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Problem:

I installed Ubuntu on my laptop computer. It was working just fine for several weeks. Recently – seemingly out of nowhere – I had this weird and frustrating problem that the device would not boot; just stuck in a loop, saying:

System BootOrder not found.  Initializing defaults.
Creating boot entry "Boot0001" with label "ubuntu" for file "\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi"

Reset System

Edit: I can’t even access GRUB at that point.

Solution:

I tried doing a clean reinstallation of Ubuntu several times. At last I found out by trial and error that a specific update is causing the problem.

If I install Boot loader to chain-load signed boot loaders under Secure Boot (version 13-0ubuntu2) from the software updater and restart, I cannot boot up again.

(see screenshot)

So I guess just skipping this update would be a workaround …

Edit: The same thing happens if I install Secure Boot chain-loading bootloader (Microsoft-signed binary) (the second update visible on the screenshot) or if I install both of them.

Question:

Is this a critical bug? Please help my reporting. My technical knowledge about bootloaders and such is very limited. Do you know which package is causing the problem?

It could also just be a problem with my installation method (see below). But even that would be weird because it used to work before the update.

Clarification: I am not looking for information on how to report a bug. I’d like to gather information for writing into a bug report. More specifically:

  • Is this an error on my side (hardware, firmware, …)?
  • Is this a new or known bug in Ubuntu?
  • If so, how do I know which package is causing the problem?

My device/setup:

I installed Ubuntu in UEFI mode and then switched my BIOS to legacy. It may sound weird but that’s the only way I got it to work.

  • Model: Acer TravelMate B117
  • BIOS: InsydeH20 Setup Utility v1.11
  • OS: Ubuntu only. No Microsoft, no custom GRUB configuration.
Lilalas
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  • is your computer a Lenovo? see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1734147 for the recommended repair. – ravery Mar 07 '18 at 23:01
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    Possible duplicate of How do I report a bug? – David Foerster Mar 08 '18 at 08:41
  • @DavidFoerster I have read this question before and I don’t think it’s a duplicate. I could not use the bug tracker because my device is not booting. And I was not sure if this is actually a bug. The guideline at help.ubuntu.com even suggests asking the community first. – Lilalas Mar 08 '18 at 09:06
  • @Lilalas: To which answer are you referring? Only some of them exclusively suggest local bug reporting tools like ubbuntu-bug. You don't need a bootable system to report a bug and the answers to linked question don't imply that overall. – David Foerster Mar 08 '18 at 09:36
  • @ravery It’s an Acer. I have read through the bug report, thank you for sharing. Maybe I am missing the point but this appears to be a different problem. The bug report is about corrupted BIOS settings, mine is about not being able to boot the OS. – Lilalas Mar 08 '18 at 12:21
  • not being able to boot because it won't set the EFI BIOS. Some Acers are affected also. The fix is to install a specific kernel to fix the BIOS. – ravery Mar 08 '18 at 12:29
  • Sounds like a buggy BIOS. Related: https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BIOSUpdate#Acer – Elder Geek Mar 08 '18 at 15:05
  • @ravery I actually tried applying the fix from the bug report. Unfortunately, it did change literally nothing. – Lilalas Mar 08 '18 at 15:29
  • @ElderGeek So you’re basically suggesting to update the BIOS? – Lilalas Mar 08 '18 at 15:39
  • I would certainly check to see if a newer BIOS is available for your specific model. Often there's a list of what was fixed. If you aren't proficient with BIOS upgrades you might want to seek help from the vendor, or contact acer support – Elder Geek Mar 08 '18 at 15:48
  • FWIW, I have a crappy Acer netbook D270-1865 with InsydeH20 Setup Utility v3.5 that works just fine with Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. It installed without any problems. Different model, but... for your model the latest versions are 1.13 and 1.15. https://www.acer.com/ac/en/US/content/support-product/6724;-;TravelMate+B117-MP I would reiterate that If you aren't proficient with BIOS upgrades you might want to seek help from the vendor, or contact acer support – Elder Geek Mar 08 '18 at 15:55
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    Best to update UEFI/BIOS. Some older versions did not have "trust" setting. Acer Trust Settings - details, some now report that then secure boot has to be on to set trust: https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2297947&p=13369742#post13369742 https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2358003 & https://askubuntu.com/questions/862946/unable-to-install-ubuntu-on-acer-aspire-es1-533 & Acer Aspire E15, many details Trust settings in step 35 http://askubuntu.com/questions/627416/acer-aspire-e15-will-not-dual-boot & https://askubuntu.com/questions/870022/how-to-get-grub-boot-option/870074 – oldfred Mar 09 '18 at 00:26
  • Thank you @ElderGeek, you were right! Updating the BIOS was the solution. I installed Windows just to do the update and then killed it straight away, haha. – Lilalas Mar 15 '18 at 11:23
  • @Lilalas I'm glad it worked for you! Cheers! – Elder Geek Mar 15 '18 at 16:40

1 Answers1

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​Turns out this was caused by the BIOS/UEFI firmware. After updating the firmware to version v1.15, I was able to install Ubuntu in UEFI mode. (BIOS/Legacy mode still don’t work for some reason.) I had to mark the bootloader files as trusted like @oldfred suggested.

Now everything works just fine. After installing all Ubuntu updates, the OS still boots!

If you have an Acer, you can download the latest firmware from the Acer support website. Unfortunately Acer does not support Linux, so you need Windows to flash the system.

Lilalas
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