Package: efibootmgr
Version: 18-2
Followup-For: Bug #905319

Dear Maintainer,

I have encountered a similar situation. Mine's a Dell Precision 5520 from 2018. lshw lists this as the FW info:

*-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Dell Inc.
physical id: 0
version: 1.21.0
date: 10/19/2020

DMIDecode says something similar.

Sledge's suggestion, namely:

https://wiki.debian.org/UEFI#Force_grub-efi_installation_to_the_removable_media_path

worked like a charm.

ktxbye,

-- Marcos.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: trixie/sid
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 6.12.21-amd64 (SMP w/8 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Kernel taint flags: TAINT_OOT_MODULE, TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled

Versions of packages efibootmgr depends on:
ii libc6 2.41-6
ii libefiboot1t64 38-3.1+b1
ii libefivar1t64 38-3.1+b1
ii libpopt0 1.19+dfsg-2

efibootmgr recommends no packages.

efibootmgr suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 07/04/2025 at 22:13, Marcos Dione wrote:

Package: efibootmgr
Version: 18-2

grub-install does not use efibootmgr any more.

Sledge's suggestion, namely:

https://wiki.debian.org/UEFI#Force_grub-efi_installation_to_the_removable_media_path

worked like a charm.

The proposal to enable this automatically during installation is still
pending. <https://salsa.debian.org/installer-team/grub-installer/-/merge_requests/21>

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

Thanks Marcos. Could you also please fill in more of the information
that you had earlier:

* efibootmgr output
* filesystem layouts

Thanks!

On Mon, Apr 07, 2025 at 10:13:23PM +0200, Marcos Dione wrote:

Package: efibootmgr
Version: 18-2
Followup-For: Bug #905319

Dear Maintainer,

I have encountered a similar situation. Mine's a Dell Precision 5520 from 2018. lshw lists this as the FW info:

*-firmware
description: BIOS
vendor: Dell Inc.
physical id: 0
version: 1.21.0
date: 10/19/2020

DMIDecode says something similar.

Sledge's suggestion, namely:

https://wiki.debian.org/UEFI#Force_grub-efi_installation_to_the_removable_media_path

worked like a charm.

ktxbye,

-- Marcos.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: trixie/sid
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 6.12.21-amd64 (SMP w/8 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Kernel taint flags: TAINT_OOT_MODULE, TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled

Versions of packages efibootmgr depends on:
ii libc6 2.41-6
ii libefiboot1t64 38-3.1+b1
ii libefivar1t64 38-3.1+b1
ii libpopt0 1.19+dfsg-2

efibootmgr recommends no packages.

efibootmgr suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information

--
Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK. steve@einval.com Google-bait: https://www.debian.org/CD/free-linux-cd
Debian does NOT ship free CDs. Please do NOT contact the mailing
lists asking us to send them to you.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Tue, Apr 08, 2025 at 12:10:47AM +0100, Steve McIntyre wrote:

Thanks Marcos. Could you also please fill in more of the information
that you had earlier:

* efibootmgr output
* filesystem layouts

Thanks!

Sure!

mdione@ioniq:~$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0007
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0002,0003,0004,0006,0007
Boot0000* ubuntu HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0x190000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
Boot0001* Diskette Drive BBS(Floppy,Diskette Drive,0x0)0000424f Boot0002* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: WDC WDS200T2B0C-00PXH0,0x0)0000424f Boot0003* USB Storage Device BBS(USB,SanDisk,0x0)0000424f
Boot0004* CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive BBS(CDROM,CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive,0x0)0000424f Boot0005* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0006* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0007* UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(16,0)/HD(1,MBR,0x52bf7ba9,0x117c,0x4a20)0000424f
Boot0008* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: PM981 NVMe Samsung 512GB,0x0)0000424f Boot0009* debian HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0xbe5e)/File(\EFI\debian\shimx64.efi)

This machine used to run Ubuntu, but not the disk (I transplanted
it). I don't know why the M.2 appears twice. The SanDisk is the USB
stick I have booted from with a Debian installer in rescue mode. My
Debian system is the last entry.

That was before I fixed is as above. The new output is still the
same.

And this is my disk layout:

mdione@ioniq:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1 259:0 0 1,8T 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 23,8M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 1,8T 0 part /
└─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 48,8G 0 part [SWAP]

Let me know if you need more info.

Cheers,

-- Marcos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 08/04/2025 at 14:25, Marcos Dione wrote:

mdione@ioniq:~$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0007
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0002,0003,0004,0006,0007
Boot0000* ubuntu HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0x190000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
Boot0001* Diskette Drive BBS(Floppy,Diskette Drive,0x0)0000424f Boot0002* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: WDC WDS200T2B0C-00PXH0,0x0)0000424f Boot0003* USB Storage Device BBS(USB,SanDisk,0x0)0000424f
Boot0004* CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive BBS(CDROM,CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive,0x0)0000424f Boot0005* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0006* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0007* UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(16,0)/HD(1,MBR,0x52bf7ba9,0x117c,0x4a20)0000424f
Boot0008* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: PM981 NVMe Samsung 512GB,0x0)0000424f Boot0009* debian HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0xbe5e)/File(\EFI\debian\shimx64.efi)

The debian boot entry number 0009 is not in BootOrder, no wonder why it
does not boot automatically. grub-install updates BootOrder to make the
debian entry first unless --no-nvram is passed, so something is wrong here.

This machine used to run Ubuntu, but not the disk (I transplanted
it).

Weird, Debian and Ubuntu EFI partitions have the same partition GUID
(PARTUUID) but different sizes.

I don't know why the M.2 appears twice.

There are two different SSDs, 2TB Western Digital and 512GB Samsung.

mdione@ioniq:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1 259:0 0 1,8T 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 23,8M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 1,8T 0 part /
└─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 48,8G 0 part [SWAP]

The EFI partition is very small. It is big enough for GRUB but not for systemd-boot.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On Wed, Apr 09, 2025 at 10:35:46AM +0200, Pascal Hambourg wrote:

On 08/04/2025 at 14:25, Marcos Dione wrote:

mdione@ioniq:~$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0007
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0001,0002,0003,0004,0006,0007
Boot0000* ubuntu HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0x190000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
Boot0001* Diskette Drive BBS(Floppy,Diskette Drive,0x0)0000424f Boot0002* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: WDC WDS200T2B0C-00PXH0,0x0)0000424f Boot0003* USB Storage Device BBS(USB,SanDisk,0x0)0000424f
Boot0004* CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive BBS(CDROM,CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive,0x0)0000424f Boot0005* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0006* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0007* UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(16,0)/HD(1,MBR,0x52bf7ba9,0x117c,0x4a20)0000424f
Boot0008* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: PM981 NVMe Samsung 512GB,0x0)0000424f Boot0009* debian HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0xbe5e)/File(\EFI\debian\shimx64.efi)

The debian boot entry number 0009 is not in BootOrder, no wonder why it does not boot automatically. grub-install updates BootOrder to make the debian entry first unless --no-nvram is passed, so something is wrong here.

... so it's trying to boot from where, the m.2? It's the only other
thing listed there that's still available when I boot w/o the USB stick.
What would that mean? Trying to boot from the MBR?

This machine used to run Ubuntu, but not the disk (I transplanted
it).

Weird, Debian and Ubuntu EFI partitions have the same partition GUID (PARTUUID) but different sizes.

The ones listed above? Yes. It _is_ weird.

I don't know why the M.2 appears twice.

There are two different SSDs, 2TB Western Digital and 512GB Samsung.

Did you mean SanDisk? That's the USB stick.

mdione@ioniq:~$ lsblk
NAME MAJ:MIN RM SIZE RO TYPE MOUNTPOINTS
nvme0n1 259:0 0 1,8T 0 disk
├─nvme0n1p1 259:1 0 23,8M 0 part /boot/efi
├─nvme0n1p2 259:2 0 1,8T 0 part /
└─nvme0n1p3 259:3 0 48,8G 0 part [SWAP]

The EFI partition is very small. It is big enough for GRUB but not for systemd-boot.

I guess I'm not using systemd-boot, so that's OK?

Cheers,

-- Marcos.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)

On 10/04/2025 at 15:23, Marcos Dione wrote:

On Wed, Apr 09, 2025 at 10:35:46AM +0200, Pascal Hambourg wrote:

On 08/04/2025 at 14:25, Marcos Dione wrote:

BootOrder: 0001,0002,0003,0004,0006,0007
Boot0000* ubuntu HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0x190000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
Boot0001* Diskette Drive BBS(Floppy,Diskette Drive,0x0)0000424f
Boot0002* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: WDC WDS200T2B0C-00PXH0,0x0)0000424f
Boot0003* USB Storage Device BBS(USB,SanDisk,0x0)0000424f
Boot0004* CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive BBS(CDROM,CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive,0x0)0000424f >>> Boot0005* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0006* Onboard NIC BBS(Network,Onboard NIC,0x0)0000424f
Boot0007* UEFI: SanDisk, Partition 1 PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(16,0)/HD(1,MBR,0x52bf7ba9,0x117c,0x4a20)0000424f
Boot0008* M.2 PCIe SSD BBS(HD,P0: PM981 NVMe Samsung 512GB,0x0)0000424f >>> Boot0009* debian HD(1,GPT,127eb1be-f7c7-4a2b-9745-4cb61cba7420,0x800,0xbe5e)/File(\EFI\debian\shimx64.efi)

The debian boot entry number 0009 is not in BootOrder, no wonder why it does >> not boot automatically. grub-install updates BootOrder to make the debian
entry first unless --no-nvram is passed, so something is wrong here.

... so it's trying to boot from where, the m.2?

If the UEFI firmware follows BootOrder (not all do), it first tries to
boot from a diskette drive (0001), then from the WDC SSD (0002), then
from a USB storage device (0003), then from an optical disc drive
(0004), then from the network (0006, then from the Sandisk USB drive (0007).

It's the only other
thing listed there that's still available when I boot w/o the USB stick.
What would that mean? Trying to boot from the MBR?

No, it tries to boot from the "removable media path"
/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi in the EFI partition.

I don't know why the M.2 appears twice.

There are two different SSDs, 2TB Western Digital and 512GB Samsung.

Did you mean SanDisk? That's the USB stick.

No, I mean "WDC WDS200T2B0C-00PXH0" and "PM981 NVMe Samsung 512GB".

The EFI partition is very small. It is big enough for GRUB but not for
systemd-boot.

I guess I'm not using systemd-boot, so that's OK?

Yes, unless GRUB monolithic image grows ridiculously big or eventually
switches to the BLS (Boot Loader Specification) which needs to put
kernel images and initramfs's into the EFI partition.

--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)