Public bug reported: Downloaded Sept. 20 daily build of 13.10, 64 bit, desktop ISO, md5sum checked it, used "create startup disk" on 13.04 secure boot host to make USB live media, rebooted from it, and successfully installed 13.10 to another USB. Target USB had gpt partitioning, had an EFI partition set up on it, and bootloader target was the UEB's EFI partition. The USB installation boots successfully, but the laptop no longer boots from its hard disk, leaving you at the grub prompt. The cause was the installation improperly changed the hard disk's grub.cfg
Expected change to hard disk's /EFI/ubuntu/grub.cfg -- None. Actual change to hard disk's /EFI/ubuntu.grub.cfg -- The uuid in the "set root" just before the configfile command was reset from the hard disk to the (no longer present) target USB. Additionally, no NVRAM changes were expected from installing to a USB stick, but a new boot entry was created. This boot entry was a correct (for secure boot) -- /EFI/ubuntu/shimx64.efi. NVRAM is a finite resource, which when used up leaves your machine bricked, or relying on an untested vendor supplied reset, so any unnecessary additions are highly undesirable. Editing the hard disk's improper grub.cfg file by putting in the correct UUID allowed the laptop to boot successfully. The EFI menu now has an additional ubuntu entry, which also boots successfully. To summarize, creating or updating a USB installation should not change anything in NVRAM nor on the hard disk's EFI partition. This 13.10 installation did both. (The update reference was to a 12.10 USB update, which changed the NVRAM shim boot entry's disk code and removed it from the boot order (no bug filed), so these issues are not new to 13.10.) Hardware: Toshiba Satellite S855-5378, Insydh20 firmware version 6.60, 8G memory, 750G hard disk, Intel HD4000 video, running dual boot W8 and fully patched 64 bit 13.04 Ubuntu desktop with secure boot enabled. The only secure boot issue with this machine is the inability to boot Windows from grub (bug 1091464), so Windows is the default, and the EFI menu is used to select Ubuntu to run shim/grub. The original Ubuntu selection's path is actually grubx64.efi, which is incorrect for secure boot, but in /EFI/Boot is a copy of shim.efi named bootx64.efi and grubx64.efi, which must be a fallback, because the boot succeeds anyway. The original shim Ubuntu selection was improperly changed/removed from boot order and the EFI menu by a USB 12.10 update (and never added back since a working EFI choice existed). ** Affects: grub2 (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1229488 Title: 13.10 USB to USB Install on UEFI Secure Boot Machine Left Host Unbootable To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/grub2/+bug/1229488/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs