[Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

guybloggs · 2017-03-07 22:01:30

Hi!

I'm attempting to dual boot Arch onto my Lenovo T560 laptop. I tried out single booting on a virtual machine beforehand, so am fairly(!) confident that my basic installation procedure is correct...

My windows partitions are:
/dev/sda1 as EFI partition
/dev/sda2 as Microsoft Reserved
/dev/sda3 as basic data partition
/dev/sda4 as basic data partition

These existed already as per my Windows install

Then added linux partitions

/dev/sda5 as linux root, ext4
/dev/sda6 as swap

As per installation instructions, I mount /dev/sda5 onto /mnt, and /dev/sda1 onto /mnt/boot

When I later come to install grub (grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot --bootloader-id=arch) I get an error message that EFI variables are not supported on this system - however the install still completes, seemingly as normal when compared to the wiki (there is a /boot/grub and a /boot/EFI/arch created, and grub-mkconfig completes successfully.

I can never seem to get arch to boot however, either in F11 boot options or through the windows boot loader

When following the wiki for dual booting through Windows, an entry is added but the file I create is deemed unusuable (although I could be doing it wrong) https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Du … oot_loader
There are no linux/arch entries in bcdedit /enum firmware to add directly http://superuser.com/questions/1044282/ … windows-10

Efibootmgr seems to be the key as far as my research takes me, however it cannot be used, again reporting that EFI variables are not supported

When I go to use "modprobe efivars" it errors "FATAL: module efivars not found in directory /lib/modules/4.9.6-1-ARCH
When I attempt to mount efivarfs to /sys/firmware/efi/efivars, the mount point needs creating, but then the mkdir action is denied permission (including sudo) https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un … t_efivarfs
The specific examples for other Lenovo machines don't solve the problem either https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/GR … les#Lenovo

And I've come to a dead end!

Would anyone have any solutions to this, or at least a new avenue to start looking up? I get the impression that the appropriate boot entries aren't being created when installing grub because of this EFI vars problem, but no way to confirm this and I'm a beginner with arch!

Last edited by guybloggs (2017-03-09 19:14:45)

Oxymoron88 · 2017-03-08 01:18:29

--edited---

Last edited by Oxymoron88 (2017-03-08 13:59:15)

mrunion · 2017-03-08 13:17:49

Oxymoron88 wrote:

...but I faced a similar problem which was overcome by mounting /dev/sda1 to /mnt/boot/efi...

That is not good advice I don't think. If you do that, the user will have to remember to manually copy over the updated Kernel after every Kernel update. I really don't think this is good advice.

As for the EFIvars problem, when you boot from the installation media, have you tested to see if the system things you are booted with EFI? https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … _boot_mode

If not, you may be booting into legacy mode for some reason.

Last edited by mrunion (2017-03-08 13:25:41)

Oxymoron88 · 2017-03-08 13:57:14

mrunion wrote:

That is not good advice I don't think. If you do that, the user will have to remember to manually copy over the updated Kernel after every Kernel update. I really don't think this is good advice.
As for the EFIvars problem, when you boot from the installation media, have you tested to see if the system things you are booted with EFI? https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … _boot_mode
If not, you may be booting into legacy mode for some reason.

I see. That possibly explains why I had a sudden kernal panic a few days back when I updated my kernal last time around when I reinstalled Arch to boot for efi boot instead of bios. Thank you for saving a user from similar nightmare! I'm going to reinstall and see how best to overcome this.

Last edited by Oxymoron88 (2017-03-08 13:58:38)

mrunion · 2017-03-09 13:17:29

You shouldn't need to reinstall. Just move the mount to the correct locaion as in the installation guide, copy your Kernel files there, and then all should be well.

guybloggs · 2017-03-09 19:13:39

mrunion wrote:

Oxymoron88 wrote:
...but I faced a similar problem which was overcome by mounting /dev/sda1 to /mnt/boot/efi...
That is not good advice I don't think. If you do that, the user will have to remember to manually copy over the updated Kernel after every Kernel update. I really don't think this is good advice.
As for the EFIvars problem, when you boot from the installation media, have you tested to see if the system things you are booted with EFI? https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/In … _boot_mode
If not, you may be booting into legacy mode for some reason.

It was indeed a question of my usb booting in legacy mode - thanks for the tip

For anyone else with a similar problem, my bios option for "UEFI or legacy" was set to both - it was as simple as switching to UEFI only

fanarch · 2017-03-18 22:46:32

Hi! Iam a newbie of 5 years and non technical.
It's actually very easy to dual or triple boot win10 Arch linux and ubuntu in the same hard drive.
I opend win10 windows management tool.
I shrink the partition. 500G for arch 500G for ubuntu.
I saved,that's it.
I rebooted with arc linux iso cd or ubuntu.
Wich ever partition tool you use will pick one of the partions you just created fron win10, efi or mbr.
If installation successful, reboot.
You can choose between win10,arch linux,ubuntu.

Thanks for reading.

Last edited by fanarch (2017-03-18 22:57:37)

x33a · 2017-03-19 10:18:03

@fanarch, I don't see how your post adds anything of value to the thread. Since the thread is already solved, I'll go ahead and close it.

Arch Linux

#1 2017-03-07 22:01:30

[Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#2 2017-03-08 01:18:29

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#3 2017-03-08 13:17:49

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#4 2017-03-08 13:57:14

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#5 2017-03-09 13:17:29

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#6 2017-03-09 19:13:39

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#7 2017-03-18 22:46:32

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

#8 2017-03-19 10:18:03

Re: [Solved] efibootmgr "efi variables are not supported" Dual Boot Win 10

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