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#1 2026-08-02 12:52:30

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

"Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

Just updated whole system and I noticed that after systemd was upgraded it printed following error:

[2026-08-02T13:18:11+0200] [ALPM] upgraded systemd (261.1-1 -> 261.2-1)
[2026-08-02T13:18:12+0200] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] Couldn't find EFI system partition. It is recommended to mount it to /boot/ or /efi/.
[2026-08-02T13:18:12+0200] [ALPM-SCRIPTLET] Alternatively, use --esp-path= to specify path to mount point.

The system still boots fine and my boot configuration looks like this:

$ ll /boot/EFI/
total 2
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root  512 Aug 27  2021 ./
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 1024 Jan  1  1970 ../
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root  512 Aug 27  2021 GRUB/
$ lsblk -o +FSTYPE
NAME        MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS FSTYPE
nvme0n1     259:0    0 931.5G  0 disk             
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1    0   260M  0 part /boot       vfat
└─nvme0n1p2 259:2    0 931.3G  0 part /           ext4
$ ls /sys/firmware/efi
config_table  efivars  esrt  fw_platform_size  fw_vendor  runtime  runtime-map  systab

I noticed bootctl status says the same error:

$ bootctl status
Couldn't find EFI system partition. It is recommended to mount it to /boot/ or /efi/.
Alternatively, use --esp-path= to specify path to mount point.
System:
      Firmware: n/a (n/a)
 Firmware Arch: x64
   Secure Boot: disabled
  TPM2 Support: yes
  Measured UKI: no
   Measured OS: no
  Boot into FW: supported
 Platform Lang: en_US.UTF-8

Random Seed:
 System Token: not set

No boot loaders listed in EFI Variables.

Can anyone help me out here? I have no clue why it would say "No boot loaders listed in EFI Variables." System boots perfectly fine

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#2 2026-08-03 02:55:57

espresso
Member
From: Potemkin Village,Pale Blue Dot
Registered: 2023-05-15
Posts: 87

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

bootctl needs permissions: sudo bootctl status

Systemd-boot#Updating_the_UEFI_boot_manager  Manual and Automatic Update look interesting..

‘There is no other definition of socialism valid for us than that of the abolition of the exploitation of man by man!’ - Che Guevara

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#3 2026-08-03 03:18:09

ajgringo619
Member
Registered: 2023-05-06
Posts: 58

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

Are you certain that you're using systemd-boot? What does 

grep vfat /etc/fstab
grep efi /etc/mtab

return?

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#4 2026-08-03 18:58:00

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

espresso wrote:

bootctl needs permissions: sudo bootctl status

Same output unfortunately


ajgringo619 wrote:

Are you certain that you're using systemd-boot?

Actually I'm using grub as bootloader. I believe the error is coming from package systemd or not?


ajgringo619 wrote:
grep vfat /etc/fstab
grep efi /etc/mtab
$ grep vfat /etc/fstab
UUID=48EA-F72F          /boot         vfat          rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=ascii,shortname=mixed,utf8,errors=remount-ro    0 2
$ grep efi /etc/mtab
efivarfs /sys/firmware/efi/efivars efivarfs rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime 0 0

Last edited by gary8588 (2026-08-03 18:58:24)

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#5 2026-08-03 20:24:34

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f
sudo bootctl is-installed

?
https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … c6be2fac0f checks that to flag systemd-boot-update.service for a restart hmm

How to upload text · How to boot w/o GUI · Disable Windows Fast-Start! · Fix your xinitrc

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#6 2026-08-04 17:36:31

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

$ find /etc/systemd -type l -exec test -f {} \; -print | awk -F'/' '{ printf ("%-40s | %s\n", $(NF-0), $(NF-1)) }' | sort -f
autovt@.service                          | system
chronyd.service                          | multi-user.target.wants
dbus-org.freedesktop.nm-dispatcher.service | system
display-manager.service                  | system
fstrim.timer                             | timers.target.wants
gcr-ssh-agent.socket                     | sockets.target.wants
getty@tty1.service                       | getty.target.wants
gnome-keyring-daemon.socket              | sockets.target.wants
NetworkManager.service                   | multi-user.target.wants
NetworkManager-wait-online.service       | network-online.target.wants
p11-kit-server.socket                    | sockets.target.wants
pipewire-pulse.socket                    | sockets.target.wants
pipewire-session-manager.service         | user
pipewire.socket                          | sockets.target.wants
remote-fs.target                         | multi-user.target.wants
tlp.service                              | multi-user.target.wants
wireplumber.service                      | pipewire.service.wants

and the second command:

$ sudo bootctl is-installed
[sudo] password for user: 
Couldn't find EFI system partition. It is recommended to mount it to /boot/ or /efi/.
Alternatively, use --esp-path= to specify path to mount point.

Strange

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#7 2026-08-04 18:31:19

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

So it's actually the check that probably triggers this, does't explain why it doesn't find the efi.

lsblk -f
ls -lR /boot

Strange

You, but not immediately harmful.
We should still figure what's going on there.
Maybe 

sudo -i # you cannot sudo strace
strace -f -o /tmp/bootctl.strace bootctl is-installed
chmod 666 /tmp/bootctl.strace
exit
cat /tmp/bootctl.strace | curl -s -H "Accept: application/json, */*" --upload-file - 'https://paste.c-net.org/'

How to upload text · How to boot w/o GUI · Disable Windows Fast-Start! · Fix your xinitrc

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#8 2026-08-04 19:43:01

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

$ lsblk -f
NAME        FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1                                                                            
├─nvme0n1p1 vfat   FAT32       48EA-F72F                               189M    26% /boot
└─nvme0n1p2 ext4   1.0         93243294-2f7b-4311-9052-6529741c335f  463.2G    48% /
$ ls -lR /boot
/boot:
total 55209
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root      512 Oct 24  2021 boot
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root      512 Aug 27  2021 EFI
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root      512 Aug  2 13:44 grub
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 24319917 Aug  2 13:26 initramfs-linux.img
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 15123456 May 12 19:27 intel-ucode.img
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 17089024 Aug  2 13:18 vmlinuz-linux

/boot/boot:
total 0

/boot/EFI:
total 1
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 512 Aug 27  2021 GRUB

/boot/EFI/GRUB:
total 148
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 151552 Dec 24  2022 grubx64.efi

/boot/grub:
total 52
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   512 Aug 27  2021 fonts
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  4536 Aug  2 13:44 grub.cfg
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  1024 Aug 27  2021 grubenv
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root  5632 Dec 24  2022 locale
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root   512 Aug 27  2021 themes
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 40448 Dec 24  2022 x86_64-efi

/boot/grub/fonts:
total 2337
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 2392304 Dec 24  2022 unicode.pf2

/boot/grub/locale:
total 5052
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 127114 Dec 24  2022 ast.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 127925 Dec 24  2022 ca.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 119187 Dec 24  2022 da.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 134306 Dec 24  2022 de_CH.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 202260 Dec 24  2022 de@hebrew.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 134342 Dec 24  2022 de.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 179584 Dec 24  2022 en@arabic.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 169614 Dec 24  2022 en@cyrillic.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 169611 Dec 24  2022 en@greek.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 194692 Dec 24  2022 en@hebrew.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 150063 Dec 24  2022 en@piglatin.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 132373 Dec 24  2022 en@quot.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  43353 Dec 24  2022 eo.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 130300 Dec 24  2022 es.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 132600 Dec 24  2022 fi.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 140426 Dec 24  2022 fr.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 102986 Dec 24  2022 gl.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 130373 Dec 24  2022 hr.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 138082 Dec 24  2022 hu.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  28188 Dec 24  2022 id.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 116966 Dec 24  2022 it.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  45155 Dec 24  2022 ja.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 134429 Dec 24  2022 ka.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 138645 Dec 24  2022 ko.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7733 Dec 24  2022 lg.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 100889 Dec 24  2022 lt.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 128267 Dec 24  2022 nb.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 127067 Dec 24  2022 nl.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  61770 Dec 24  2022 pa.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 133266 Dec 24  2022 pl.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  83493 Dec 24  2022 pt_BR.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 131872 Dec 24  2022 pt.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 141131 Dec 24  2022 ro.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 170401 Dec 24  2022 ru.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  93884 Dec 24  2022 sl.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 169785 Dec 24  2022 sr.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 128488 Dec 24  2022 sv.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  83597 Dec 24  2022 tr.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 177609 Dec 24  2022 uk.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 145044 Dec 24  2022 vi.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 124282 Dec 24  2022 zh_CN.mo
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  30274 Dec 24  2022 zh_TW.mo

/boot/grub/themes:
total 3
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 3072 Aug 27  2021 starfield

/boot/grub/themes/starfield:
total 2774
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     836 Dec 24  2022 blob_w.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     178 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_c.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     193 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_e.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     193 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_ne.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     103 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_n.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     184 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_nw.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     198 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_se.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     102 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_s.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     196 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_sw.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root      96 Dec 24  2022 boot_menu_w.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   19890 Dec 24  2022 COPYING.CC-BY-SA-3.0
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  153206 Dec 24  2022 dejavu_10.pf2
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  169029 Dec 24  2022 dejavu_12.pf2
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  185544 Dec 24  2022 dejavu_14.pf2
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  204012 Dec 24  2022 dejavu_16.pf2
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  193136 Dec 24  2022 dejavu_bold_14.pf2
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    1191 Dec 24  2022 README
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     197 Dec 24  2022 slider_c.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     265 Dec 24  2022 slider_n.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     269 Dec 24  2022 slider_s.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 1897028 Dec 24  2022 starfield.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     178 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_c.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root      94 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_e.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     128 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_ne.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     194 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_n.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     210 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_nw.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     126 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_se.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     101 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_s.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     123 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_sw.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root      97 Dec 24  2022 terminal_box_w.png
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    2249 Dec 24  2022 theme.txt

/boot/grub/x86_64-efi:
total 3018
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  16800 Dec 24  2022 acpi.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1832 Dec 24  2022 adler32.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8912 Dec 24  2022 affs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9624 Dec 24  2022 afs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2232 Dec 24  2022 afsplitter.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  21912 Dec 24  2022 ahci.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    704 Dec 24  2022 all_video.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1368 Dec 24  2022 aout.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5224 Dec 24  2022 appleldr.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4944 Dec 24  2022 archelp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8616 Dec 24  2022 ata.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6408 Dec 24  2022 at_keyboard.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2400 Dec 24  2022 backtrace.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  10864 Dec 24  2022 bfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3224 Dec 24  2022 bitmap.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5248 Dec 24  2022 bitmap_scale.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2896 Dec 24  2022 blocklist.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3768 Dec 24  2022 boot.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1920 Dec 24  2022 boottime.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  51600 Dec 24  2022 bsd.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3080 Dec 24  2022 bswap_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  30280 Dec 24  2022 btrfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2872 Dec 24  2022 bufio.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2128 Dec 24  2022 cacheinfo.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4248 Dec 24  2022 cat.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5952 Dec 24  2022 cbfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5552 Dec 24  2022 cbls.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3752 Dec 24  2022 cbmemc.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1504 Dec 24  2022 cbtable.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4384 Dec 24  2022 cbtime.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9104 Dec 24  2022 chain.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4496 Dec 24  2022 cmdline_cat_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2976 Dec 24  2022 cmp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6232 Dec 24  2022 cmp_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3706 Dec 24  2022 command.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3160 Dec 24  2022 configfile.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 151552 Dec 24  2022 core.efi
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4592 Dec 24  2022 cpio_be.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4592 Dec 24  2022 cpio.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2480 Dec 24  2022 cpuid.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2032 Dec 24  2022 crc64.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  22928 Dec 24  2022 cryptodisk.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    936 Dec 24  2022 crypto.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7416 Dec 24  2022 crypto.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3848 Dec 24  2022 cs5536.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2528 Dec 24  2022 ctz_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2912 Dec 24  2022 datehook.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3104 Dec 24  2022 date.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2928 Dec 24  2022 datetime.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  13952 Dec 24  2022 diskfilter.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3152 Dec 24  2022 disk.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1240 Dec 24  2022 div.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7808 Dec 24  2022 div_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2776 Dec 24  2022 dm_nv.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3048 Dec 24  2022 echo.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2696 Dec 24  2022 efifwsetup.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  12792 Dec 24  2022 efi_gop.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7216 Dec 24  2022 efinet.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3832 Dec 24  2022 efitextmode.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7032 Dec 24  2022 efi_uga.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  25824 Dec 24  2022 ehci.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8952 Dec 24  2022 elf.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2168 Dec 24  2022 eval.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9016 Dec 24  2022 exfat.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2048 Dec 24  2022 exfctest.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9392 Dec 24  2022 ext2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7808 Dec 24  2022 extcmd.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  10976 Dec 24  2022 f2fs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9048 Dec 24  2022 fat.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  27400 Dec 24  2022 file.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2768 Dec 24  2022 fixvideo.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  19912 Dec 24  2022 font.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4576 Dec 24  2022 fshelp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    219 Dec 24  2022 fs.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  46984 Dec 24  2022 functional_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2280 Dec 24  2022 gcry_arcfour.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9264 Dec 24  2022 gcry_blowfish.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  28176 Dec 24  2022 gcry_camellia.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  14712 Dec 24  2022 gcry_cast5.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11744 Dec 24  2022 gcry_crc.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  16320 Dec 24  2022 gcry_des.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3288 Dec 24  2022 gcry_dsa.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3864 Dec 24  2022 gcry_idea.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4008 Dec 24  2022 gcry_md4.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4464 Dec 24  2022 gcry_md5.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3000 Dec 24  2022 gcry_rfc2268.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  20464 Dec 24  2022 gcry_rijndael.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7824 Dec 24  2022 gcry_rmd160.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3216 Dec 24  2022 gcry_rsa.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  12504 Dec 24  2022 gcry_seed.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  16344 Dec 24  2022 gcry_serpent.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8064 Dec 24  2022 gcry_sha1.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5104 Dec 24  2022 gcry_sha256.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5976 Dec 24  2022 gcry_sha512.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  13152 Dec 24  2022 gcry_tiger.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  33664 Dec 24  2022 gcry_twofish.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  22720 Dec 24  2022 gcry_whirlpool.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8744 Dec 24  2022 geli.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8496 Dec 24  2022 gettext.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  64064 Dec 24  2022 gfxmenu.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4304 Dec 24  2022 gfxterm_background.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7616 Dec 24  2022 gfxterm_menu.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  16752 Dec 24  2022 gfxterm.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5296 Dec 24  2022 gptsync.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 151552 Dec 24  2022 grub.efi
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  12736 Dec 24  2022 gzio.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7544 Dec 24  2022 halt.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8688 Dec 24  2022 hashsum.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  10248 Dec 24  2022 hdparm.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1760 Dec 24  2022 hello.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4048 Dec 24  2022 help.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4392 Dec 24  2022 hexdump.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  10696 Dec 24  2022 hfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4432 Dec 24  2022 hfspluscomp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  12816 Dec 24  2022 hfsplus.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9792 Dec 24  2022 http.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4240 Dec 24  2022 iorw.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  13544 Dec 24  2022 iso9660.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9336 Dec 24  2022 jfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  10880 Dec 24  2022 jpeg.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5968 Dec 24  2022 json.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6408 Dec 24  2022 keylayouts.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2872 Dec 24  2022 keystatus.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11000 Dec 24  2022 ldm.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  46968 Dec 24  2022 legacycfg.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  15816 Dec 24  2022 legacy_password_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8480 Dec 24  2022 linux16.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  19960 Dec 24  2022 linux.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4544 Dec 24  2022 loadbios.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9496 Dec 24  2022 loadenv.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4960 Dec 24  2022 loopback.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7008 Dec 24  2022 lsacpi.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3688 Dec 24  2022 lsefimmap.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5200 Dec 24  2022 lsefi.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4544 Dec 24  2022 lsefisystab.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2832 Dec 24  2022 lsmmap.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6488 Dec 24  2022 ls.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7120 Dec 24  2022 lspci.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3704 Dec 24  2022 lssal.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  21264 Dec 24  2022 luks2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6184 Dec 24  2022 luks.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  13352 Dec 24  2022 lvm.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7352 Dec 24  2022 lzopio.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4872 Dec 24  2022 macbless.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11512 Dec 24  2022 macho.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2880 Dec 24  2022 mdraid09_be.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2848 Dec 24  2022 mdraid09.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2624 Dec 24  2022 mdraid1x.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3104 Dec 24  2022 memdisk.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4200 Dec 24  2022 memrw.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5736 Dec 24  2022 minicmd.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6024 Dec 24  2022 minix2_be.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5920 Dec 24  2022 minix2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6056 Dec 24  2022 minix3_be.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5952 Dec 24  2022 minix3.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5896 Dec 24  2022 minix_be.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5800 Dec 24  2022 minix.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9952 Dec 24  2022 mmap.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5265 Dec 24  2022 moddep.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2504 Dec 24  2022 modinfo.sh
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3152 Dec 24  2022 morse.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  44056 Dec 24  2022 mpi.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3592 Dec 24  2022 msdospart.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2312 Dec 24  2022 mul_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  25368 Dec 24  2022 multiboot2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  22192 Dec 24  2022 multiboot.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7208 Dec 24  2022 nativedisk.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  83616 Dec 24  2022 net.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4744 Dec 24  2022 newc.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  10432 Dec 24  2022 nilfs2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 186232 Dec 24  2022 normal.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5688 Dec 24  2022 ntfscomp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  16288 Dec 24  2022 ntfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4592 Dec 24  2022 odc.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2328 Dec 24  2022 offsetio.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  15504 Dec 24  2022 ohci.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2208 Dec 24  2022 part_acorn.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2520 Dec 24  2022 part_amiga.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2888 Dec 24  2022 part_apple.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4064 Dec 24  2022 part_bsd.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2568 Dec 24  2022 part_dfly.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2096 Dec 24  2022 part_dvh.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3152 Dec 24  2022 part_gpt.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    111 Dec 24  2022 partmap.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2912 Dec 24  2022 part_msdos.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2416 Dec 24  2022 part_plan.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2160 Dec 24  2022 part_sun.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2616 Dec 24  2022 part_sunpc.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     17 Dec 24  2022 parttool.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7792 Dec 24  2022 parttool.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2928 Dec 24  2022 password.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   4936 Dec 24  2022 password_pbkdf2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7360 Dec 24  2022 pata.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2040 Dec 24  2022 pbkdf2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3352 Dec 24  2022 pbkdf2_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3424 Dec 24  2022 pcidump.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  19640 Dec 24  2022 pgp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3848 Dec 24  2022 play.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11096 Dec 24  2022 png.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2464 Dec 24  2022 priority_queue.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5864 Dec 24  2022 probe.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3744 Dec 24  2022 procfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3072 Dec 24  2022 progress.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2120 Dec 24  2022 raid5rec.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3576 Dec 24  2022 raid6rec.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3632 Dec 24  2022 random.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3008 Dec 24  2022 rdmsr.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2832 Dec 24  2022 read.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1520 Dec 24  2022 reboot.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  79360 Dec 24  2022 regexp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  14480 Dec 24  2022 reiserfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  27384 Dec 24  2022 relocator.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6056 Dec 24  2022 romfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7416 Dec 24  2022 scsi.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5016 Dec 24  2022 search_fs_file.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5200 Dec 24  2022 search_fs_uuid.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5136 Dec 24  2022 search_label.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5576 Dec 24  2022 search.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  15256 Dec 24  2022 serial.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    912 Dec 24  2022 setjmp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2520 Dec 24  2022 setjmp_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8160 Dec 24  2022 setpci.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9208 Dec 24  2022 sfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2992 Dec 24  2022 shift_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8304 Dec 24  2022 signature_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3272 Dec 24  2022 sleep.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3008 Dec 24  2022 sleep_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8400 Dec 24  2022 smbios.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2968 Dec 24  2022 spkmodem.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11288 Dec 24  2022 squash4.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3160 Dec 24  2022 strtoull_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  30920 Dec 24  2022 syslinuxcfg.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5200 Dec 24  2022 tar.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root    162 Dec 24  2022 terminal.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6584 Dec 24  2022 terminal.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  19248 Dec 24  2022 terminfo.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1952 Dec 24  2022 test_blockarg.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3880 Dec 24  2022 testload.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7512 Dec 24  2022 test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3536 Dec 24  2022 testspeed.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7568 Dec 24  2022 tftp.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   6304 Dec 24  2022 tga.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2272 Dec 24  2022 time.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   7760 Dec 24  2022 tpm.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1936 Dec 24  2022 trig.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3672 Dec 24  2022 tr.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   1792 Dec 24  2022 true.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  13704 Dec 24  2022 udf.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8528 Dec 24  2022 ufs1_be.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8344 Dec 24  2022 ufs1.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8344 Dec 24  2022 ufs2.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9992 Dec 24  2022 uhci.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5816 Dec 24  2022 usb_keyboard.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  18744 Dec 24  2022 usb.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11416 Dec 24  2022 usbms.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2968 Dec 24  2022 usbserial_common.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3328 Dec 24  2022 usbserial_ftdi.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3656 Dec 24  2022 usbserial_pl2303.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2240 Dec 24  2022 usbserial_usbdebug.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5776 Dec 24  2022 usbtest.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8456 Dec 24  2022 video_bochs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8840 Dec 24  2022 video_cirrus.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   9920 Dec 24  2022 video_colors.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  28632 Dec 24  2022 video_fb.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5208 Dec 24  2022 videoinfo.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root     41 Dec 24  2022 video.lst
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8856 Dec 24  2022 video.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3584 Dec 24  2022 videotest_checksum.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   5304 Dec 24  2022 videotest.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   2328 Dec 24  2022 wrmsr.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11192 Dec 24  2022 xfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  44664 Dec 24  2022 xnu.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3264 Dec 24  2022 xnu_uuid.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   3024 Dec 24  2022 xnu_uuid_test.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  20264 Dec 24  2022 xzio.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root   8504 Dec 24  2022 zfscrypt.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  11144 Dec 24  2022 zfsinfo.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  60664 Dec 24  2022 zfs.mod
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root  79120 Dec 24  2022 zstd.mod

Ahh I see the good old broadsword

https://paste.c-net.org/CapriceFrisk

What grabbed my attention is that it cannot find some directories (at the top of the trace)

199497 access("/etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/glibc-hwcaps/x86-64-v4/libsystemd-shared-261.2-1.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 newfstatat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/glibc-hwcaps/x86-64-v4/", 0x7ffd2b802390, 0) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/glibc-hwcaps/x86-64-v3/libsystemd-shared-261.2-1.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 newfstatat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/glibc-hwcaps/x86-64-v3/", 0x7ffd2b802390, 0) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/glibc-hwcaps/x86-64-v2/libsystemd-shared-261.2-1.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 newfstatat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/glibc-hwcaps/x86-64-v2/", 0x7ffd2b802390, 0) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
199497 openat(AT_FDCWD, "/usr/lib/systemd/libsystemd-shared-261.2-1.so", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3

Last edited by gary8588 (2026-08-04 19:55:05)

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#9 2026-08-04 19:59:41

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

Leaving the empty "/boot/boot" path the /boot partition looks normal enough.

199497 openat(AT_FDCWD, "/", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC|O_PATH|O_DIRECTORY) = 3
199497 statx(3, "", AT_STATX_SYNC_AS_STAT|AT_EMPTY_PATH, STATX_TYPE|STATX_UID|STATX_INO|STATX_MNT_ID|STATX_MNT_ID_UNIQUE, {stx_mask=STATX_TYPE|STATX_MODE|STATX_NLINK|STATX_UID|STATX_GID|STATX_ATIME|STATX_INO|STATX_SIZE|STATX_BLOCKS|STATX_MNT_ID_UNIQUE, stx_attributes=STATX_ATTR_MOUNT_ROOT, stx_mode=S_IFDIR|0555, stx_size=4096, ...}) = 0
199497 open_tree(3, "boot", OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC|AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW) = 4
199497 statx(4, "", AT_STATX_SYNC_AS_STAT|AT_EMPTY_PATH, STATX_TYPE|STATX_UID|STATX_INO|STATX_MNT_ID|STATX_MNT_ID_UNIQUE, {stx_mask=STATX_BASIC_STATS|STATX_MNT_ID_UNIQUE, stx_attributes=STATX_ATTR_MOUNT_ROOT, stx_mode=S_IFDIR|0755, stx_size=1024, ...}) = 0
199497 close(3)                         = 0
199497 open_tree(4, "efi", OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC|AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW) = 3
199497 statx(3, "", AT_STATX_SYNC_AS_STAT|AT_EMPTY_PATH, STATX_TYPE|STATX_UID|STATX_INO|STATX_MNT_ID|STATX_MNT_ID_UNIQUE, {stx_mask=STATX_BASIC_STATS|STATX_MNT_ID_UNIQUE, stx_attributes=0, stx_mode=S_IFDIR|0755, stx_size=512, ...}) = 0
199497 close(4)                         = 0
199497 fstatfs(3, {f_type=MSDOS_SUPER_MAGIC, f_bsize=512, f_blocks=524256, f_bfree=387070, f_bavail=387070, f_files=0, f_ffree=0, f_fsid={val=[0x10301, 0]}, f_namelen=1530, f_frsize=512, f_flags=ST_VALID|ST_RELATIME}) = 0
199497 statx(3, "", AT_STATX_SYNC_AS_STAT|AT_EMPTY_PATH, STATX_TYPE|STATX_INO, {stx_mask=STATX_BASIC_STATS|STATX_MNT_ID, stx_attributes=0, stx_mode=S_IFDIR|0755, stx_size=512, ...}) = 0
199497 close(3)                         = 0

It first looks at /boot then at /efi (a path that exists! What's in there?) then checks the FS type and then hurls the error at you.
Gut feeling: bootctl completely ignores /boot b/c of the /efi path and errors because it doesn't like that one.

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#10 2026-08-04 20:16:19

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

seth wrote:

Leaving the empty "/boot/boot" path the /boot partition looks normal enough.

yeah, that was a mistake when I initially installed the system, I'll delete it.

seth wrote:

It first looks at /boot then at /efi (a path that exists! What's in there?)

Hm, where exactly does it find that efi directory? Can't be the one at /boot/EFI since it is upper case?

Anyway:

$ tree /boot/EFI/
/boot/EFI/
└── GRUB
    └── grubx64.efi

2 directories, 1 file
$ sudo find / -type d -name efi
/sys/firmware/efi
/usr/lib/systemd/boot/efi
/usr/lib/modules/7.1.5-arch1-2/build/drivers/firmware/efi
/usr/lib/modules/7.1.5-arch1-2/kernel/drivers/firmware/efi
find: ‘/run/user/1000/doc’: Permission denied
find: ‘/run/user/1000/gvfs’: Permission denied
seth wrote:

Gut feeling: bootctl completely ignores /boot b/c of the /efi path and errors because it doesn't like that one.

Downgrading package systemd worth a try? (since this was right after the upgrade?)

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#11 2026-08-04 20:20:06

seth
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From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

stat /efi

Downgrading package systemd worth a try?

The trigger is most likely the mentioned https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … c6be2fac0f

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#12 2026-08-04 20:23:07

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

seth wrote:
stat /efi
$ stat /efi
stat: cannot statx '/efi': No such file or directory
seth wrote:

The trigger is most likely the mentioned https://gitlab.archlinux.org/archlinux/ … c6be2fac0f

I see, guess I will be opening an issue on the gitlab since this was commited a month ago so fairly recent.

Last edited by gary8588 (2026-08-04 20:23:58)

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#13 2026-08-04 20:28:51

seth
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From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

The patch isn't necessarily wrong … looked at the wrong line

199497 open_tree(3, "efi", OPEN_TREE_CLOEXEC|AT_SYMLINK_NOFOLLOW) = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)

The cited one actually closes the tree at the end.
The error is likely caused before - hold on.

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#14 2026-08-04 20:39:51

seth
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From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

lsblk -o PATH,FSTYPE,PARTTYPE,PARTUUID,UUID

https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/EFI_sy … oned_disks

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#15 2026-08-04 20:45:15

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

seth wrote:
lsblk -o PATH,FSTYPE,PARTTYPE,PARTUUID,UUID
$ lsblk -o PATH,FSTYPE,PARTTYPE,PARTUUID,UUID
PATH           FSTYPE PARTTYPE                             PARTUUID                             UUID
/dev/nvme0n1                                                                                    
/dev/nvme0n1p1 vfat   0x83                                 31030aa9-01                          48EA-F72F
/dev/nvme0n1p2 ext4   0x83                                 31030aa9-02                          93243294-2f7b-4311-9052-6529741c335f

Yeah I think I see it. Both the ext4 and the boot partition have the same partition type

seth wrote:

Seems like I need to change the partition type to "uefi" with fdisk. Alright will report back - need to create a bootable usb drive first

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#16 2026-08-04 21:10:13

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

Nevermind, no bootable usb drive needed - just umount /boot is enough. I changed it using fdisk and rebooted afterwards

But still same error:

$ lsblk -o PATH,FSTYPE,PARTTYPE,PARTUUID,UUID
PATH           FSTYPE PARTTYPE                             PARTUUID                             UUID
/dev/nvme0n1                                                                                    
/dev/nvme0n1p1 vfat   0xef                                 31030aa9-01                          48EA-F72F
/dev/nvme0n1p2 ext4   0x83                                 31030aa9-02                          93243294-2f7b-4311-9052-6529741c335f
$ sudo bootctl status
Couldn't find EFI system partition. It is recommended to mount it to /boot/ or /efi/.
Alternatively, use --esp-path= to specify path to mount point.
System:
      Firmware: n/a (n/a)
 Firmware Arch: x64
   Secure Boot: disabled
  TPM2 Support: yes
  Measured UKI: no
   Measured OS: no
  Boot into FW: supported
 Platform Lang: en_US.UTF-8

Random Seed:
 System Token: not set

No boot loaders listed in EFI Variables.

Last edited by gary8588 (2026-08-04 21:10:47)

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#17 2026-08-04 21:12:52

seth
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From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

The partition type is supposed to be C12A7328-F81F-11D2-BA4B-00A0C93EC93B - are you using UEFI/MBR instead of GPT??

sudo fdisk -l

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#18 2026-08-04 21:21:21

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

yep looks like MBR

$ sudo fdisk -l
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 931.51 GiB, 1000204886016 bytes, 1953525168 sectors
Disk model: SHGP31-1000GM-2                         
Units: sectors of 1 * 512 = 512 bytes
Sector size (logical/physical): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
I/O size (minimum/optimal): 512 bytes / 512 bytes
Disklabel type: dos
Disk identifier: 0x31030aa9

Device         Boot  Start        End    Sectors   Size Id Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1        2048     534527     532480   260M ef EFI (FAT-12/16/32)
/dev/nvme0n1p2      534528 1953525167 1952990640 931.3G 83 Linux

I am not sure why I did this initially when installing the system.

what would be the best way forward? creating a new /boot partition using gpt?

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#19 2026-08-04 21:41:03

seth
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From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

Establish that it's actually (only) the partition type (did the strace change?) but since bootctl doesn't support MBR, see eg. https://github.com/systemd/systemd/issues/1125 this is actually indeed gromit's bug (though arguably bootctl could still determine that the answer is gonna be "no" on an MBR)

Changing the partition format should™ be possible w/o data loss, https://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/mbr2gpt.html
And I *would* under no circumstances attempt that w/o a full backup. (And frankly not just because of this false error)

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#20 2026-08-05 15:46:50

gary8588
Member
Registered: 2022-08-09
Posts: 49

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

the strace didn't change as far as I can tell. Still the same "no such directory" messages:

https://paste.c-net.org/BendsAvenger


seth wrote:

Changing the partition format should™ be possible w/o data loss, https://www.rodsbooks.com/gdisk/mbr2gpt.html
And I *would* under no circumstances attempt that w/o a full backup. (And frankly not just because of this false error)

Alright so you are saying that still having a MBR instead of GPT isn't necessarily a problem (now or in the future) with my setup? If so then I'd leave it like that for now.

Perhaps I'll ask gromit to check it out as you said.

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#21 2026-08-05 19:44:50

seth
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From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,546

Re: "Couldn't find EFI system partition" after systemd update

strace does effectively not change - you're still not reading any "EFI PART" (but now the value changes to 0 - doesn't make any difference)

If bootctl won't support MBR at all, the script needs something like 

LC_ALL=C fdisk -l | grep -q 'Disklabel type: gpt' && …

Predictions about the future cost extra (and are 50% wrong) but as long as your bootloader (grub?) is fine w/ the configuration there's no real problem - through it's heavily discouraged and you should refrain from it on future setups.

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