Arch Linux

Zilla

Member

Registered: 2013-09-17

Posts: 8

I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

Hello everybody!

Well, as said, I'm an idiot. Late last night I thought it was a good time to move from Windows 8.1 Preview to RTM.
I use a Dual-Boot setup (obviously ) and I forgot that with this update nasty Windows will destroy my UEFI-Boot-Setup.

So, now whenever I want to boot Arch it says:

Failed to read initrd

I used gummiboot (and then grub, I guess) and everything worked like a charm. The two major problems are:

1: I have data I have no backup of (not much, but still about three hours of work) - Yes, this is entirely my fault and that's why I say I'm dumb.
2: I can't remember my partition-setup.

So, any ideas on how to fix that?
If possible I would like to save both OS, because the setup is quite perfect for me as it is now (lol, apart from the "can't boot my primary OS"-thing )

I do know a few things about linux, but this UEFI-thing took a while to handle... well, it wasn't that much of a challenge, but I don't wanna make things worse.

What I think I should do:
Boot into chroot by USB-stick with Arch.iso and reinstall/initialize gummiboot. But where to? Another idea would be to use rEFInd... http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/getting.html

I will be thankful for any hint.
Thanks in advance!

Kindest regards,
Zilla

vacant

Member

From: downstairs

Registered: 2004-11-05

Posts: 816

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

What I think I should do:
Boot into chroot by USB-stick with Arch.iso and reinstall/initialize gummiboot. But where to? Another idea would be to use rEFInd...

The first thing you should do is boot from USB and backup the data that you say is a major issue.

Zilla

Member

Registered: 2013-09-17

Posts: 8

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

What I think I should do:
Boot into chroot by USB-stick with Arch.iso and reinstall/initialize gummiboot. But where to? Another idea would be to use rEFInd...

The first thing you should do is boot from USB and backup the data that you say is a major issue.

How? I only have a ntfs-backup-disk. Is it even possible to move something there from chroot?

Last edited by Zilla (2013-09-20 10:07:42)

headkase

Member

Registered: 2011-12-06

Posts: 1,983

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

Install ntfs-3g from your command line: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NTFS-3G
Then mount your thumb-drive or other NTFS medium (instructions are on that same page) then use the "cp" or copy command to copy files to your mount location.

However, if you can boot into a shell perhaps you could just start your graphical interface?  Which desktop environment are you using?

vacant

Member

From: downstairs

Registered: 2004-11-05

Posts: 816

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

How? I only have a ntfs-backup-disk. Is it even possible to move something there from commandline?

That's the right question.

With a physically undamaged disk, taking a disk image (e.g. using dd) is the method of last resort. With any luck, if you provide fuller information, someone may have a more elegant solution.

Once you have some sort of backup, if you mess up restoring a boot system it won't matter.

Zilla

Member

Registered: 2013-09-17

Posts: 8

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

First of all: Thanks for taking your time to help me!

Install ntfs-3g from your command line: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/NTFS-3G
Then mount your thumb-drive or other NTFS medium (instructions are on that same page) then use the "cp" or copy command to copy files to your mount location.

However, if you can boot into a shell perhaps you could just start your graphical interface?  Which desktop environment are you using?

Gnome 3. But I must see if I can boot into a shell yet.

@Vacant:

Okay, more info:

Two Disks, one SSD, one HDD.

HDD contains "D:/" for Windows and "/home" for Linux.
SSD contains Efi-Boot-stuff, Arch (root and swap) as well as Windows.

Screenshot: http://pbrd.co/1fgABd2

Last edited by Zilla (2013-09-20 10:22:58)

Zilla

Member

Registered: 2013-09-17

Posts: 8

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

So, logged in as root via Ubuntu Live-CD and making a backup right now.

Last edited by Zilla (2013-09-20 11:08:24)

srs5694

Member

From: Woonsocket, RI

Registered: 2012-11-06

Posts: 719

Website

Re: I'm an idiot -> Windows 8.1 destroyed my UEFI-Boot...

I recommend you run the Boot Info Script from a Linux emergency disc, then post the RESULTS.txt file here, either between code tags or as a link to a pastebin site. (Pasting the text directly will render important parts of it difficult to read.) This script runs a bunch of diagnostic tools and collects the results in one file, which is a boon to analyzing problems like yours.