Arch Linux

DetotatedWam

Member

Registered: 2015-03-31

Posts: 9

[SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

For several days I have been trying to get Arch to boot on my desktop by following the Beginners' guide and refering to other Arch wiki articles as well as Arch Forum posts for any problems that I had. I have tried a few bootloaders such as GRUB, gummiboot, and rEFInd and they all give the same result when I attempt to boot - a blinking cursor with no menu and then it returns me to the BIOS;. My UEFI motherboard is the ASUS VI Hero. I have disabled secure boot and both fast boots. I use a live USB with UEFI that is able to boot on my system and was created with dd.

Below are the outputs of some commands that might be useful.

root@archiso ~ # lsblk
NAME            MAJ:MIN RM   SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINT
sda               8:0    0 223.6G  0 disk 
├─sda1            8:1    0   512M  0 part 
├─sda2            8:2    0     4G  0 part 
└─sda3            8:3    0 219.1G  0 part 
sdb               8:16   0 931.5G  0 disk 
├─sdb1            8:17   0 487.3M  0 part 
└─sdb2            8:18   0   931G  0 part 
sdc               8:32   0 232.9G  0 disk 
├─sdc1            8:33   0   100M  0 part 
└─sdc2            8:34   0 232.8G  0 part 
sdd               8:48   1   3.8G  0 disk 
├─sdd1            8:49   1   595M  0 part /run/archiso/bootmnt
└─sdd2            8:50   1    31M  0 part 
loop0             7:0    0 256.8M  1 loop /run/archiso/sfs/airootfs
loop1             7:1    0    32G  1 loop 
└─arch_airootfs 254:0    0    32G  0 dm   /
loop2             7:2    0   256M  0 loop 
└─arch_airootfs 254:0    0    32G  0 dm   /

Windows 7 is on sdc and Arch is on sda (sdb is an extra storage device for Windows). Both sdc and sda are SDDs.

root@archiso ~ # parted /dev/sda print
Model: ATA SanDisk SDSSDHII (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 240GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags: 

Number  Start   End     Size    File system     Name  Flags
 1      1049kB  538MB   537MB   fat32                 boot, esp
 2      538MB   4833MB  4295MB  linux-swap(v1)
 3      4833MB  240GB   235GB   ext4

root@archiso ~ # cat /mnt/etc/fstab
# UUID=0dff590b-24f1-47a2-870e-3f4d2c5bcb6a
/dev/sda3           	/         	ext4      	rw,relatime,data=ordered,discard	0 1

# UUID=FA3A-728C
/dev/sda1           	/boot     	vfat      	rw,relatime,fmask=0022,dmask=0022,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro	0 2

# UUID=524e2980-d1e6-4948-88f9-c193682d5a9e
/dev/sda2           	none      	swap      	defaults  	0 0

# efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0003
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0001,0002,0003
Boot0000* grub
Boot0001* Hard Drive 
Boot0002* ubuntu
Boot0003* UEFI: General USB Flash Disk
Boot0008  Hard Drive 

Ignore ubuntu, that was on my HDD from before but has been removed. The grub option usually disappears after reboot unless I run efibootmgr -O after I install the bootloader. Using efibootmgr -v option, the output is a bit hard to read.

# efibootmgr -v
BootCurrent: 0003
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0001,0002,0003
Boot0000* grub	HD(1,800,100000,f9c04628-178b-4c94-9b92-62c04f2a5151)File(\EFI\grub\grubx64.efi)
Boot0001* Hard Drive 	BIOS(2,0,00)..GO..NO........u.W.D.C. .W.D.1.0.E.Z.E.X.-.0.8.M.2.N.A.0....................A.................................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L. . . . .W. .-.D.M.W.3.C.1.F.6.4.5.0.4.6........BO..NO........u.S.a.m.s.u.n.g. .S.S.D. .8.4.0. .E.V.O. .2.5.0.G.B....................A.................................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.1.S.B.D.S.N.F.A.7.1.3.0.7.5. .L. . . . ........BO..NO........o.S.a.n.D.i.s.k. .S.D.S.S.D.H.I.I.2.4.0.G....................A...........................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.4.1.3.4.3.7.0.4.7.0.2.0. . . . . . . . ........BO..NO........u.G.e.n.e.r.a.l. .U.S.B. .F.l.a.s.h. .D.i.s.k....................A.............................B..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.G.e.n.e.r.a.l. .U.S.B. .F.l.a.s.h. .D.i.s.k........BO
Boot0002* ubuntu	HD(1,800,f3a9e,3eaa3162-6352-4ad8-a725-89c738f2b3ad)File(\EFI\Ubuntu\grubx64.efi)
Boot0003* UEFI: General USB Flash Disk	ACPI(a0341d0,0)PCI(1d,0)USB(1,0)USB(1,0)HD(1,fc,f800,612a5c68)..BO
Boot0008  Hard Drive 	BIOS(2,0,00)..GO..NO........o.S.a.n.D.i.s.k. .S.D.S.S.D.H.I.I.2.4.0.G....................A...........................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.4.1.3.4.3.7.0.4.7.0.2.0. . . . . . . . ........BO..NO........u.W.D.C. .W.D.1.0.E.Z.E.X.-.0.8.M.2.N.A.0....................A.................................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L. . . . .W. .-.D.M.W.3.C.1.F.6.4.5.0.4.6........BO..NO........u.S.a.m.s.u.n.g. .S.S.D. .8.4.0. .E.V.O. .2.5.0.G.B....................A.................................>..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.1.S.B.D.S.N.F.A.7.1.3.0.7.5. .L. . . . ........BO..NO........o.G.e.n.e.r.a.l. .U.S.B. .F.l.a.s.h. .D.i.s.k....................A.......................B..Gd-.;.A..MQ..L.G.e.n.e.r.a.l. .U.S.B. .F.l.a.s.h. .D.i.s.k........BO

I mount /dev/sda3 to /mnt and /dev/sda1 to /mnt/boot before I arch-chroot and when I tried grub, I installed with:

# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot--bootloader-id=grub --recheck

No errors are reported. I then make a config file for grub with:

# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Last edited by DetotatedWam (2015-04-01 22:12:06)

Scimmia

Fellow

Registered: 2012-09-01

Posts: 12,416

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

I mount /dev/sda3 to /mnt and /dev/sda1 to /boot before I arch-chroot and when I tried grub, I installed with:

Typo? Or did you really mount sda1 to /boot before chrooting?

DetotatedWam

Member

Registered: 2015-03-31

Posts: 9

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

Typo, I fixed it

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,778

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

Try making an NVRAM entry directly:

# efibootmgr -d /dev/sda -p 1 -c -L "Arch" -l /vmlinuz-linux -u "root=/dev/sda2 rw initrd=/initramfs-linux.img"

If that doesn't work load up the Arch ISO, mount your partitions, `arch-chroot` into your system and post the output of:

lsblk -f
ls /boot

You can use `sprunge` to generate a link for the command output.

<command> | curl -F 'sprunge=<-' http://sprunge.us

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Li … in_clients

---

Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

DetotatedWam

Member

Registered: 2015-03-31

Posts: 9

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

I assume you meant:

# efibootmgr -d /dev/sda -p 1 -c -L "Arch" -l /vmlinuz-linux -u "root=/dev/sda3 rw initrd=/initramfs-linux.img"

because my root partition is on sda3 and my swap partition is on sda2.

My first try ended up disappearing, so after a reboot I tried it again and then used efibootmgr -O. Then the option appeared on my boot menu but it still won't boot.

# lsblk -f
NAME            FSTYPE LABEL UUID MOUNTPOINT
sda                               
|-sda1                            /boot
|-sda2                            
`-sda3                            /
sdb                               
|-sdb1                            
`-sdb2                            
sdc                               
|-sdc1                            
`-sdc2                            
sdd                               
|-sdd1                            
`-sdd2                            
loop0                             
loop1                             
`-arch_airootfs                   /etc/resolv.conf
loop2                             
`-arch_airootfs                   /etc/resolv.conf

# ls /boot
EFI
grub
initramfs-linux-fallback.img
initramfs-linux.img
vmlinuz-linux

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,778

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

I assume you meant:

# efibootmgr -d /dev/sda -p 1 -c -L "Arch" -l /vmlinuz-linux -u "root=/dev/sda3 rw initrd=/initramfs-linux.img"

because my root partition is on sda3 and my swap partition is on sda2.

Yes indeed, sorry.

As you have an ASUS motherboard I would suggest that Secure Boot is "locked" on (I have seen this several times with that brand) -- what exactly are the options in your firmware in respect of Secure Boot & UEFI?

Have you managed to boot any other distributions that are not compatible with Secure Boot?

The Arch live ISO has the EFI applications PreLoader.efi & HashTool.efi included so that will boot up with Secure Boot enabled.
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un … ecure_Boot

---

Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

DetotatedWam

Member

Registered: 2015-03-31

Posts: 9

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

Boot\ Secure Boot menu >

Secure Boot state: Disabled
Platform Key (PK) state: Unloaded
OS Type: Windows UEFI mode

I have tried setting "OS Type" to "Other OS" before but that doesn't change anything. I just tried it again and the BIOS freezes upon "Save Changes & Reset".

Boot\ Secure Boot menu\ Key Management >

PK Management: Unloaded
KEK Management: Unloaded
DB Management: Unloaded
DBX Management: Unloaded

The other day, I deleted all of them and backed them up on a USB in order to disable secure boot.

Note: After looking at this menu again I am noticing options to append from file for KEK, DB, and DBX that might help.

Append KEK from File

Allows you to load the additional
KEK from a storage device for an
additional db and dbx loaded
management.
[Yes]
Load the default KEK
[No]
Load from a USB storage device

Append db from File

Allows you to load the additional db
variable from a storage device so
that more custom signed UEFI
executble files can be loaded.
*UEFI executabled files include UEFI
boot loaders, drivers and
applications.
[Yes]
Load the default db
[No]
Load from a USB storage device

Append dbx from File

Allows you to load the additional
dbx variable from a storage device
so that more custom signed UEFI
executble files cannot be loaded.
*UEFI executabled files include UEFI
boot loaders, drivers and
applications.
[Yes]
Load the default dbx
[No]
Load from a USB storage device

Boot\ CSM (Compatibility Support Module)

Launch CSM: Enabled
Boot Device Control: UEFI and Legacy OPROM
Boot from Network Devices: Legacy OPROM first
Boot from Storage Devices: Both, UEFI first
Boot from PCI-E/PCI Expansion Devices: Legacy OPROM first

As a side note: After a reboot, I noticed the Arch boot option disappeared again.

Have you managed to boot any other distributions that are not compatible with Secure Boot?

I have been able to boot Windows 7 and ubuntu but I beleive both are compatible with Secure Boot so, no.

The Arch live ISO has the EFI applications PreLoader.efi & HashTool.efi included so that will boot up with Secure Boot enabled.

I will try this and post the results.

Edit: Now my BIOS Freezes everytime I try to save & exit.

Last edited by DetotatedWam (2015-04-01 19:59:18)

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,778

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

Now my BIOS Freezes everytime I try to save & exit.

Bloody ASUS...

The key options are for enrolling self-generated (or otherwise) keys into your motherboard's NVRAM.
http://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootloader … eboot.html

You could try enabling CSM and installing your system in non-EFI mode instead.

You will need a BIOS boot partition (type "EF02" in gdisk; I use sectors 34-2047 for this partition) as you have a GPT disk and it may not work at all.

# grub-install --target=i386-pc --recheck /dev/sda
# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Be … therboards

---

Jin, Jîyan, Azadî

DetotatedWam

Member

Registered: 2015-03-31

Posts: 9

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

To fix the save & exit freeze, I flashed my bios with newer firmware and restored default settings.

I ended up going with non-EFI mode as you suggested, no errors/problems - so much easier.
I used gdisk but it wouldn't allow me to make the first sector in 34, so I used 2048 instead with 2MB size.
Everything so far works fine; it boots into grub menu and Arch.

Thank you for all your help, I was hopping to use UEFI because of its advantages but BIOS will do for now.

Head_on_a_Stick

Member

From: The Wirral

Registered: 2014-02-20

Posts: 8,778

Website

Re: [SOLVED] Unable to boot in UEFI System

Good stuff, glad I could help.

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Jin, Jîyan, Azadî