You are not logged in.

Pages: 1

#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

Offline

#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

Offline

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

ajgringo619
Member
Registered: 2023-05-06
Posts: 56

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?

Offline

#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)

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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

Offline

#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

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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

Offline

#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)

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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.

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

Offline

#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?)

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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

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

Offline

#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)

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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.

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

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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

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

Offline

#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

Offline

#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)

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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

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

Offline

#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?

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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)

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

Offline

#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.

Offline

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

seth
Member
From: Won't reply 2 private help req
Registered: 2012-09-03
Posts: 77,368

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.

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

Offline

Pages: 1

Board footer

Powered by FluxBB