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cymin avatar Ubuntu

Cannot boot into Ubuntu on previously working dual boot system after UEFI settings reset

ki flag
cymin

First some background information:

For some time now I use a dual boot installation of Ubuntu (by now 22.04) alongside Windows 10 on an about seven year old Dell XPS 15 9550. A few weeks ago, I removed the battery from the notebook. The reason for this were frequent occurrences of the notebook entering sleep mode on Windows even when plugged in. I reckoned that this would be due to the battery discharging more quickly than it can be charged. Removing it fixed this problem, leaving me with a notebook that can only be used when plugged in.

Now the real problem:

After not having used the notebook for a while and it being unplugged in the meantime, I powered it up again and was greeted by a bootloop of the Windows system instead of the expected GRUB screen. I entered the UEFI and noticed that the entry for GRUB was missing from the boot sequence. I readded it, pointing to “\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi”, and moved it to the top of the boot sequence.

On the next reboot, the GRUB screen was showing again with the usual options of

  • Ubuntu
  • Advanced options for Ubuntu
  • Windows Boot Manager (on /dev/nvme0n1p2)
  • UEFI Firmware Settings

Selecting Ubuntu led to the following output:

[    0.166685] x86/cpu: SGX disabled by BIOS
[    0.549067] ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PCI0.LPCB.H
EC.ECAV] AE_NOT_FOUND (20210730/psargs-330)
[    0.549092] ACPI Error: Aborting method \_TZ.TZ00._TMP due to previous error
(AE_NOT_FOUND) (20210730/psparse-529)
[    0.549429] ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PCI0.LPCB.H
EC.ECAV] AE_NOT_FOUND (20210730/psargs-330)
[    0.549449] ACPI Error: Aborting method \_TZ.TZ00._TMP due to previous error
(AE_NOT_FOUND) (20210730/psparse-529)
[    0.549587] ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PCI0.LPCB.H
EC.ECAV] AE_NOT_FOUND (20210730/psargs-330)
[    0.549607] ACPI Error: Aborting method \_TZ.TZ00._TMP due to previous error
(AE_NOT_FOUND) (20210730/psparse-529)
[    0.549740] ACPI BIOS Error (bug): Could not resolve symbol [\_SB.PCI0.LPCB.H
EC.ECAV] AE_NOT_FOUND (20210730/psargs-330)
[    0.549761] ACPI Error: Aborting method \_TZ.TZ00._TMP due to previous error
(AE_NOT_FOUND) (20210730/psparse-529)
Gave up waiting for root file system device. Common problems:
 - Boot args (cat /proc/cmdline)
   - Check rootdelay= (did the system wait long enough?)
 - Missing modules (cat /proc/modules; ls /dev)
ALERT! UUID=77723247-2e4f-4bd3-a2f6-96268d627734 does not exist. Dropping to a shell!


BusyBox v1.30.1 (Ubuntu 1:1.30.1-7ubuntu3) built-in shell (ash)
Enter ‘help’ for a list of built-in commands.

(initramfs) _

I was only able to exit this screen by long-pressing the power button. The exit command just reprinted the error starting with “Gave up waiting...” and reboot did nothing at all.

I reentered the UEFI and switched the SATA Operation from „RAID On“ to „AHCI“. On reboot, the system now booted directly into Windows without problems, but also without showing the GRUB screen at all.

I checked the boot sequence, but the entry for GRUB was still present. Unchecking the other options such that GRUB was the only one selected led to the system doing a hardware scan on the next reboot. It completed the scan and found no issues. However, it also showed

No bootable devices were found! Possible causes could be a corrupt OS image or a boot device is not enabled in BIOS setup.

Likely cause:

Judging by the messed up time in the UEFI and Windows (set to a date a long time ago and with wrong time of the day), the status LED of the notebook showing a specific pattern on start, and the notebook being left unplugged without battery with comparatively low surrounding temperature, I think that the CMOS battery of the motherboard fully discharged, leading to a reset of the UEFI settings.

Summary:

  • UEFI settings were probably reset due to dead CMOS battery
  • In “Raid On” mode
    • GRUB screen shows
    • selecting Ubuntu leads to an error (see long code block above)
    • selecting Windows leads to a bootloop
  • In “AHCI” mode
    • GRUB screen does not show
    • system successfully boots directly into Windows
    • if GRUB is the only boot option, “No bootable devices were found!” error is shown

I am all out of ideas how to get Ubuntu running again and would appreciate any help greatly!

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oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
Removing coin battery totally resets UEFI as does an UEFI update. You have to redo any settings you originally changed. If coin battery depleted, you have to reset clock on every power up. And may have to redo other settings. Please copy & paste the pastebin link to the BootInfo summary report ( do not post report), do not run the auto fix till reviewed.Lets see details, use ppa version with your USB installer (2nd option) or any working install, not Boot-Repair ISO https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair https://sourceforge.net/p/boot-repair/home/Home/
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cymin avatar
ki flag
cymin
I since found out that the coin battery is able to recharge, so I do not have to redo the settings on every power up. Moreover, I was finally able to get a live-session of Ubuntu on a USB flash drive running and obtained the following Boot Info Summary: https://pastebin.com/LGqwe58C
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oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
You show UEFI Secure boot on. Often easier with it off. If you want it on, you must sign the proprietary driver. Ubuntu cannot sign a binary blob, but a user can. https://askubuntu.com/questions/1438024/gpu-driver-not-loaded-when-secure-boot-is-enabled You show both Ubuntu & Windows installed. Do you get grub menu? And boot recovery mode? At recovery mode menu, turn on internet & run `sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall` It then should ask for a MOK - machine owner key. If secure boot off, it will just install. Did Windows update or UEFI update turn Secure boot on?
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cymin avatar
ki flag
cymin
I am not sure, if I want Secure boot to be enabled. I am quite sure, however, that I never touched this setting so far. It is therefore highly likely that it was activated, even when Ubuntu was still booting. I do get the grub menu under certain circumstances (see "summary" in original post) and of course I also get it using the USB flash drive with Ubuntu on it, but I never managed to boot into the installed Ubuntu instance since it first stopped working.
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oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
If you did not create a MOK when originally installing Ubuntu, I doubt that UEFI Secure boot was on. And you may not even have the Secure Boot versions of kernel & grub/shim. It would not have installed a nVidia driver. Or may have just used a CPU video, if your CPU has that. Normally AHCI is default for Ubuntu & you have to install AHCI drivers into Windows, so both work with AHCI. You may need to convert Ubuntu to UEFI Secure Boot & add key for nVidia driver. From Boot-Repair's advanced mode, totally reinstall grub & kernel.
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cymin avatar
ki flag
cymin
Although I cannot remember the details, I found an entry titled „Ubuntu Secure Boot“ in my password manager, which might be the MOK you are talking about? Should I reinstall grub and the kernel anyway?
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oldfred avatar
cn flag
oldfred
Yes, use Boot-Repair to totally reinstall grub & kernel. If booted in UEFI mode with Secure boot on, it will install the correct versions.
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cymin avatar
ki flag
cymin
Simply reinstalling GRUB did the trick! I decided to reinstall the kernel only if reinstalling GRUB would not be enough, but apparently it was sufficient. I also had to update the entry in the boot sequence after reinstall though, as it seemed to point to the wrong (old?) location. Thanks for your help!
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