[windowsfx] boot failure after system update

[oldfred]

Can you boot recovery mode, second line in grub menu?

[kaolincash]

It seems to just be hanging on a blank screen, which is what the main install seems to be doing too, not sure if that's a consequence of having run the boot repair tool unsuccessfully.

Here are the options I see, and here are the options given to me when selecting advanced options.

[oldfred]

And if you click on recovery mode what happens?
Try first, and even try other recovery mode kernels as they are your older install's versions.
Ubuntu normally keeps two kernels, one older one in case of issues with newer one.

[kaolincash]

The first recovery mode is blank, the second opens EFI Shell version 2.31 [4.655]

[oldfred]

That is a bit unusual.
Not all systems have EFI Shell and I have not used it.
Did you also try booting with older kernel?

Also use e for edit on grub menu and your entry and change linux line.
Remove quiet splash boot parameters and see what happens. It should show boot process. And when it stops it usually has an error several lilnes above that point.

[kaolincash]

Ok, so I'm not sure what I did, but I managed to get into the latest recovery, so I followed your instructions and it managed to get as far as this before hanging: https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...004_220205.jpg

So I ran the command on the failed task and this is the output from that:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...004_221252.jpg

Edit: I ran a boot update and now it's downloading packages, since I asked it to fix any broken ones, hopefully it should boot after this, at which point I'll mark this solved. Gonna stick on an episode of Columbo and call it a night, for now, though.

[oldfred]

Is this a virtual install?
I do not know about that but error seems related to lxc.
Someone else may know more about that.

[kaolincash]

Bare metal. Windowsfx installed directly to my SSD. I've attempted to boot normally and it doesn't, but I can now access the recovery options of the most recent install, so that's progress. I also managed to boot into the GUI after running through the recovery menu, but at that point it fully disabled all USB interfaces and I don't have a PS/2 keyboard/mouse so I'm not sure where to go from there if I can't physically interface with the device, other than getting SSH set up which--while I'm comfortable enough using SSH as an interface--I'd need to be talked through the process step by step. I don't know if it's even enabled, nor how I might achieve this, but I do have both my laptop and phone, which can interface with my desktop motherboard easily enough (I use WOL, for one thing).

I've done a once-over of my UEFI settings, in the mean time, and ensured I haven't inadvertently messed up anything in my boot order or hardware settings somehow, but nothing changes whether I have the default profile or my custom one enabled, and my custom profile's UEFI settings match the default ones.

So, the current board state appears to be:
- I cannot boot into the GUI at all via normal means and this is the console output of the main boot sequence
- I can boot into the GUI via recovery mode, but apparently with USB disabled (and potentially other drivers/functionality missing, possibly including networking)
- I can access the grub console via ESC on boot
- I can access the root console via recovery mode.
- I can boot into a recovery drive with either Windows PE or Ubuntu and access the unmounted filesystem itself, with an arsenal of useful tools, in case I need to do any surgery

[oldfred]

Do not know what changes Windows fx may have made to standard Ubuntu.
You may want to see what boot parameter(s) are used with recovery mode. Ubuntu uses nomodeset which defaults video driver to prevent video issues primarily with nVidia until nVidia driver installed. Did not think that changes USB settings.
USB settings could also be an UEFI setting. If Secure boot is on, you may have to turn on full USB support or similar setting in UEFI.

I did find lxc is related to Windows container for Linux. But no idea how that is used?

[kaolincash]

Secure boot is disabled, as are any Fast Boot settings that may disable USB peripherals.

Here are the boot parameters of my install:
https://media.discordapp.net/attachm...005_213805.jpg