash" or "flash".
The flash entry then is the BIOS boot and "flash" is usually the name or label of the flash drive.

If a BIOS only system, then you have no options, and have to have a BIOS bootable flash drive for it to work. You can use gpt with BIOS boot if drive is Ubuntu only. (I have since 2010 and still have it on a mostly retired 2006 laptop.)

The entry in UEFI/BIOS is only for the default boot of your installer internal systems.

Windows requires gpt for UEFI boot. Ubuntu will let you install in UEFI boot mode to an old MBR(msdos) partitioned drive, but probably should not. You cannot have Windows in BIOS boot on same drive as UEFI boot of Ubuntu. You can have different boot modes if on separate drives, but then can only dual boot from UEFI boot menu, not from grub menu.

If you use gpt, you have to a FAT32 formatted partition with esp/boot flags for UEFI. All installs put boot files into separate folders in the ESP.
If you use gpt with BIOS boot of Ubuntu, you have to have a tiny 1 or 2MB unformatted partition with the bios_grub flag.

I did see one user who managed to get BIOS Windows and Ubuntu UEFI to work on one drive. I think he was able to put esp flag on ESP and boot flag on Windows boot partition. But many systems would not allow that.

[foo2bar]

Thank you for you rather comprehensive reply. I've yet to take it in.

In essence, are you saying that whatever the bios records as the boot mode (UEFI or legacy/BIOS), that only applies to tthe bios has seen the GPT USB drive, ignored the he hdd/ssd on the machine? Things like USB sticks could be booted as UEFI if they were formatted as such?

blkid on the installation media (a USB drive) reports:
/dev/sdc1: UUID="2020-10-22-14-30-30-00" LABEL="Ubuntu 20.10 amd64" TYPE="iso9660" PARTLABEL="ISO9660" PARTUUID="7ee1ffac-4072-46b8-885f-a7ea3f9c70cf"
/dev/sdc2: SEC_TYPE="msdos" LABEL="ESP" UUID="F366-AE33" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="Appended2" PARTUUID="7ee1ffac-4072-46b8-885c-a7ea3f9c70cf"
/dev/sdc4: LABEL="writable" UUID="e0b6feca-4108-478a-b899-aa451a67c425" TYPE="ext4" PARTUUID="6222bb34-475d-d141-8e45-e30a25ba80d9"

(sdc3 is a 300kb gap which does not appear in blkid)

gparted states the USB drive has a GPT partition table and sdc2 has boot and esp flags.

I used ubuntu's StartupDiskCreator to write ubuntu 20.10 to the USB drive. So, if I'm understanding you correctly, the StarupDiskCreator created a GPT partitioned USB drive. When inserted into my laptop, the BIOS ignored its own internal settings (i.e. boot in legacy mode) and having seen the boot flag on sdc2 (which also had the esp flag), booted using UEFI. Therefore the installation also expects the destination for the installation to also boot in UEFI?

Thing is .. this machine has been working in dual boot, non-UEFI mode for years. Has something changed in the installer/StartupDiskCreator since 2016 (which was the last installation on the machine)?

[oldfred]

If you have the hybrid configured flash drive, it is the way you choose to boot it.

The settings in UEFI apply to all internal drives, so if HDD is an internal drive then UEFI settings of UEFI or Legacy will apply. But if HDD is an external drive those settings will not apply if you directly boot that drive. If you boot grub on another drive in UEFI mode then the boot of HDD will match how you booted system.

You cannot switch boot modes once you start booting.

[foo2bar]

When ubuntu's StartupDiskCreator is used to write create an installation USB disk, how does it decide which scheme to use? Can I force it to create a non-UEFI scheme?

[oldfred]

The Ubuntu ISO is configured for both UEFI or BIOS boot.

Rufus creates either UEFI or BIOS only versions. You can try that if desired.

But it should just be a choice in UEFI one time boot menu, UEFI or BIOS boot.

[foo2bar]

BTW, any idea why when installing ubuntu 20.10 I get the following message

ubuntu grub-installer: info: Running chroot /target grub-install --force --target x86_64-efi "/dev/sda"
ubuntu grub-installer: info: Installing for x86_64-efi platform
ubuntu grub-installer: grub-install: error: cannot copy '/usr/lib/grub/x86_64-efi-wigned/grubx64.efi.signed' to '/boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi': No space left on device
ubuntu grub-installer: error: Running 'grub-install --force --target x86_64-efi "/dev/sda"' failed

The only partition on either the internal drive (sda) or the installation USB drive (sdb) which has no/very little space left is the second partition on the installation USB drive (sdb2) which happens to be the boot partition (size 4.86MB, used 4.86MB)

Is this a side effect of the conflict between the machine's internal drive being formatted as MBR/non-UEFI and the installation media being booted as UEFI? Or have I just picked a USB stick which is too small (4GB).

[oldfred]

You booted Ubuntu live installer in UEFI boot mode.

And Ubuntu's Ubiquity only installs grub's UEFI boot files into ESP - efi system partition on first drive seen. Usually sda or first NVMe drive.
If you want BIOS install you have to boot installer in BIOS mode. And in BIOS mode, using Something Else the combo box at bottom of partitioning screen works (does not work with UEFI) and you can choose which drive, sda, sdb etc to install grub2's boot loader into, but do not choose a partition.

You can tell which choice you made in UEFI one time boot menu by looking at first screen.
Shows live installer with screen shots. Both BIOS purple accessibility screen & UEFI black grub menu screen 20.10 uses grub for both
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI

[foo2bar]

Hello again - and thank you for all your help so far - much appreciated.

The screen I get when booting from the USB installation drive is the black one i.e. UEFI boot - not the purple one! When it booted up, there is no "choice" I can make to decide to boot in UEFI or non-UEFI.

I'll have a look at the BIOS to see if there is anything I can change - when I looked yesterday the UEFI boot setting was off ...

Thanks

UPDATE:
The BOOT MENU in the BIOS has the setting UEFI BOOT SUPPORT = DISABLED.