New ThinkPad has EFI

thelastknowngod · 2011-03-20 20:16:06

I just got a new ThinkPad x120e. It came with no OS.

I've tried the stock Arch install image, the latest archboot image, and linux mint.. I get the same error every time. "Operating system not found."

With the latest archboot image I tried both grub2 and grub legacy. When using grub2 I reformatted everything and used gpt instead of mbr on the disk and still nothing.

I am at a total loss.. Anyone have any ideas?

toad · 2011-03-20 20:24:47

As silly as it sounds, but it seems like you are not booting from the CD.

EDIT:

Adjust your BIOS settings accordingly

Last edited by toad (2011-03-20 20:26:35)

thelastknowngod · 2011-03-20 20:44:45

toad wrote:

As silly as it sounds, but it seems like you are not booting from the CD.
EDIT:
Adjust your BIOS settings accordingly

USB jump drive in my case but I am booting to that.

I can boot the jump drive and install the OS without any problems at all.

When I reboot I get the "OS not found" error.

toad · 2011-03-20 21:24:39

Sorry, should have inferred that from you mentioning grub... You said you tried grub legacy - didn't you get an error message of some sort?

Anyhow, this appears to be a pointer problem - are you comfortable with/proficient in the boot chain process? Please post all relating info, i.e. hard disk set-up grub.cfg/menu.lst and device list.

thelastknowngod · 2011-03-20 23:34:55

toad wrote:

You said you tried grub legacy - didn't you get an error message of some sort?

thelastknowngod wrote:

"Operating system not found."

is this located in the right place?
/boot/efi/efi/grub/grub.cfg

insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos

# Include fat fs module - required for uefi systems.
insmod fat

insmod ext2
insmod ext2

insmod search_fs_file
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod search_label

insmod linux
insmod chain

set pager=1


insmod efi_gop
insmod font

if loadfont ${prefix}/unicode.pf2
then
    insmod gfxterm
    set gfxmode="auto"
    set gfxpayload=keep
    terminal_output gfxterm
fi


# DEVICE DETAILS: /dev/sda1 UUID=2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2 LABEL=root
# DEVICE DETAILS: /dev/sda2 UUID=7035ea1d-e9dc-43c4-ab30-c153b2ad4968 LABEL=swap
# DEVICE DETAILS: /dev/sda3 UUID=c7358d13-7c1f-4d0b-bd14-f18260b1f773 LABEL=home


# (0) Arch Linux
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
    search --fs-uuid --no-floppy --set=root 2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2
    linux (${root})//boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2 rootfstype=ext4 ro nomodeset add_efi_memmap
    initrd (${root})//boot/kernel26.img
}


# (1) Arch Linux Fallback
menuentry "Arch Linux Fallback" {
    search --fs-uuid --no-floppy --set=root 2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2
    linux (${root})//boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2 rootfstype=ext4 ro nomodeset add_efi_memmap
    initrd (${root})//boot/kernel26-fallback.img
}


## (2) Windows
#menuentry \"Windows\" {
#    search --file --no-floppy --set=root /bootmgr
#    chainloader ()+1
#}

i have another grub.cfg in /boot/grub/ also:

# Config file for GRUB2 - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg

# DEVICE NAME CONVERSIONS
#
#  Linux           Grub
# -------------------------
#  /dev/fd0        (fd0)
#  /dev/sda        (hd0)
#  /dev/sdb2       (hd1,2)
#  /dev/sda3       (hd0,3)
#

# Timeout for menu
set timeout=5

# Set default boot entry as Entry 0
set default=0

# (0) Arch Linux
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
set root=(hd0,1)
linux /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
}

## (1) Windows
#menuentry "Windows" {
#set root=(hd0,3)
#chainloader +1
#}

im using gpt on a 250gb drive.
sda1 = 20gb ext4
sda2 = 2gb swap
sda3 = 209gb ext4

t1nk3r3r · 2011-03-22 08:20:01

Is the USB drive still in when booting from the hard drive?

bohoomil · 2011-03-22 08:55:15

I'm sorry for asking probably a mega dumb question, but did you try the grub2 version which is supposed to be EFI aware: in extra/grub2-efi-i386, or its 64 bit version? Did you follow the instructions in Wiki (https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Gr … FI_systems)?

satchmosgroove · 2011-03-29 14:03:59

I had the same problem with my x120e and a vertex 2 ssd. It was not able to read the gpt at all. Not with/without separate boot partition nor with efi partition as in the WIKI.

It always worked in other laptops, so it's really a x120-issue. My bios is still up to date.

What I finally did was formatting it the old way using a mbr, as mentioned in the SSD Article on the Wiki

That worked like charm. Just remember to start your first partition on sector 2.

Hope I am not to late, and you did return it already :-)

skodabenz · 2011-03-29 14:36:36

thelastknowngod wrote:

I just got a new ThinkPad x120e. It came with no OS.
I've tried the stock Arch install image, the latest archboot image, and linux mint.. I get the same error every time. "Operating system not found."
With the latest archboot image I tried both grub2 and grub legacy. When using grub2 I reformatted everything and used gpt instead of mbr on the disk and still nothing.
I am at a total loss.. Anyone have any ideas?

Any error messages while installing grub2 in archboot?

skodabenz · 2011-03-29 14:42:12

thelastknowngod wrote:

toad wrote:

You said you tried grub legacy - didn't you get an error message of some sort?

thelastknowngod wrote:

"Operating system not found."

is this located in the right place?
/boot/efi/efi/grub/grub.cfg

insmod part_gpt
insmod part_msdos

# Include fat fs module - required for uefi systems.
insmod fat

insmod ext2
insmod ext2

insmod search_fs_file
insmod search_fs_uuid
insmod search_label

insmod linux
insmod chain

set pager=1


insmod efi_gop
insmod font

if loadfont ${prefix}/unicode.pf2
then
    insmod gfxterm
    set gfxmode="auto"
    set gfxpayload=keep
    terminal_output gfxterm
fi


# DEVICE DETAILS: /dev/sda1 UUID=2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2 LABEL=root
# DEVICE DETAILS: /dev/sda2 UUID=7035ea1d-e9dc-43c4-ab30-c153b2ad4968 LABEL=swap
# DEVICE DETAILS: /dev/sda3 UUID=c7358d13-7c1f-4d0b-bd14-f18260b1f773 LABEL=home


# (0) Arch Linux
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
    search --fs-uuid --no-floppy --set=root 2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2
    linux (${root})//boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2 rootfstype=ext4 ro nomodeset add_efi_memmap
    initrd (${root})//boot/kernel26.img
}


# (1) Arch Linux Fallback
menuentry "Arch Linux Fallback" {
    search --fs-uuid --no-floppy --set=root 2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2
    linux (${root})//boot/vmlinuz26 root=/dev/disk/by-uuid/2fd6bf9a-1dbd-4d93-8cab-7df4b68981a2 rootfstype=ext4 ro nomodeset add_efi_memmap
    initrd (${root})//boot/kernel26-fallback.img
}


## (2) Windows
#menuentry \"Windows\" {
#    search --file --no-floppy --set=root /bootmgr
#    chainloader ()+1
#}

i have another grub.cfg in /boot/grub/ also:

# Config file for GRUB2 - The GNU GRand Unified Bootloader
# /boot/grub/grub.cfg

# DEVICE NAME CONVERSIONS
#
#  Linux           Grub
# -------------------------
#  /dev/fd0        (fd0)
#  /dev/sda        (hd0)
#  /dev/sdb2       (hd1,2)
#  /dev/sda3       (hd0,3)
#

# Timeout for menu
set timeout=5

# Set default boot entry as Entry 0
set default=0

# (0) Arch Linux
menuentry "Arch Linux" {
set root=(hd0,1)
linux /vmlinuz26 root=/dev/sda1 ro
initrd /kernel26.img
}

## (1) Windows
#menuentry "Windows" {
#set root=(hd0,3)
#chainloader +1
#}

im using gpt on a 250gb drive.
sda1 = 20gb ext4
sda2 = 2gb swap
sda3 = 209gb ext4

Your problem is , you are attempting a grub2-efi install without the required EFI SYSTEM PARTITION https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Un … N_in_Linux (approx 200 MiB FAT32 mounted at /boot/efi ) so that the firmware can boot uefi. First of all there is no fat32 partition in you drive. EFI firmware try booting EFI method before fallback to bios style booting.

In archboot you have attempted only grub2-efi-x86_64 install and not grub2-bios install. So you have a non-working efi bootloader and no bios bootloader - hence 'OS not found' error. You have to manually create the efisys partition and when archboot asks, mount it under /boot/efi (after mounting /boot partition if any).

Last edited by skodabenz (2011-03-29 14:52:31)

mrmylanman · 2011-04-10 20:32:20

I am having a problem as well, with GRUB2 on my Thinkpad X120e. I wanted to switch to GPT because with my SSD I end up losing a substantial amount of (needed) space using MBR.

This is my list of partitions:

/dev/sda1     200MB     fat32     /boot/efi
/dev/sda2     256MB     ext3     /boot
/dev/sda3     swap partition
/dev/sda4     10.2GB    ext4     /
/dev/sda5     10.2GB    ext4     /var
/dev/sda6     9.03GB    ext4     /home

I ran the commands as listed in the wiki, I believe correctly, and generated a grub.cfg file in /boot/efi/efi/grub.

Just for kicks a while back I installed Ubuntu on this laptop and it booted just fine. I was also able to boot with a regular old MBR partition map, but like I said I lost quite a bit of space on my 32GB SSD.

If this doesn't work I think I'll just go ahead and put the stock hard drive back in, although I'd like the SSD.

Anyone got any tips?

skodabenz · 2011-04-11 18:56:18

@mrmylanman: Can you list out output of any command mentioning the exact error that occurs? Simply saying it does not boot in uefi or in gpt is vague and does not allow use to find out the problem.

jcornuz · 2011-04-12 02:44:52

Hello,

I am in the same boat as you guys - only able to boot my x120e from bios-legacy. Original HD changed to a SSD (Corsair V32).

Now I tried both with MBR and GPT tables, the EFI partition as UEFI (EF) or NTFS (as partitionned in the original drive). I made sur the drive label was the same and the first sector match too. But no luck... So just monitoring the thread and wondering if someone has a better idea.

Nice machine that x120e, by the way

Take care,

Joel

By the way, I think our problem is the UEFI not finding the efi partition (hence just the mention of "no operating system found").

Last edited by jcornuz (2011-04-12 02:46:05)

mrmylanman · 2011-04-16 17:20:10

skodabenz wrote:

@mrmylanman: Can you list out output of any command mentioning the exact error that occurs? Simply saying it does not boot in uefi or in gpt is vague and does not allow use to find out the problem.

Sorry skodabenz for taking so long I have been rather busy to deal with it until now. What happens is a simple "OS not found" error, as if something is not configured correctly, but when . Any edits I make are through booting the live USB image and using chroot. When I install GRUB2 it acts as if there are no errors. I will try and go through it again today and attempt to better document what happens.

mrmylanman · 2011-04-16 17:34:38

jcornuz wrote:

Hello,
I am in the same boat as you guys - only able to boot my x120e from bios-legacy. Original HD changed to a SSD (Corsair V32).
Now I tried both with MBR and GPT tables, the EFI partition as UEFI (EF) or NTFS (as partitionned in the original drive). I made sur the drive label was the same and the first sector match too. But no luck... So just monitoring the thread and wondering if someone has a better idea.
Nice machine that x120e, by the way
Take care,
Joel
By the way, I think our problem is the UEFI not finding the efi partition (hence just the mention of "no operating system found").

That's what it seems like. I followed the instructions on the Wiki to the T and still get the same problem. I love this computer, but as MBR the SSD (I have the same one as you) seems to have almost unusably-low storage space (I keep several files on my computer for work, etc. so I need at least some space).

I'm sure something will surface.

Something interesting of note: Ubuntu 11.04 beta boots just fine and it uses a GPT scheme with GRUB2. I tried to maintain that GRUB scheme and install Arch over it, but I haven't had success. I don't know enough about these things yet I don't believe.

mrmylanman · 2011-04-17 12:28:36

Yeah I just tried to put Arch on it again, this time tried formatting the SSD with MBR and Arch was still unbootable with GRUB (which worked in the past). To be sure the SSD was alright, I installed Ubuntu again (since I know that worked) and it still boots fine. This is really puzzling.

mrmylanman · 2011-04-17 14:14:02

Not sure if this helps anyone, but I noticed in the "select temporary startup device" the top entry is "ubuntu". I'm not sure where it is, as I formatted my hard drive several times. But the Ubuntu installer wrote something somewhere. I'm going to reinstall Ubuntu and see if I can find out how they got it to work. I feel like I'm getting closer to getting this working at least. Obviously it's possible since Ubuntu did it (using GRUB2).

I feel like this should not be so difficult, but oh well.

mrmylanman · 2011-04-17 16:42:55

Ok gentlemen! I got GRUB working. I made sure that my BIOS is set to boot from UEFI only, and had to run a few commands in Ubuntu in order to get the EFI partition to boot properly, but now GRUB comes up just as it should. I followed the Wiki to the T again, and at the section:

Launch GRUB2 EFI as default in the Firmware Boot Manager

I used Ubuntu 11.04 B2. I used apt-get to install efibootmgr, and followed the instructions as written. Maybe there was something wrong with Ubunu 11.04 B1 (which is what I used last time to complete that action) but now GRUB boots fine. I'm getting another error now, about it not beign able to find the root device, but that should be relatively easy.

mrmylanman · 2011-04-17 18:54:38

Okay. If anyone is still having the issue with the Thinkpad's UEFI not detecting GRUB2 here is how I fixed it (my problems were related to me using ArchBang... I think a few configurations were wrong).

I installed a fresh installation of Arch, skipping the installation of a bootloader. I used Disk Utility in Ubuntu to create the partition scheme as follows:

/dev/sda1   /boot/efi/   (In Disk Utility there is a Partition Options button (or something to that effect) where you can change the partition type to EFI System Partition, and in the same dialogue I told it to make the partition Required)
/dev/sda2   /boot/
/dev/sda3   swap area
/dev/sda4   /home
/dev/sda5   /

Once that was done, I chrooted into the installation directory and installed GRUB2, using the X86_64 version (I am also using the X86_64 version of Arch). I followed the instructions as they were in the Wiki.

When it got down to the "Launch GRUB2 EFI as default in the Firmware Boot Manager" portion I used Ubuntu as I stated above to install efibootmgr again (so I could load the efivars kernel module in Ubuntu). Once I did those things I then ran the two commands in the Wiki:

grub-probe --target=device /boot/efi/efi/grub/grub.efi
sudo efibootmgr --create --gpt --disk /dev/sda --part 1 --write-signature --label "GRUB2" --loader "\\EFI\\grub\\grub.efi"

This works perfectly for me on a fresh installation of Arch.

Hope this helps!

jcornuz · 2011-04-18 03:26:04

MrMylanMan,

You beat me to it

It can be interesting to add an EFI shell (which you can download from here: http://tianocore.git.sourceforge.net/gi … fi;hb=HEAD // see wiki on https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/UEFI#UEFI_Shell) and save it on your EFI partition under (efi partition)/EFI/BOOT/BOOTX64.EFI . So if you chose to boot from the hard drive by default, you can have a shell for any system debug.

I use that to have a 0 sec delay boot to the default option, but if required I can boot in the shell and edit my grub.cfg to go back to 5 secs and boot into the rescue kernel

Note though that this is on a freshly installed SSD, I don't know if / how this works with Windows.

Take care,

Joel

mrmylanman · 2011-04-18 11:02:53

I may do that. I have been doing some system tweaking lately to get the most possible out of my laptop and I'm getting very impressed. I have a Corsair V32 and now that I finally got it to work with GPT and GRUB2, it seems like boot times have gone down substantially (I could be mistaken, or I could have done a better job keeping the fat in line this time).

jcornuz · 2011-04-18 15:46:11

Same SSD here

Got about 15 seconds from power button press to a compiz / xfce workspace, using systemd and SSD tweaks.
Next step would be a custom kernel compilation without modules and initramfs :-P

Joel

mrmylanman · 2011-04-18 22:05:52

Yeah I'm going to try out the Zen kernel but I'm curious about the Broadcom-WL drivers. I am using Gnome with Compiz, and Compiz is kind of on the heavy side, although I'm using the open-source Radeon drivers, but I'm sure they're still not mature enough for these chips yet. I'm at 14.6 seconds from GRUB to GDM, so it's good to see there's still some more I can tweak out of it.

satchmosgroove · 2011-05-09 03:31:26

what is actually the disadvantage of using a MBR layout?

Is a GPT table just more space efficient due to less sector overhead.

Or do i suffer anything else if I just don't care about overhead and create an aligned legacy partition table?

skodabenz · 2011-05-31 10:04:53

https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php … 85#p941385

Arch Linux

#1 2011-03-20 20:16:06

New ThinkPad has EFI

#2 2011-03-20 20:24:47

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#3 2011-03-20 20:44:45

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#4 2011-03-20 21:24:39

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#5 2011-03-20 23:34:55

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#6 2011-03-22 08:20:01

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#7 2011-03-22 08:55:15

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#8 2011-03-29 14:03:59

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#9 2011-03-29 14:36:36

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#10 2011-03-29 14:42:12

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#11 2011-04-10 20:32:20

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#12 2011-04-11 18:56:18

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#13 2011-04-12 02:44:52

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#14 2011-04-16 17:20:10

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#15 2011-04-16 17:34:38

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#16 2011-04-17 12:28:36

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#17 2011-04-17 14:14:02

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#18 2011-04-17 16:42:55

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#19 2011-04-17 18:54:38

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#20 2011-04-18 03:26:04

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#21 2011-04-18 11:02:53

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#22 2011-04-18 15:46:11

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#23 2011-04-18 22:05:52

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#24 2011-05-09 03:31:26

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

#25 2011-05-31 10:04:53

Re: New ThinkPad has EFI

Board footer