Score:1

Ubuntu fails to automatically boot, but will boot from Mac mini 2014 startup manager (option key)

pr flag

I am trying to get my Mac Mini 2014 to boot Ubuntu 22.04 automatically. I am single booting, I have no use for OSX El Capitan, it's too old.

This Mac mini has a defective internal disk that can't is used, so am trying to install Ubuntu on two 2TB external USB disks.

I have managed to install Ubuntu by booting from a USB via Startup manager.

In short, if boot the machine with no interaction, I get the question mark icon and nothing boots, if I hold the option key startup manager presents me with an EFI Boot Icon that allows me to boot.

I have tried numerous options, but nothing works.

Last login: Thu Mar  9 22:36:11 2023 from 192.168.2.233
stephen@stephen-Macmini:~$ df -k
Filesystem      1K-blocks     Used  Available Use% Mounted on
tmpfs              801344     1984     799360   1% /run
/dev/sdb3      1849632920 10113548 1745489396   1% /
tmpfs             4006712        0    4006712   0% /dev/shm
tmpfs                5120        4       5116   1% /run/lock
/dev/sdc1      1921724608       28 1824032524   1% /opt
/dev/sdb2        47745772   186628   45101340   1% /boot
/dev/sdb1        24401200    10688   24390512   1% /boot/efi
tmpfs              801340       76     801264   1% /run/user/128
tmpfs              801340       68     801272   1% /run/user/1000
stephen@stephen-Macmini:~$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 5 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0000
Boot0000* ubuntu
Boot0001* rEFInd Boot Manager
stephen@stephen-Macmini:~$ 
  1. Dual boot OSX and Ubuntu - drops me into a Grub shell
  2. Installed refind, doesn't load.
  3. Tried boot-repair (which swapped the default EFI boot back to ubuntu) Boot repair log:
boot-repair-4ppa2056                                              [20230309_2330]

============================== Boot Info Summary ===============================

 => No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sda.
 => No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdb.
 => No boot loader is installed in the MBR of /dev/sdc.

sda1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 

sdb1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       vfat
    Boot sector type:  FAT32
    Boot sector info:  No errors found in the Boot Parameter Block.
    Operating System:  
    Boot files:        /EFI/refind/refind.conf /efi/BOOT/bkpbootx64.efi 
                       /efi/BOOT/bootx64.efi /efi/BOOT/fbx64.efi 
                       /efi/BOOT/mmx64.efi /efi/refind/refind_x64.efi 
                       /efi/ubuntu/grubx64.efi /efi/ubuntu/mmx64.efi 
                       /efi/ubuntu/shimx64.efi /efi/ubuntu/grub.cfg 
                       /efi/refind/drivers_x64/ext4_x64.efi

sdb2: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 
    Operating System:  
    Boot files:        /grub/grub.cfg /refind_linux.conf

sdb3: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 
    Operating System:  Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS
    Boot files:        /etc/fstab /etc/default/grub

sdc1: __________________________________________________________________________

    File system:       ext4
    Boot sector type:  -
    Boot sector info: 
    Operating System:  
    Boot files:        


================================ 1 OS detected =================================

OS#1:   Ubuntu 22.04.2 LTS on sdb3

================================ Host/Hardware =================================

CPU architecture: 64-bit
Video: Haswell-ULT Integrated Graphics Controller from Intel Corporation
BOOT_IMAGE of the installed session in use:
/vmlinuz-5.19.0-35-generic root=UUID=80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
df -Th / : /dev/sdb3      ext4  1.8T  9.7G  1.7T   1% /

===================================== UEFI =====================================

BIOS/UEFI firmware: 474.0.0.0.0(0.1) from Apple Inc.
The firmware is EFI-compatible, and is set in EFI-mode for this installed-session.
SecureBoot disabled - This system doesn't support Secure Boot.
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 5 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0000
Boot0000* ubuntu    HD(1,GPT,177a4c8c-092d-49d1-8e2f-6c12d270bdb6,0x800,0x2e90800)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
Boot0001* rEFInd Boot Manager   HD(1,GPT,177a4c8c-092d-49d1-8e2f-6c12d270bdb6,0x800,0x2e90800)/File(\EFI\refind\refind_x64.efi)


============================= Drive/Partition Info =============================

Disks info: ____________________________________________________________________

sdb : is-GPT,   no-BIOSboot,    has---ESP,  usb-disk,   not-mmc, has-os,    no-wind,    2048 sectors * 512 bytes
sdc : is-GPT,   no-BIOSboot,    has-noESP,  usb-disk,   not-mmc, no-os, no-wind,    2048 sectors * 512 bytes
sda : is-GPT,   no-BIOSboot,    has-noESP,  not-usb,    not-mmc, no-os, no-wind,    2048 sectors * 512 bytes

Partitions info (1/3): _________________________________________________________

sdb3    : is-os,    64, apt-get,    signed grub-pc grub-efi ,   grub2,  grub-install,   grubenv-ok, update-grub,    farbios
sdb2    : no-os,    64, nopakmgr,   no-docgrub, nogrub, nogrubinstall,  grubenv-ok, noupdategrub,   not-far
sdb1    : no-os,    64, nopakmgr,   no-docgrub, nogrub, nogrubinstall,  no-grubenv, noupdategrub,   not-far
sdc1    : no-os,    64, nopakmgr,   no-docgrub, nogrub, nogrubinstall,  no-grubenv, noupdategrub,   farbios
sda1    : no-os,    64, nopakmgr,   no-docgrub, nogrub, nogrubinstall,  no-grubenv, noupdategrub,   farbios

Partitions info (2/3): _________________________________________________________

sdb3    : isnotESP, fstab-has-goodEFI,  no-nt,  no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid,   no-bmgr,    notwinboot
sdb2    : isnotESP, part-has-no-fstab,  no-nt,  no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid,   no-bmgr,    notwinboot
sdb1    : is---ESP, part-has-no-fstab,  no-nt,  no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid,   no-bmgr,    notwinboot
sdc1    : isnotESP, part-has-no-fstab,  no-nt,  no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid,   no-bmgr,    notwinboot
sda1    : isnotESP, part-has-no-fstab,  no-nt,  no-winload, no-recov-nor-hid,   no-bmgr,    notwinboot

Partitions info (3/3): _________________________________________________________

sdb3    : not--sepboot, with-boot,  fstab-has-goodBOOT, not-sep-usr,    with--usr,  fstab-without-usr,  std-grub.d, sdb
sdb2    : is---sepboot, no---boot,  part-has-no-fstab,  not-sep-usr,    no---usr,   part-has-no-fstab,  no--grub.d, sdb
sdb1    : not--sepboot, no---boot,  part-has-no-fstab,  not-sep-usr,    no---usr,   part-has-no-fstab,  no--grub.d, sdb
sdc1    : maybesepboot, no---boot,  part-has-no-fstab,  not-sep-usr,    no---usr,   part-has-no-fstab,  no--grub.d, sdc
sda1    : maybesepboot, no---boot,  part-has-no-fstab,  not-sep-usr,    no---usr,   part-has-no-fstab,  no--grub.d, sda

fdisk -l (filtered): ___________________________________________________________

Disk sda: 931.51 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Disk identifier: 69FFEE35-158D-45DB-B7AE-375F7C302D00
      Start        End    Sectors   Size Type
sda1   2048 1953523711 1953521664 931.5G Linux filesystem
Disk sdb: 1.82 TiB, 2000398933504 bytes, 3907029167 sectors
Disk identifier: A893875B-4911-4A9F-813A-764D4781DA37
          Start        End    Sectors  Size Type
sdb1       2048   48828415   48826368 23.3G EFI System
sdb2   48828416  146485247   97656832 46.6G Linux filesystem
sdb3  146485248 3907028991 3760543744  1.8T Linux filesystem
Disk sdc: 1.82 TiB, 2000398933504 bytes, 3907029167 sectors
Disk identifier: 2B13202B-160E-406C-B7F9-82355C51F56B
      Start        End    Sectors  Size Type
sdc1   2048 3907028991 3907026944  1.8T Linux filesystem

parted -lm (filtered): _________________________________________________________

sda:1000GB:scsi:512:4096:gpt:ATA APPLE HDD HTS541:;
1:1049kB:1000GB:1000GB:::;
sdb:2000GB:scsi:512:4096:gpt:Seagate Expansion HDD:;
1:1049kB:25.0GB:25.0GB:fat32::boot, esp;
2:25.0GB:75.0GB:50.0GB:ext4::;
3:75.0GB:2000GB:1925GB:ext4::;
sdc:2000GB:scsi:512:4096:gpt:Seagate Expansion HDD:;
1:1049kB:2000GB:2000GB:ext4::;

blkid (filtered): ______________________________________________________________

NAME   FSTYPE   UUID                                 PARTUUID                             LABEL PARTLABEL
sda                                                                                             
└─sda1                                               d4140924-5c9d-43e6-83b2-10d3cacb899f       
sdb                                                                                             
├─sdb1 vfat     8F51-453D                            177a4c8c-092d-49d1-8e2f-6c12d270bdb6       
├─sdb2 ext4     eed1593a-031d-49ee-ac0f-c34cdb51079d 054d946b-fa6a-4e92-a13c-de019ab978ba       
└─sdb3 ext4     80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72 9fc9a23d-9cac-4cf6-8d6f-ddcf57de0d48       
sdc                                                                                             
└─sdc1 ext4     f66d68d3-0076-4692-804d-e517ce13dd60 f78bae7e-578a-4dba-8d29-6dd0017ef115       

Mount points (filtered): _______________________________________________________

                                Avail Use% Mounted on
/dev/sdb2                         43G   0% /boot
/dev/sdb3                        1.6T   1% /
/dev/sdc1                        1.7T   0% /opt

Mount options (filtered): ______________________________________________________


==================== sdb1/EFI/refind/refind.conf (filtered) ====================

timeout 20
use_nvram false
menuentry Linux {
    icon EFI/refind/icons/os_linux.png
    volume 904404F8-B481-440C-A1E3-11A5A954E601
    loader bzImage-3.3.0-rc7
    initrd initrd-3.3.0.img
    options "ro root=UUID=5f96cafa-e0a7-4057-b18f-fa709db5b837"
    disabled
}
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
    icon     /EFI/refind/icons/os_arch.png
    volume   "Arch Linux"
    loader   /boot/vmlinuz-linux
    initrd   /boot/initramfs-linux.img
    options  "root=PARTUUID=5028fa50-0079-4c40-b240-abfaf28693ea rw add_efi_memmap"
    submenuentry "Boot using fallback initramfs" {
        initrd /boot/initramfs-linux-fallback.img
    }
    submenuentry "Boot to terminal" {
        add_options "systemd.unit=multi-user.target"
    }
    disabled
}
menuentry Ubuntu {
    loader /EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi
    icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_linux.png
    disabled
}
menuentry "ELILO" {
    loader \EFI\elilo\elilo.efi
    disabled
}
menuentry "Windows 7" {
    loader \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
    disabled
}
menuentry "Windows via shell script" {
    icon \EFI\refind\icons\os_win.png
    loader \EFI\tools\shell.efi
    options "fs0:\EFI\tools\launch_windows.nsh"
    disabled
}
menuentry "My macOS" {
    icon \EFI\refind\icons\os_mac.png
    volume "macOS boot"
    loader \System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi
    disabled
}
menuentry "macOS via BootNext" {
    icon /EFI/refind/icons/os_mac.png
    firmware_bootnum 80
    disabled
}

===================== sdb1/efi/ubuntu/grub.cfg (filtered) ======================

search.fs_uuid eed1593a-031d-49ee-ac0f-c34cdb51079d root hd1,gpt2 
set prefix=($root)'/grub'
configfile $prefix/grub.cfg

======================== sdb2/grub/grub.cfg (filtered) =========================

Ubuntu   80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72
Ubuntu, with Linux 5.19.0-35-generic   80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72
Ubuntu, with Linux 5.19.0-32-generic   80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###

====================== sdb2/refind_linux.conf (filtered) =======================

"Boot with standard options"  "root=UUID=80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7"
"Boot to single-user mode"    "root=UUID=80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72 ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7 single"
"Boot with minimal options"   "ro root=UUID=80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72"

==================== sdb2: Location of files loaded by Grub ====================

           GiB - GB             File                                 Fragment(s)
  55.420860291 = 59.507695616   grub/grub.cfg                                  1
  23.833614349 = 25.591148544   vmlinuz                                        1
  23.431636810 = 25.159528448   vmlinuz-5.19.0-32-generic                      2
  23.833614349 = 25.591148544   vmlinuz-5.19.0-35-generic                      1
  23.431636810 = 25.159528448   vmlinuz.old                                    2
  23.499778748 = 25.232695296   initrd.img                                     1
  23.904014587 = 25.666740224   initrd.img-5.19.0-32-generic                   1
  23.499778748 = 25.232695296   initrd.img-5.19.0-35-generic                   1
  23.904014587 = 25.666740224   initrd.img.old                                 1

========================== sdb3/etc/fstab (filtered) ===========================

# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
# / was on /dev/sdb3 during installation
UUID=80987750-5143-43f9-ba9f-2e9484719a72 /               ext4    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# /boot was on /dev/sdb2 during installation
UUID=eed1593a-031d-49ee-ac0f-c34cdb51079d /boot           ext4    defaults        0       2
# /boot/efi was on /dev/sdb1 during installation
UUID=8F51-453D  /boot/efi       vfat    umask=0077      0       1
# /opt was on /dev/sdc1 during installation
UUID=f66d68d3-0076-4692-804d-e517ce13dd60 /opt            ext4    defaults        0       2

======================= sdb3/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

===================== sdb3: ls -l /etc/grub.d/ (filtered) ======================

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 18683 Dec  3 02:18 10_linux
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 43031 Dec  3 02:18 10_linux_zfs
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 14180 Dec  3 02:18 20_linux_xen
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 13369 Dec  3 02:18 30_os-prober
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  1372 Dec  3 02:18 30_uefi-firmware
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   700 Sep 20 13:18 35_fwupd
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   214 Dec  3 02:18 40_custom
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   215 Dec  3 02:18 41_custom



Suggested repair: ______________________________________________________________

The default repair of the Boot-Repair utility would reinstall the grub-efi of
sdb3,
using the following options:  sdb2/boot sdb1/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 22.04.2 LTS entry (sdb1/efi/****/grub****.efi (**** will be updated in the final message) file) !
  1. Tried setting up an EFI partition on the faulty /dev/sda device
  2. Tried installing refind on MacOSX El Capitan (and Monterey)

I suspect very strongly that Mac's firmware really can't cope with not using the internal HD in any way (I have ordered an OWC upgrade kit to replace it).

If anyone has a solution or needs more info, please help.....

img1 enter image description here

jp flag
I'd say that getting a working internal disk is the best solution. Even if it's some old and small (but functional) thing, you should be able to install a boot manager on it and use that to redirect the boot process to your external disks. The better solution would be to get something big and fast enough to hold your main OS, though.
mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.