I've an old Dell E6410 laptop, Xubuntu 23.10 installed on internal SSD. I used the machine to install 24.04 on an external drive, the laptop booted off a USB-stick with Xubuntu 24.04 installer. Everything seemed to work nicely, the external drive now boots 24.04 (on 2014 macmini), but the laptop now won't boot from its internal SSD.
Boot-Repair Summary:
============================= Boot Repair Summary ==============================
Default settings: ______________________________________________________________
The default repair of the Boot-Repair utility would reinstall the grub-efi of
sda2,
using the following options: sda1/boot/efi
Additional repair would be performed: unhide-bootmenu-10s use-standard-efi-file restore-efi-backups
Final advice in case of suggested repair: ______________________________________
Please do not forget to make your UEFI firmware boot on the Ubuntu 23.10 entry (sda1/efi/****/grub****.efi (**** will be updated in the final message) file) !
User settings: _________________________________________________________________
modprobe: FATAL: Module efivars not found in directory /lib/modules/6.8.0-31-generic
Warning: failed to launch javaldx - java may not function correctly
The settings chosen by the user will reinstall the grub-efi of
sda2,
using the following options: sda1/boot/efi
Additional repair will be performed: unhide-bootmenu-10s use-standard-efi-file restore-efi-backups
rm /mnt/boot-sav/sda1/efi/Boot/bootx64.efi
mv /mnt/boot-sav/sda1/efi/Boot/bkpbootx64.efi /mnt/boot-sav/sda1/efi/Boot/bootx64.efi
Mount /dev/sda1 on /mnt/boot-sav/sda2/boot/efi
===================== Reinstall the grub-efi of /dev/sda2 ======================
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 grub-install --version
grub-install (GRUB) 2.12~rc1-10ubuntu4
modprobe: FATAL: Module efivars not found in directory /lib/modules/6.8.0-31-generic
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 modprobe efivars
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 efibootmgr -v before grub install
EFI variables are not supported on this system.
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 uname -r
6.8.0-31-generic
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 grub-install --efi-directory=/boot/efi --target=x86_64-efi
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
grub-install: warning: EFI variables cannot be set on this system.
grub-install: warning: You will have to complete the GRUB setup manually.
Installation finished. No error reported.
df /dev/sda1
mv /mnt/boot-sav/sda2/boot/efi/EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi /mnt/boot-sav/sda2/boot/efi/EFI/Boot/bkpbootx64.efi
cp /mnt/boot-sav/sda2/boot/efi/efi/ubuntu/grubx64.efi /mnt/boot-sav/sda2/boot/efi/EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 grub-install --efi-directory=/boot/efi --target=x86_64-efi
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
grub-install: warning: EFI variables cannot be set on this system.
grub-install: warning: You will have to complete the GRUB setup manually.
Installation finished. No error reported.
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 efibootmgr -v after grub install
EFI variables are not supported on this system.
Warning: NVram is locked (Ubuntu not found in efibootmgr).
chroot /mnt/boot-sav/sda2 update-grub
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub'
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.5.0-41-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-6.5.0-41-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.15.0-112-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.15.0-112-generic
Found memtest86+ 64bit EFI image: /boot/memtest86+x64.efi
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
Unhide GRUB boot menu in sda2/boot/grub/grub.cfg
Boot successfully repaired.
Locked-NVram detected. Please do not forget to make your UEFI firmware boot on the Ubuntu 23.10 entry (sda1/efi/ubuntu/grubx64.efi file) !
============================ Boot Info After Repair ============================
=> No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.
sda1: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: vfat
Boot sector type: FAT32
Boot sector info: No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
Operating System:
Boot files: /efi/BOOT/bkpbootx64.efi /efi/BOOT/bootx64.efi
/efi/BOOT/fbx64.efi /efi/BOOT/mmx64.efi
/efi/ubuntu/grubx64.efi /efi/ubuntu/mmx64.efi
/efi/ubuntu/shimx64.efi /efi/ubuntu/grub.cfg
sda2: __________________________________________________________________________
File system: ext4
Boot sector type: -
Boot sector info:
Operating System: Ubuntu 23.10
Boot files: /boot/grub/grub.cfg /etc/fstab /etc/default/grub
sdb: ___________________________________________________________________________
File system: iso9660
Boot sector type: Grub2 (v1.99-2.00)
Boot sector info: Grub2 (v1.99-2.00) is installed in the boot sector of
sdb and looks at sector 0 of the same hard drive for
core.img, but core.img can not be found at this
location.
Mounting failed: mount: /mnt/BootInfo/FD/sdb: /dev/sdb already mounted or mount point busy.
dmesg(1) may have more information after failed mount system call.
================================ 1 OS detected =================================
OS#1: Ubuntu 23.10 on sda2
================================ Host/Hardware =================================
CPU architecture: 64-bit
Video: Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller from Intel Corporation
Live-session OS is Ubuntu 64-bit (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, noble, x86_64)
===================================== UEFI =====================================
BIOS/UEFI firmware: A07(4.6) from Dell Inc.
The firmware is EFI-compatible, and is set in EFI-mode for this live-session.
SecureBoot disabled - This system doesn't support Secure Boot.
BootCurrent: 0007
Timeout: 2 seconds
BootOrder: 0006,0000,0003,0001,0002,0004,0007
Boot0000 Diskette Drive BBS(Floppy,,0x0)
dp: 05 01 09 00 01 00 00 00 00 / 7f ff 04 00
Boot0001* Internal HDD BBS(HD,,0x0)50303a2043543530304d583530305353443120202020202020202020202000
dp: 05 01 09 00 02 00 00 00 00 / 7f ff 04 00
data: 50 30 3a 20 43 54 35 30 30 4d 58 35 30 30 53 53 44 31 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 00
Boot0002* USB Storage Device BBS(USB,,0x0)5553422053746f726167652044657669636500
dp: 05 01 09 00 05 00 00 00 00 / 7f ff 04 00
data: 55 53 42 20 53 74 6f 72 61 67 65 20 44 65 76 69 63 65 00
Boot0003* CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive BBS(CDROM,,0x0)50313a2054535354636f7270204456442b2f2d52572054532d553633334600
dp: 05 01 09 00 03 00 00 00 00 / 7f ff 04 00
data: 50 31 3a 20 54 53 53 54 63 6f 72 70 20 44 56 44 2b 2f 2d 52 57 20 54 53 2d 55 36 33 33 46 00
Boot0004 Onboard NIC BBS(Network,,0x0)49424120474520536c6f74203030433820763133353200
dp: 05 01 09 00 06 00 00 00 00 / 7f ff 04 00
data: 49 42 41 20 47 45 20 53 6c 6f 74 20 30 30 43 38 20 76 31 33 35 32 00
Boot0006* Ubuntu HD(1,GPT,6e44bb34-6c4e-4654-85c0-2963cd78cd1f,0x800,0x219800)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
dp: 04 01 2a 00 01 00 00 00 00 08 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 98 21 00 00 00 00 00 34 bb 44 6e 4e 6c 54 46 85 c0 29 63 cd 78 cd 1f 02 02 / 04 04 34 00 5c 00 45 00 46 00 49 00 5c 00 75 00 62 00 75 00 6e 00 74 00 75 00 5c 00 73 00 68 00 69 00 6d 00 78 00 36 00 34 00 2e 00 65 00 66 00 69 00 00 00 / 7f ff 04 00
Boot0007* UEFI: INT13(USB,0x80) PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x1d,0x0)/VenHw(aa7ba38a-dabf-40c3-8d18-b55b39609ef7,8001000000005553422020202020ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff)/HD(2,GPT,68f11f7c-9460-4739-8f7b-899a4819eea1,0x792144,0x279c)
dp: 02 01 0c 00 d0 41 03 0a 00 00 00 00 / 01 01 06 00 00 1d / 01 04 3a 00 8a a3 7b aa bf da c3 40 8d 18 b5 5b 39 60 9e f7 80 01 00 00 00 00 55 53 42 20 20 20 20 20 ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff / 04 01 2a 00 02 00 00 00 44 21 79 00 00 00 00 00 9c 27 00 00 00 00 00 00 7c 1f f1 68 60 94 39 47 8f 7b 89 9a 48 19 ee a1 02 02 / 7f ff 04 00
64349b3622c65f495a99dbf6102496e3 sda1/BOOT/bkpbootx64.efi
64349b3622c65f495a99dbf6102496e3 sda1/BOOT/bootx64.efi
925029921cfc9e40f54f55d4cffbdd49 sda1/BOOT/fbx64.efi
857e495f63f23c842e2b074e692b6e3a sda1/BOOT/mmx64.efi
1d99ff510dac8535d215797ad5e69230 sda1/ubuntu/grubx64.efi
857e495f63f23c842e2b074e692b6e3a sda1/ubuntu/mmx64.efi
64349b3622c65f495a99dbf6102496e3 sda1/ubuntu/shimx64.efi
============================= Drive/Partition Info =============================
Disks info: ____________________________________________________________________
sda : is-GPT, no-BIOSboot, has---ESP, not-usb, not-mmc, has-os, no-wind, 2048 sectors * 512 bytes
Partitions info (1/3): _________________________________________________________
sda1 : no-os, 64, nopakmgr, no-docgrub, nogrub, nogrubinstall, no-grubenv, noupdategrub, not-far
sda2 : is-os, 64, apt-get, signed grub-pc grub-efi , grub2, grub-install, grubenv-ok, update-grub, end-after-100GB
Partitions info (2/3): _________________________________________________________
sda1 : is---ESP, part-has-no-fstab, no-nt, no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid, no-bmgr, notwinboot
sda2 : isnotESP, fstab-has-goodEFI, no-nt, no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid, no-bmgr, notwinboot
Partitions info (3/3): _________________________________________________________
sda1 : not--sepboot, no---boot, part-has-no-fstab, not-sep-usr, no---usr, part-has-no-fstab, no--grub.d, sda
sda2 : not--sepboot, with-boot, fstab-without-boot, not-sep-usr, with--usr, fstab-without-usr, std-grub.d, sda
fdisk -l (filtered): ___________________________________________________________
Disk sda: 465.76 GiB, 500107862016 bytes, 976773168 sectors
Disk identifier: F236DF86-1EDF-400D-A72D-17282CDC8963
Start End Sectors Size Type
sda1 2048 1050623 1048576 512M EFI System
sda2 1050624 976771071 975720448 465.3G Linux filesystem
Disk sdb: 28.65 GiB, 30765219840 bytes, 60088320 sectors
Disk identifier: 68F11F7C-9460-4739-8F79-899A4819EEA1
Start End Sectors Size Type
sdb1 64 7938371 7938308 3.8G Microsoft basic data
sdb2 7938372 7948511 10140 5M EFI System
sdb3 7948512 7949111 600 300K Microsoft basic data
sdb4 7950336 60086271 52135936 24.9G Linux filesystem
parted -lm (filtered): _________________________________________________________
sda:500GB:scsi:512:4096:gpt:ATA CT500MX500SSD1:;
1:1049kB:538MB:537MB:fat32:EFI System Partition:boot, esp;
2:538MB:500GB:500GB:ext4::;
sdb:30.8GB:scsi:512:512:gpt: USB SanDisk 3.2Gen1:;
1:32.8kB:4064MB:4064MB::ISO9660:hidden, msftdata;
2:4064MB:4070MB:5192kB::Appended2:boot, esp;
3:4070MB:4070MB:307kB::Gap1:hidden, msftdata;
4:4071MB:30.8GB:26.7GB:ext4::;
blkid (filtered): ______________________________________________________________
NAME FSTYPE UUID PARTUUID LABEL PARTLABEL
sda
├─sda1 vfat ADF4-AC72 d6b9d819-3823-474b-a3aa-b0c2993d0e3b EFI System Partition
└─sda2 ext4 a09c8df2-7b99-4d7c-99c9-052ccac810ef 844376d0-b14a-4c4a-bb6c-38ab0eafb739
sdb iso9660 2024-04-24-20-17-44-00 Xubuntu 24.04 LTS amd64
├─sdb1 iso9660 2024-04-24-20-17-44-00 68f11f7c-9460-4739-8f78-899a4819eea1 Xubuntu 24.04 LTS amd64 ISO9660
├─sdb2 vfat 37B6-BC6E 68f11f7c-9460-4739-8f7b-899a4819eea1 ESP Appended2
├─sdb3 68f11f7c-9460-4739-8f7a-899a4819eea1 Gap1
└─sdb4 ext4 8da390ef-5062-46cb-8b70-e940f17bee11 d2db3801-df32-40b2-ae72-2e9d1a0ad733 writable
Mount points (filtered): _______________________________________________________
Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sda1 504M 1% /mnt/boot-sav/sda1
/dev/sda2 394.9G 8% /mnt/boot-sav/sda2
/dev/sdb1 0 100% /cdrom
efivarfs 49.3K 15% /sys/firmware/efi/efivars
Mount options (filtered): ______________________________________________________
/dev/sda1 vfat rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro
/dev/sda2 ext4 rw,relatime
/dev/sdb1 iso9660 ro,noatime,nojoliet,check=s,map=n,blocksize=2048,iocharset=utf8
===================== sda1/efi/ubuntu/grub.cfg (filtered) ======================
search.fs_uuid a09c8df2-7b99-4d7c-99c9-052ccac810ef root hd0,gpt2
set prefix=($root)'/boot/grub'
configfile $prefix/grub.cfg
====================== sda2/boot/grub/grub.cfg (filtered) ======================
Ubuntu a09c8df2-7b99-4d7c-99c9-052ccac810ef
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
UEFI Firmware Settings uefi-firmware
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
========================== sda2/etc/fstab (filtered) ===========================
# <file system> <mount point> <type> <options> <dump> <pass>
# / was on /dev/sda2 during installation
UUID=a09c8df2-7b99-4d7c-99c9-052ccac810ef / ext4 errors=remount-ro 0 1
# /boot/efi was on /dev/sda1 during installation
UUID=ADF4-AC72 /boot/efi vfat umask=0077 0 1
/swapfile none swap sw 0 0
======================= sda2/etc/default/grub (filtered) =======================
GRUB_DEFAULT=0
GRUB_TIMEOUT_STYLE=menu
GRUB_TIMEOUT=10
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR=`lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash"
GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX=""
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
==================== sda2: Location of files loaded by Grub ====================
GiB - GB File Fragment(s)
?? = ?? boot/grub/grub.cfg 1
186.016597748 = 199.733800960 boot/vmlinuz 2
30.813472748 = 33.085714432 boot/vmlinuz-5.15.0-112-generic 2
186.016597748 = 199.733800960 boot/vmlinuz-6.5.0-41-generic 2
30.813472748 = 33.085714432 boot/vmlinuz.old 2
85.750972748 = 92.074405888 boot/initrd.img 2
171.242656708 = 183.870402560 boot/initrd.img-5.15.0-112-generic 6
85.750972748 = 92.074405888 boot/initrd.img-6.5.0-41-generic 2
171.242656708 = 183.870402560 boot/initrd.img.old 6
===================== sda2: ls -l /etc/grub.d/ (filtered) ======================
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 18228 Oct 2 2023 10_linux
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 43202 Oct 2 2023 10_linux_zfs
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 14459 Oct 2 2023 20_linux_xen
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 786 Oct 2 2023 25_bli
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 13120 Oct 2 2023 30_os-prober
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1174 Oct 2 2023 30_uefi-firmware
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 722 Sep 6 2023 35_fwupd
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 214 Jul 31 2020 40_custom
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 215 Apr 15 2022 41_custom
https://paste.ubuntu.com/p/2SzPq8Tz2Y/
My process: Power button, tapped F12, at F12 screen, under UEFI Boot: I chose 'UEFI: ...USB', Not 'Ubuntu' Machine booted off the USB-stick, at Grub I chose 'Try or Install'. At desktop, I turned on external drive (WD-1T). Waited a minute. Fired up the installer. Early on the installer asked to update, I did this. Chose Interactive Installation, then Xubuntu Desktop, Install 3rd party stuff, Erase Disc and Install, Somewhere in there I chose 'WD-1T' as install location, filled out the account info asked for and began the install. At the end of install I chose 'continue', found nothing to see, quit the installer, turned off machine. Tested WD-1T which booted 24.04 no problem.
I booted the laptop, tapped F12, chose 'UEFI Boot: Ubuntu'. No Luck. Tried again, at F12 chose 'Legacy boot: Internal HD'. No luck. Booted from USB-stick again, got out Terminal and did:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:yannubuntu/boot-repair && sudo apt update sudo apt install -y boot-repair && boot-repair
Chose the 'Recommended Repair' as that's worked for me with this machine in the past. No luck. I tried the same again, no luck.
I can't imagine what happened during that install process. Why would the installer, etc. disturb the internal drive?
