New v23 install - grub broken TL;DR [SOLVED]

[gstalnaker]

This is a new install to an existing SSD using the Live USB (which SSD has has Kubuntu 20.04, MX Linux v21, Kubuntu 22.04, and MXLinux v23 installed on it in the past three years) - simply took the default "use the whole disk" option for the installation location - only changes were to the timezone, machine name, uid/pwd root/pwd.

Quick System Info is below. I am truly baffled. I first installed v21 on this same box, same everything, no issues over an existing Kubuntu 20.04 install. Upgraded MXLinux to v23 in situ, no issues. Installed Kubuntu 22.04 over it on same SSD, no issues. But I've decided I prefer MXLinux, so this is my attempt to come back. I think the MXLinux gods are angry LOL

Issue: On boot, system goes straight to grub>, no menus, no nothing.

I have reinstalled three times - no change. What I can do, and confirm that the install itself is fine, is boot into the live USB, then use the LiveUSB grub menu to select the Boot Rescue Menu option, from which the installed grub options on my SSD are correctly read, and from there I can boot into the installed MXLinux v23 system. It's what I'm using as I type this post.

This Lenovo desktop has two SSDs in it, one is a Windows11 NTFS SSD, the other the Linux EXT4 SSD. I have been using this system with both MXLinux and Kubutu for several years and I've booted without issues. I assume (?) that something was done by the Kubuntu install that is freaking out MXLinux somehow, but I've no idea how to fix it.

I have run the MX Boot Repair tool. In selecting "Reinstall GRUB bootloader on ESP, MBR, or PBR (root)" I can select ESP and provide a location for the EFI files on one of two locations, but both times select "sda2 465.5G ext4 / rootMX23" for the root location:

1. nvme0n1p1 260M vfat SYSTEM (the Windows SSD)
2. sda1 256M vfar /boot/efi EFI-SYSTEM (the Linux SSD)

Neither of these make any difference, on reboot system goes directly to grub >

From the LiveUSB's Grub I can use the Boot Rescue Option to discover that there is a fair bit of cruft on these volumes. Selecting the GRUB-EFI search results in:

Code: Select all

Searching for GRUB-EFI boot loader ...
Found EFI bootloader at (hd0,2) : boot
Found EFI bootloader at (hd0,2) : boot
Found EFI bootloader at (hd2,1) : mx
Found EFI bootloader at (hd2,1) : boot
Found EFI bootloader at (hd2,2) : mx23
Found EFI bootloader at (hd2,2)          : rootMX23 
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : Boot
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : ubuntu
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : ubuntu
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : refind
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : refind
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : mx21
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : MX21.2.1
Found EFI bootloader at (hd3,1) : mx

That leads to

Code: Select all

===> EFI Bootloadr <===
boot @[fat] (hd0,2)/EFI/boot/bootx64.eft
boot @[fat] (hd0,2)/EFI/boot/grubx64.efi
mx   @[fat] (hd2,1)/EFI/mx/grubx64.efi
boot @[fat] (hd2,1)/EFI/boot/boot64.efi
mx23 @[fat] (hd2,2)/EFI/mx23/grub64.efi
Boot @[fat] (hd3,1)/EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi
ubuntu @[fat] (hd3,1)/EFI/ubuntu/shimx64.efi
ubuntu @[fat] (hd3,1)/EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi

I can scroll down to either mx or mx23, press ENTER and I get the expected Grub menu from which I get to the new v23 install I'm currently typing this in with the "MX 23.1 Libretto" item:

Code: Select all

Welcome to MX-Linux!
MX 23.1 Libretto
Advanced options for MX 23.1 Libretto
Memory Text (64-bit UEFI)
Windows Boot Manager (on /dev/nvme0n1p1)
System setup

I think (hd3) refers to the Live USB stick, perhaps? This is the same USB stick I've used for my Live everythings including that Kubuntu 22.04 install - so pehaps that's what it is and explains the "ubuntu" part of the output.

Thanks in advance for any help in figuring this out.

Quick System Info Follows

Code: Select all

System:
  Kernel: 6.1.0-13-amd64 [6.1.55-1] arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 12.2.0
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.1.0-13-amd64 root=UUID=<filter> ro quiet splash
  Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 5.27.5 wm: kwin_x11 vt: 7 dm: SDDM Distro: MX-23.1_KDE_x64 Libretto
    October 15 2023 base: Debian GNU/Linux 12 (bookworm)
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: LENOVO product: 90NA007DUS v: IdeaCentre 5 14IMB05
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 3 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: LENOVO model: 370A v: SDK0J40697 WIN 3305326136605 serial: <superuser required>
    UEFI: LENOVO v: O4HKT2AA date: 10/29/2020
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech M510 serial: <filter> charge: 55% (should be ignored)
    rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Core i7-10700 bits: 64 type: MT MCP arch: Comet Lake gen: core 10 level: v3
    note: check built: 2020 process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0xA5 (165) stepping: 5
    microcode: 0xF8
  Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 8 tpc: 2 threads: 16 smt: enabled cache: L1: 512 KiB
    desc: d-8x32 KiB; i-8x32 KiB L2: 2 MiB desc: 8x256 KiB L3: 16 MiB desc: 1x16 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1877 high: 4700 min/max: 800/4800 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 4700 2: 851 3: 914 4: 800 5: 3419 6: 800 7: 4459 8: 800 9: 800
    10: 800 11: 800 12: 800 13: 800 14: 800 15: 4695 16: 3807 bogomips: 92796
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf status: Not affected
  Type: mds status: Not affected
  Type: meltdown status: Not affected
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Type: retbleed mitigation: Enhanced IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced IBRS, IBPB: conditional, RSB filling, PBRSB-eIBRS: SW
    sequence
  Type: srbds mitigation: Microcode
  Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
  Device-1: Intel CometLake-S GT2 [UHD Graphics 630] vendor: Lenovo driver: i915 v: kernel
    arch: Gen-9.5 process: Intel 14nm built: 2016-20 ports: active: none empty: DP-1, DP-2,
    HDMI-A-2, HDMI-A-3 bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9bc5 class-ID: 0380
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP108 [GeForce GT 1030] vendor: PNY driver: nouveau v: kernel
    non-free: 530.xx+ status: current (as of 2023-03) arch: Pascal code: GP10x process: TSMC 16nm
    built: 2016-21 pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 4 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s ports:
    active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DVI-D-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 10de:1d01 class-ID: 0300 temp: 40.0 C
  Device-3: Logitech C922 Pro Stream Webcam type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
    bus-ID: 1-6:6 chip-ID: 046d:085c class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 1.21.1.7 with: Xwayland v: 22.1.9 compositor: kwin_x11 driver: X:
    loaded: modesetting unloaded: fbdev,vesa dri: nouveau gpu: nouveau display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1440 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 677x381mm (26.65x15.00") s-diag: 777mm (30.58")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-1 model: Acer G247HYU serial: <filter> built: 2017
    res: 2560x1440 hz: 60 dpi: 123 gamma: 1.2 size: 527x296mm (20.75x11.65") diag: 604mm (23.8")
    ratio: 16:9 modes: max: 2560x1440 min: 720x400
  API: OpenGL v: 4.3 Mesa 23.1.2-1~mx23ahs renderer: NV138 direct-render: Yes
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH-V cAVS vendor: Lenovo driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel
    bus-ID: 1-6:6 alternate: snd_sof_pci_intel_cnl chip-ID: 046d:085c class-ID: 0102 bus-ID: 00:1f.3
    serial: <filter> chip-ID: 8086:a3f0 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: NVIDIA GP108 High Definition Audio vendor: PNY driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie:
    gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 4 link-max: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 10de:0fb8
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Logitech C922 Pro Stream Webcam type: USB driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
  API: ALSA v: k6.1.0-13-amd64 status: kernel-api tools: alsamixer,amixer
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 0.3.65 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse status: active
    2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin 4: pw-jack type: plugin
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet vendor: Lenovo driver: r8169
    v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: 4000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8168
    class-ID: 0200
  IF: eth0 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8822CE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter vendor: Lenovo
    driver: rtw_8822ce v: N/A modules: rtw88_8822ce,wl pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
    port: 3000 bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:c822 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlan0 state: down mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: Realtek Bluetooth Radio type: USB driver: btusb v: 0.8 bus-ID: 1-2:2 chip-ID: 0bda:c123
    class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 1 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 3.0 lmp-v: 5.1
    sub-v: d2e3 hci-v: 5.1 rev: cc6
  Info: acl-mtu: 1021:6 sco-mtu: 255:12 link-policy: rswitch hold sniff park
    link-mode: peripheral accept service-classes: rendering, capturing, object transfer, audio,
    telephony
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 949.92 GiB used: 12.18 GiB (1.3%)
  SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
  ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: Micron model: MTFDHBA512QFD size: 476.94 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s lanes: 4 type: SSD serial: <filter>
    rev: 0013P6LN temp: 40.9 C scheme: GPT
  ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: SSD 850 EVO 500GB size: 465.76 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s type: SSD serial: <filter> rev: 2B6Q
    scheme: GPT
  ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 type: USB vendor: Kingston model: DataTraveler 2.0 size: 7.22 GiB
    block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: N/A serial: <filter> rev: 1.00 scheme: MBR
  SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 465.51 GiB size: 457.13 GiB (98.20%) used: 12.18 GiB (2.7%) fs: ext4
    dev: /dev/sda2 maj-min: 8:2
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 256 MiB size: 252 MiB (98.46%) used: 411 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 15 (default 60) cache-pressure: 100 (default)
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 4 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2 file: /swap/swap
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 47.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: nouveau temp: 40.0 C
  Fan Speeds (RPM): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: dpkg pkgs: 2421 libs: 1331 tools: apt,apt-get,aptitude,nala pm: rpm pkgs: 0
    pm: flatpak pkgs: 0
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian-stable-updates.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-updates main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/debian.list
    1: deb http://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
    2: deb http://security.debian.org/debian-security bookworm-security main contrib non-free non-free-firmware
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/mx.list
    1: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm main non-free
    2: deb http://mirrors.rit.edu/mxlinux/mx-packages/mx/repo/ bookworm ahs
Info:
  Processes: 312 Uptime: 8m wakeups: 3 Memory: 15.41 GiB used: 2.42 GiB (15.7%) Init: SysVinit
  v: 3.06 runlevel: 5 default: graphical tool: systemctl Compilers: gcc: 12 Client: shell wrapper
  v: 5.2.15-release inxi: 3.3.26
Boot Mode: UEFI

[gstalnaker]

Update - this box has a LOT of USB drives connected to it through versious USB ports - two USB 3 on an installed USB 3 card, two USB ports on the back of the case (one 2.0, one 3.0) and two USB ports on the front of the case. One of the installed USB 3.0 ports is connected to an external USB hub into which are pluged yet more USB drives. In all, twelve total drives. I note that all of them worked just fine with the previous MX v23 and the Kubuntu 23.10 installs. But I bring this up, because I unplug them all when doing the distro install, just to keep things more simple, then plug everything back in once the system is installed.

I did that after posting the initial information above. After pluggin the drives back into the various USB ports, on restart I got the same grub > prompt, so I did what I've been doing and used the Live USB Boot rescue process I detailed above, but this time, the "Searching for GRUB-EFI boot loader ..." found NO volumes with EFI information on them other than the Live USB stick. That was shocking. So, I unplugged all but one and restarted. Saw the expected list I detailed above. Plugged two back into the USB 3.0 card and got the same list. I have not yet plugged in the remaining two USB cabled to the back of the case.

Just futher information.

[dolphin_oracle]

Might be worth going into your bios settings and seeing if you can set the boot order to whatever you want to boot first.

[gstalnaker]

BINGO!

Now, of course, I'm terribly embarrassed (especially as I'm a retired 30-year IT Guy and have used Linux for 25+ years). DOH! Never once thought to reset the UEFI boot order. Though, in all honesty, I'd have thought (well, do think) that the order is supposed to cascade down the list until a bootable volume is found. Which it certainly did not do.

But all's well as ends well.

Much thanks.