Boot-repair for 24.04.1 not working grub-efi partition error

[pratibhapotla]

https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/4Q2W65wkZT/

Hi Ubuntu team,

After upgrading to 24.04.1 LTS, my system has gone for a toss. There is no GUI and after testing multiple solutions online, here I am trying to run boot-repair using a live USB using the boot-repair software provided by the community.

However, when I run "Recommended repair" button, it throws an error stating "Please enable a repository containing the [grub-efi] packages in the software sources of unknown Linux distribution (/dev/sda3). Then try again". I have also provided the paste bin information above. I have a critical project waiting for me to start but this OS version has been giving sleepless nights since few days.

Looking forward for help. Please let me know if you require any other information.

P.S. I have been using Ubuntu since 2010 and I have had to post something like this only in 2024 for the first time ever.

Thank you,
Pratibha

[oldfred]

Is this Ubuntu or Mint?
It says live installer running Boot-Repair is Mint.

What brand/model system?
Have you installed nVidia driver?
Can you boot recovery mode?

[pratibhapotla]

Hi Oldfred,

Thank you for your quick reply. Even I got confused with this.

1) I made a bootable ubuntu USB using Etcher software on a MacBook Air laptop since that was the only other machine I had access to. And the system I have is a Dell Precision Tower 5820 with 8 cores and 32 GB RAM with Ubuntu OS.
2) I struggled with NVIDIA driver installation and uninstallation many times since for 24.04 LTS, I read on multiple forums, it should be uninstalled with Wayland related problems.
3) I can't boot into recovery mode as it says "no hostname set" and also throws an error "FAILED to start systems-login.service - User login management".

So my only option was to try boot-repair. What could I do next?

Thank you,
Pratibha

[oldfred]

If install is Ubuntu and live installer Mint that is some of problem.
Mint is not an official flavor of Ubuntu and has many modifications, even though based on Ubuntu.
Flavors
https://ubuntu.com/download/flavours

[yancek]

Since you have tried multiple solutions and we don't know what they were, it is difficult to make suggestions. /dev/sda1 is your EFI partition which appears to have the necessary files. /dev/sda2 is a vfat partition with only grub.cfg in it so that is useless. /dev/sda3 is your / filesystem partition for Ubuntu and boot repair shows on line 87 that it has no fstab. In addition to the message you posted "no hostname set" and also throws an error "FAILED to start systems-login.service - User login management" you might try reinstalling and select to NOT format sda3. If you have personal data on that partition, back it up as a precaution but it should not be overwritten.

[pratibhapotla]

Thank you, oldfred and yancek for the details.

oldfred: When I changed the boot sequence in BIOS settings for loading the live USB, I saw two occurrences of the USB with the boot-repair (I don't know why), so I randomly selected one of them. I will retry this step by selecting the other one and check if it shows Ubuntu now instead of Mint.

yancek: Yes, I do have personal data on /dev/sda3 partition. I was trying to solve this first by boot-repair and keep reinstalling the OS as the last resort.

I will post an update if I am able to resolve this.

Kindly,
Pratibha

[oldfred]

You should not be selecting randomly a USB boot entry.
Most flash drive installers create a USB with both old BIOS and newer UEFI boot. Systems since 2012 are UEFI, so almost all should be booting in UEFI mode.
One time boot should clearly show UEFI as an option.
Some have BIOS boot menu & then a UEFI boot menu.
Others just show UEFI:XXX or XXX where XXX is name or label of flash drive. You always want the UEFI option.

How you boot install media for both Windows & Ubuntu UEFI or BIOS is then how it installs or repairs. You must always be consistent.

New systems starting in 2020 are UEFI only.
My Dell with Intel 11th Gen chip says "BIOS" but once in BIOS it says UEFI only.

[tea for one]

Others just show UEFI:XXX or XXX where XXX is name or label of flash drive. You always want the UEFI option.
How you boot install media for both Windows & Ubuntu UEFI or BIOS is then how it installs or repairs. You must always be consistent.
New systems starting in 2020 are UEFI only.

+1 to all of the above

@pratibhapotla
It can be confusing if you are unaware of the consequences.
I've attached an image to show the two choices.

[pratibhapotla]

Thank you for all detailed replies. I will try again with the way you both mentioned and post my update here soon.

[pratibhapotla]

Hi team,

Sorry for the delay. I had some pressing work to be completed first on a standby system.

I have done a fresh start by creating a USB having Ubuntu 24.0.1 LTS desktop ISO image on it to boot my Ubuntu desktop. It is not showing Mint now!

After clicking on "Try Ubuntu" and running boot-repair, I get the same error as the title of this ticket. Following is the paste bin info. What step can I take next or shall I just click on "Install Ubuntu" and re-install? I have a lot of unbacked data but I will be able to manage if I lose it.

Thank you,
Pratibha