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Potato_Waffles avatar Ubuntu

Laptop not seeing UEFI bootloader for Ubuntu, but Desktop does. How can I solve that?

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Potato_Waffles

Dear wounderful comunity!

I recently decided to try out this new UEFI boot thingy, as I want to encrypt my drive and only found tutorials for UEFI. My laptop does not by default support it (an old Acer Aspire 5750g), but after some digging I found a custom BIOS with UEFI and some other useful goodies!

I have a dual boot instalation (Ubuntu for coding and Windows for gaming and 3D modeling) and works fine in Legacy mode. But here is the problem - I tried converting the drive for GPT and adapt it to UEFI. Windows handled it very well, boots without a problem in UEFI mode. But Ubuntu refuses to work. Like, I am stuck on the point where my laptop does not see GRUB at all.

  • I tried reinstalling and completly purging and installing anew EFI specific GRUB
  • I tried the boot repair tool. All succeeded, but with no resolve.
  • I also tried installing Ubuntu only on an empty drive with UEFI formatted USB drive - still nothing.
  • However, for sanity check, I put both drives in a desktop I have and each worked without a problem, the PC saw the ubuntu boot loader, I could select it and it booted just fine into GRUB and then into Ubuntu or Windows. And that is how I am reaching the comclusion, that my laptop out right doesn't see the Linux boot loader, only the windows one.
  • I also tried rEFInd, but the laptop doesn't see that one as well.

Is this caused by poor UEFI implementation on my laptop? Probably. But is there a way to fix it through the bootloader? I mean, USB drives with installers on them work, as well as Windows boot manager, there has to be a way. I tried finding if Windows Boot manager can do it, but apperantly Microsoft has limited that to only Windows OS-es.

Or could it be something with security? I read something about secure boot option interfearing, but my laptop doesn't even have such a setting to be turned on or off, only UEFI or not.

I am sorry if it is a duplicate or the solution is very easy. I am frustraited and stuck at the moment, can't think straight. I would really appreciate any help or even leads! Thank you in advance! ^^

EDIT 1: Boot Summary

Here is the Boot summary from boot repair (NOTE: SDA4 and SDA5 are 2 linux installations, I may have broken SDA4 in my fix attempts earlier, as the Desktop doesn't boot it, but that is a different problem for a different day. :D )

https://pastebin.com/PnXLp9ES

EDIT 2: Boot progress

Through the following post's answers: How to get GRUB to be the default bootloader instead of Windows Boot Manager on a UEFI laptop? I found a possible lead - the answer from @Envy allowed me to boot linux by replacing the bootmgfw.efi file under /EFI/Microsoft/Boot with the grubx64.efi under EFI/ubuntu! Great!

However, I get a black screen instead of the Grub menu for around 10 seconds. I may be missing something in the solution.

EDIT 3: Possible shitty work-a-round

After a lot of digging, research and major help from oldfred, who is a GOD at this (kept seeing his name in most topics about boot loaders), didn't achieve much progress. I finally decided to just create a copy of bootmgfw.efi (the windows one, not disguised grub) and rename it to bootmgfw-WIN.efi. Then using "Grub Customizer" I changed the windows entry to boot from bootmgfw-WIN.efi, instead of bootmgfw.efi.

Now I can select either Ubuntu or Windows, albeit, without a screen output (no clue why, the desktop has the same issue) and both work well on the laptop! But not on the desktop.

Thank you again, @oldfred, you are a LEGEND!!! <3

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oldfred avatar
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oldfred
Secure boot may be "Windows" or "Other" as my old system. And "Other" was also for Windows 7 as it did not support Secure Boot. Post link from Summary Report in Boot-Repair, but probably UEFI settings if it works ok with other system. Many Acer also needed UEFI firmware updates. Older Acer also requires "trust". Aspire E15 will not dual boot, many details Trust settings in step 35 http://askubuntu.com/questions/627416/acer-aspire-e15-will-not-dual-boot
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Potato_Waffles avatar
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Potato_Waffles
Hey @oldfred, I added a link to a pastbin of the boot summary from Boot Repair. Thank you so much for the link and information, I was afraid of the Acer Firmware doom. XD Unfortunately, my hacked bios doesn't have the option to add a trusted EFI boot file and does not support Secure Boot, GRUB states it when it installs. :/ I did make a small step forward though from a random post! If I replace the bootmgfw.efi file under /EFI/Microsoft/Boot with the grubx64.efi under EFI/ubuntu, linux boots! But I get a black screen instead of grub menu. :/
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oldfred avatar
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oldfred
Years ago with "bad" UEFI, we did suggest changing "Windows" entry to use grub or shim. But grub only boots working Windows, and when Windows updates or is not bootable from grub, you have no easy way to boot Windows. You need Windows repair/recovery flash drive (which you should have anyway). Most newer UEFI will also boot a hard drive/fallback entry similar to an external drive's boot entry. Microsoft requires Secure boot entry. So you must have it. See info: Sony, HP & others workarounds: https://askubuntu.com/questions/486752/dual-boot-win-8-ubuntu-loads-only-win
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oldfred avatar
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oldfred
Black screen is usually video driver issue. Did you install using Safe Boot mode & choose proprietary drivers which Secure Boot off? That should install correct video driver. What video card/chip. If nVidia, boot with recovery mode, second line in grub menu which has "nomodesest" option and install nVidia driver. https://askubuntu.com/questions/1026179/how-to-install-a-gtx-1060 & https://askubuntu.com/questions/61396/how-do-i-install-the-nvidia-drivers
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Potato_Waffles avatar
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Potato_Waffles
Oh wooow, thank you so much @oldfred! That is a lot of information to take in! However, I tried booting both with only Intel Integrated graphics and with optimus (Nvidia GT540m) - both time a black screen before booting into linux. I will to read more indepth tomorrow.
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oldfred
I do not know details on optimus, but thought nVidia now handled that. But be sure to install nVidia driver from Ubuntu repository, not from nViidia. If you do not use repository version, you in effect have to update with every kernel update. Ubuntu version handles updates automatically. Also if changing driver version, be sure to totally purge old version as new does not uninstall old version & then you have conflicts & bigger issues.
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Potato_Waffles avatar
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Potato_Waffles
Hey oldfred! I tried everything from the topics and solutions you listed, but nothing worked beyond the bootmgfw.efi trick. I also installed the Nvidia drivers from the Software and Updates panel and GRUB is still a black screen. Linux still works fine though. I tried blindly navigating grub, first by pressing Enter and it boots linux faster. Then tried selecting Windows (should be at the bottom), but I guess I land on GRUB again, since if I press Enter, it goes into Linux, if I go down and press Enter, goes into GRUB again. Probably because of the bootmgfw.efi pointing to it.
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Potato_Waffles avatar
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Potato_Waffles
I guess I have two options - find a way to get windows boot manager to boot linux. OR to figure out how to point GRUB to a differently named windows bootmgfw.efi. Hopefully google is a bit more helpful than the black screen (I only get problems related to AFTER grub appears and people trying to boot Linux)
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oldfred avatar
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oldfred
Did you go thru the link in my first comment. Various types of boot entries created by efibootmgr. But most UEFI allow a drive or fallback boot entry, as that is similar to the boot entry for an external device. Often name or label of drive. If you are not getting Windows in grub menu, either it is hibernated/fast start on, so os-prober cannot see it. Or you have Ubuntu & Windows in different boot modes, one UEFI and one BIOS? Your report shows both BIOS grub in MBR and UEFI grub in ESP. You must be booting in UEFI boot mode.
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Potato_Waffles avatar
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Potato_Waffles
I did manage to get grub to see windows by using grub editor to change the file, loaded for booting windows. Now I have 2 .efi files - bootmgfw.efi and bootmgfw-WIN.efi. One boots grub, the other - windows. For the BIOS and UEFI grubs, might be because SDA4 was originally BIOS and I hadn't fixed it (works now, after copying the boot files from SDA5), I guess that was the problem! XD But all this doesn't work on my desktop... And grub is still a black screen. Ugh, all this work and research... Oh well, I learned a lot! THANK YOU!!!
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oldfred avatar
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oldfred
Video issues should be separate question. But often related to not installing correct video driver. If nVidia install from Ubuntu repository. https://askubuntu.com/questions/162075/my-computer-boots-to-a-black-screen-what-options-do-i-have-to-fix-it
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