[SOLVED] Rescue my 15.0 install

business_kid · 01-12-2024, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Petri Kaukasoina

To check whether Secure Boot is enabled, run:

Code:

mokutil --sb-state

Does it reply “Secure Boot enabled” ?

Secure boot is disabled - my bad. I'm in "Setup Mode," whatever that is.

I can set up a Slackware entry, and get it to place it in order. But that doesn't hold over a reboot.

Code:

dec@Ebony:~$ sudo efibootmgr -v
[sudo] password for dec: 
BootCurrent: 0002
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0002,0003
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager	HD(1,GPT,5e0a4df4-b065-41f1-b1a5-8ce98d4fbe2e,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI)WINDOWS.........x...B.C.D.O.B.J.E.C.T.=.{.9.d.e.a.8.6.2.c.-.5.c.d.d.-.4.e.7.0.-.a.c.c.1.-.f.3.2.b.3.4.4.d.4.7.9.5.}...M................
Boot0002* debian	HD(1,GPT,5e0a4df4-b065-41f1-b1a5-8ce98d4fbe2e,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\DEBIAN\GRUBX64.EFI)..BO
Boot0003* Hard Drive	BBS(HD,,0x0)..GO..NO........u.T.O.S.H.I.B.A. .M.Q.0.4.A.B.F.1.0.0....................A.................................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L. . . . . . . . . . .Z. .J.8.C.Y.J.K.T.1........BO..NO........s.I.N.T.E.L. .S.S.D.P.E.K.N.W.5.1.2.G.8....................A.......................................6..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.B.T.N.H.2.0.3.5.0.U.3.Z.5.1.2.A........BO

dec@Ebony:~$ sudo efibootmgr -c -d /dev/nvme0n1 --part=6 -L Slackware -l \\EFI\\Slackware\\elilo.efi
BootCurrent: 0002
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0000,0002,0003
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0002* debian
Boot0003* Hard Drive
Boot0001* Slackware

dec@Ebony:~$ sudo efibootmgr -v
BootCurrent: 0002
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0000,0002,0003
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager	HD(1,GPT,5e0a4df4-b065-41f1-b1a5-8ce98d4fbe2e,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\MICROSOFT\BOOT\BOOTMGFW.EFI)WINDOWS.........x...B.C.D.O.B.J.E.C.T.=.{.9.d.e.a.8.6.2.c.-.5.c.d.d.-.4.e.7.0.-.a.c.c.1.-.f.3.2.b.3.4.4.d.4.7.9.5.}...M................
Boot0001* Slackware	HD(6,GPT,0852f4b5-918b-4424-9963-8a2dee122a79,0x1fd66800,0x7800000)/File(\EFI\Slackware\elilo.efi)
Boot0002* debian	HD(1,GPT,5e0a4df4-b065-41f1-b1a5-8ce98d4fbe2e,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\DEBIAN\GRUBX64.EFI)..BO
Boot0003* Hard Drive	BBS(HD,,0x0)..GO..NO........u.T.O.S.H.I.B.A. .M.Q.0.4.A.B.F.1.0.0....................A.................................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L. . . . . . . . . . .Z. .J.8.C.Y.J.K.T.1........BO..NO........s.I.N.T.E.L. .S.S.D.P.E.K.N.W.5.1.2.G.8....................A.......................................6..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.B.T.N.H.2.0.3.5.0.U.3.Z.5.1.2.A........BO
dec@Ebony:~$

Am I missing a bit of the process to store? Does my entry look complete? I thought I had to store something in the m/b Bios, but I don't know much about this, and this is my first box where efi is not nobbled. When I reboot, the Slackware entry won't show and won't be present in efibootmgr as it isn't at the top of the quoted 'code'.

colorpurple21859 · 01-12-2024, 04:29 PM

post the output of:
sudo parted -l

enorbet · 01-12-2024, 11:33 PM

It might be helpful and instructive to try the F-Key to Boot Menu to see if the drive/partition containing Slackware remains there. In my Asus Z490 board booting some alternative systems will deselect an entry from the main "Boot" tab of BIOS Setup which can either be reinstated by clicking the arrow to the right of each entry and manually selecting it back or by accessing the F-Key Boot menu option. The selection process might be board specific but once efibootmgr successfully creates an entry it is encoded in firmware and must be manually deleted to no longer exist as an entry.

In short, "Boot0001* Slackware" entry can't just disappear without your action. It's still there.

business_kid · 01-13-2024, 09:06 AM

OK - sorted. Posting this from Slackware64-15.0.

The key breakthrough was to realise that on this box or on these BIOS, efibootmgr isn't actually working. With the exception of the timeout, I haven't successfully modified anything on these B-550M based motherboards. So things like 'efibootmgr -o <stuff>' to change the bootorder does nothing. The cure is deletion, efibootmgr -O {deletes boot order} followed by efibootmgr -o {write new bootorder}.

So I deleted the Slackware entry, and recreated it in the form

Code:

sudo efibootmgr -c -d /dev/nvme0n1 --part=1 -L Slackware -l \\EFI\\Slackware\\elilo.efi

EDIT: 19 posts to get to the bottom of this - far too many. Thanks for all the rapid replies and I'll try to be more succinct next time.

I wrote that out, because that was the line that worked. After grub, lilo, & friends we automatically associate the root partition with each OS in my case /dev/nvme0n1p6. But efibootmgr wants the efi partition, and doesn't care about where the OS actually is. That threw me for a while.

I deleted the Boot order and stuck in a preferable one but I think this may not take too many changes together. Very weird. At time of writing, I'm still defaulting to windows. But I'll fix that. The good news is that I can boot Slackware.

EDIT: Hey, the desired boot order actually stuck. So Slackware (0001 in the boot order) takes precedence over Windows. I had to delete, and then recreate. My boot order is

* Slackware 0001
* Debian 0002
* Windows 0000

enorbet · 01-13-2024, 01:38 PM

Congratz!!!

hazel · 01-14-2024, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by business_kid

The key breakthrough was to realise that on this box or on these BIOS, efibootmgr isn't actually working. With the exception of the timeout, I haven't successfully modified anything on these B-550M based motherboards. So things like 'efibootmgr -o <stuff>' to change the bootorder does nothing. The cure is deletion, efibootmgr -O {deletes boot order} followed by efibootmgr -o {write new bootorder}.

My UEFI works in exactly the same way. Changes to boot order or deactivation of an entry are registered in nvram and can be displayed (so efibootmgr is working as it should) but they are not actually obeyed. Only deletion of unwanted entries works.

chrisretusn · 01-14-2024, 01:15 AM

Very good news indeed. I knew you'd get there. Very informative thread.

business_kid · 01-16-2024, 09:04 AM

Well, I thought things were too good to be true. They were. A few days after I wrote my last post, the BIOS decided to throw a spanner in the works.

I guess there's some sanity checking going on in the Asrock BIOS. It failed. I have the EFI partition backed up somewhere, but it points at a non-existent version of Windows. Never Mind, thought the BIOS, existence is only a minor detail. So this non-existent Windows was started by default, puked, and started asking me what I had done

. I could still reboot, select Slackware using F11. efibootmgr was powerless (again) to deal with the reality of this imaginary windows being pushed to the forefront of the boot options.

In the Asrock BIOS, I eventually found a boot menu that I eventually figured how to manipulate. I disabled out the imaginary windows, assigned the real one it's suitably insignificant place in the boot order, and defaulted to Slackware.

I actually wonder why there is a boot order. If option #1 doesn't work, you're shafted, aren't you? Your only option is to press F11 and get ALL the boot options. So it's either option #1, or one of the rest, and the order is meaningless.