Arch Linux

kazuldur

Member

Registered: 2011-05-28

Posts: 13

Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

Hello.
I have some really strange issues after updating BIOS using application that came with Windows 8 (SW Update). I own a Samsung NP530U3C. The same that's mentioned here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-cdimage/+bug/1040557 (it could be bricked some time ago). Now after each reboot of Arch, I get Blue Screen of Death while trying to boot Windows 8 and just a blank screen when modesetting happens when booting Linux. If I add nomodeset to kernel parameters it boots fine, but I can't start X. I use Grub2 as an UEFI app as a bootloader. And now comes the strangest part. I can boot just fine if I start EFI shell from usb stick. It doesn't work if I start EFI shell using grub chainloading or adding it as an app to UEFI Boot menu. I have to start it from usb stick. And I don't have to do anything inside it, simple type exit and I can boot both Arch and Windows 8 just fine. Also I can then reboot Windows 8 as many times as I want and no problems appear. After I try to boot Arch. The first boot is just fine, but after reboot I again can't boot neither Linux nor Windows. I really don't have an idea what's wrong. Another weird thing is the splash screen of windows when booting. When I can start it successfuly (ie. after launching efi shell) it shows samsung logo. When I start it after rebooting from Linux, it shows Windows 8 logo for a few moment before BSoD.
Here's what I've tried:

• building kernel without efivars

• instaling kernel from [staging], [testing] and [core]

• every combination of booting efi shell without usb-stick

What I haven't tried:

• switching boot mode to "CMOS" in UEFI Setup and installing Grub to MBR (I would like to avoid that for now)

• resetting UEFI to defaults (I'm afraid it would mean bricking if somethings go wrong, as I have no option to enter UEFI Setup without booting Win8 after the upgrade, old hotkeys after launching laptop don't work anymore)

I hope for a direction, where can I look next and what may be the couse. I've also tried contacting local Samsung support, but they said that downgrading BIOS version isn't possible and that they haven't got any complaints about this version...

The graphic card (if that matters):
00:02.0 VGA compatible controller: Intel Corporation 3rd Gen Core processor Graphics Controller (rev 09)

I'm sorry if this post is a little chaotic, but I've wanted to tell everything that may help.

Last edited by kazuldur (2013-07-04 23:15:15)

srs5694

Member

From: Woonsocket, RI

Registered: 2012-11-06

Posts: 719

Website

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

First, a point of clarification: What happens if you shut down and then start up again into the other OS? Does that enable you to boot normally, or do the problems persist across a full shutdown? If shutting down clears the problems, then that's a workaround, albeit an awkward one; and it would hint that the problem has to do with transient hardware settings that are reset when the computer shuts down and restarts.

Second, I recommend you try preparing USB flash drives with gummiboot and/or rEFInd. (In fact, you can get a ready-made rEFInd USB flash drive image.) Test with them. It's conceivable that one or both of those boot managers will reset the video hardware sufficiently to get things working. In the case of rEFInd, test both the "textmode" and "resolution" options in refind.conf; it's conceivable that explicitly setting the text-mode and/or graphics resolution will fix the problem. I believe that GRUB 2 has a similar option, but I don't recall the details.

Third, you might consider installing a BIOS-mode boot loader for Linux (GRUB 2, SYSLINUX, or whatever) and using rEFInd's ability to launch BIOS-mode boot loaders. (You'll need to uncomment and adjust the "scanfor" item in refind.conf.) This may be a little bit awkward, but there's a chance that doing this will fix the problem.

Wilco

Member

Registered: 2008-11-09

Posts: 440

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

There could be multiple problems:
1. Win 8 does not shutdown by default but does a hibernate and when you boot again it will load Win 8 from the latest hibernate start instead of a clean boot. Try to clean boot Win 8.
2. If you change disk mode from ATA to SATA or vice versa, or change the SATA mode, Win 8 will crash at boot, it needs to be the same setting as when you installed it.
3. To be honest, EUFI is pretty bad and does not have a future on Linux. A boot system build on a proprietary FAT filesystem that only manages to fix some things that were not broken on Linux has no place on a dual boot system. It's a lot easier to set bios to MBR mode, repartition your disk from GPT to MBR, reset your bios using a jumper (because if the UEFI filesystem is removed your motherboard won't boot) and use a standard MBR boot.

kazuldur

Member

Registered: 2011-05-28

Posts: 13

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

Thanks for replies. The problem persisted after complete shutdown, but I've managed to get everything to work using rEFInd. However I've still managed to "UEFI-brick" my laptop. I broke my refind config so I've decided that I'll boot from usb and fix it from there. To do that, I've set boot mode to "CMS only". Stupid me, I know. Now I have no option to go into uefi setup and set it back to UEFI and can't boot Windows 8. I'm now trying to get cmospwd running to clear CMOS. If that won't work I guess I'll have to contact Samsung.

I hate UEFI.

srs5694

Member

From: Woonsocket, RI

Registered: 2012-11-06

Posts: 719

Website

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

3. To be honest, EUFI is pretty bad and does not have a future on Linux.

I agree that many UEFI implementations are rushed and buggy, but UEFI as a whole has a lot of advantages over BIOS. Furthermore, the statement that UEFI "does not have a future on Linux" is backward and wrong -- Linux runs atop UEFI (or BIOS or whatever), not vice-versa; and because the hardware manufacturer decides what sort of firmware to deliver, as a practical matter Linux must adapt to whatever the hardware vendors decide to use. The vast majority of hardware today ships with UEFI (or EFI, in the case of Macs), so that ship has already sailed. It's true that most (U)EFI implementations offer a BIOS compatibility layer, but I wouldn't be surprised to see those start to disappear in a year or two.

However I've still managed to "UEFI-brick" my laptop. I broke my refind config so I've decided that I'll boot from usb and fix it from there. To do that, I've set boot mode to "CMS only". Stupid me, I know. Now I have no option to go into uefi setup and set it back to UEFI and can't boot Windows 8.

Setting your machine to boot using the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) should not prevent your getting into the firmware setup utility. That said, I'm unfamiliar with your machine, so I can't be sure how it's set up or what you might need to do to adjust the options.

kazuldur

Member

Registered: 2011-05-28

Posts: 13

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

However I've still managed to "UEFI-brick" my laptop. I broke my refind config so I've decided that I'll boot from usb and fix it from there. To do that, I've set boot mode to "CMS only". Stupid me, I know. Now I have no option to go into uefi setup and set it back to UEFI and can't boot Windows 8.

Setting your machine to boot using the Compatibility Support Module (CSM) should not prevent your getting into the firmware setup utility. That said, I'm unfamiliar with your machine, so I can't be sure how it's set up or what you might need to do to adjust the options.

I've lost access to the firmware setup after upgrading BIOS using SW Update in windows 8 (comes with recovery image). The only way I was able to access it was using rEFInd or Windows 8 advanced reboot. Now when I set CSM and I can't boot Windows 8 nor start rEFInd, I can't access it at all.

srs5694

Member

From: Woonsocket, RI

Registered: 2012-11-06

Posts: 719

Website

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

I've lost access to the firmware setup after upgrading BIOS using SW Update in windows 8 (comes with recovery image). The only way I was able to access it was using rEFInd or Windows 8 advanced reboot. Now when I set CSM and I can't boot Windows 8 nor start rEFInd, I can't access it at all.

I'm unfamiliar with your model, so I can't say precisely what keys to press to get things to happen; however, I can say this: If by setting your firmware to boot in BIOS/CSM/legacy mode it becomes impossible to enter the firmware to change that setting back, then the firmware was written by poorly-trained monkeys. (OK, OK, I'll stop picking on monkeys.)

Seriously, though, you're either missing something in the way the firmware operates (which is easy to do because there's so little standardization and some "magic" keypresses are completely unprompted and even undocumented) or the firmware is defective in a major way. If the latter, my advice is to return the hardware for a refund and buy something else. I keep offering that advice and people keep responding with reasons they can't do so, but if nobody returns hardware that's as bad as you're describing, the vendors will keep delivering junk.

kazuldur

Member

Registered: 2011-05-28

Posts: 13

Re: Boot problems after UEFI upgrade

Hello again,
I'm reviving an old thread, but it's related and it's still the same problem.
I've sent my previous laptop (the Samsung one described in this thread) on a warranty, they've replaced motherboard and it was working fine, but again I did something that prevented me from entering Setup using F2 key.
Now I have the same problem on another laptop, Lenovo IdeaPad U310. It's even worse here, even "Reboot into Firmware Settings" doesn't work. But now I know what I did wrong and what's happening! . Before I've broke it, efibootmgr showed something like this:

Boot0000 Setup
Boot0001 BootMenu
Boot0002 DiagnosticSplash

However bcfg boot dump didn't show these entries at all. Then, I've issued something like this in UEFI shell:

bcfg boot add 0 fs0:\EFI\loader1.efi Loader1
bcfg boot add 1 fs0:\EFI\loader2.efi Loader2

Maybe I've also did some bcfg boot mv, but definetly not rm. Now efibootmgr shows something like this:

Boot0000 Loader1
Boot0001 Loader2
Boot0002 DiagnosticSplash

And the old Setup and BootMenu are nowhere to find. And nows the good part... Launching Setup during boot actually launches Loader1, and launching BootMenu launches Loader2. Yes, I even don't have access to the BootMenu.
I've also checked the output on the Samsung laptop and it's the same thing. Boot0000 replaced by refind, Boot0001 BootMenu (luckily not replaced).
Does anyone has an idea how to restore these entries?
I'll post exact output of efibootmgr -v as soon as I get to the laptop.

EDIT:
efibootmgr -v from Samsung laptop:

BootCurrent: 0004
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0004,000B,0008,0003,0006
Boot0000* Refind        HD(2,fa800,96000,4c15999d-79b0-4048-9d91-fbf32242ad2d)File(\EFI\Refind\refind_x64.efi)
Boot0001  Boot Menu     FvFile(86488440-41bb-42c7-93ac-450fbf7766bf)
Boot0002  Recovery      FvFile(ab4579c4-3bc5-4489-a88e-0f21e6cebf85)
Boot0003* SATA HDD:     VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-c068ee79d25b,91af625956449f41a7b91f4f892ab0f600)
Boot0004* Refind2       HD(2,fa800,96000,4c15999d-79b0-4048-9d91-fbf32242ad2d)File(\EFI\Refind\refind_x64.efi)
Boot0006* USB CD:       VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-c068ee79d25b,86701296aa5a7848b66cd49dd3ba6a55)
Boot0008* USB HDD:      VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-c068ee79d25b,33e821aaaf33bc4789bd419f88c50803)
Boot0009* NETWORK:      VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-c068ee79d25b,78a84aaf2b2afc4ea79cf5cc8f3d3803)
Boot000B* Windows Boot Manager  HD(2,fa800,96000,4c15999d-79b0-4048-9d91-fbf32242ad2d)File(\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)(invalid optional data length)

Last edited by kazuldur (2014-05-09 22:37:21)