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Background information: For hardware (robots) compatibility reason, I need to have multiple Ubuntu releases (16.04, 18.04) running on 1 laptop (ThinkPad T480, originally Win10 on C:\ , data on D:\ ) and 1 desktop (ThinkStation P520, originally Win10 on C:\ , data on D:\ and E:\ ). The ideal scenario would be:

  • (MUST) The laptop (portable, basic testing) runs 16.04 on Robot 1, and runs 18.04 on Robot 2
  • (MUST) The desktop (heavy computation) runs 16.04 on Robot 1, and runs 18.04 on Robot 2
  • (MUST) Sometimes I need to have a clean Ubuntu OS to do isolated testing
  • (GOOD TO HAVE) Ubuntu OS settings and installed packages on laptop could be transferred to/synchronized with those on the desktop

What I Did: I tried installing the releases on external USB 3.1 Drives in the following order:

  1. Installed 16.04 on USB a using a Live USB via the laptop T480 (not sure if properly done, after this step, "ubuntu" appeared in my Boot Menu)

    With USB a plugged in, from the Boot Menu:

    • If select "ubuntu", I could enter Ubuntu OS 16.04
    • If select "Windows Boot Manager", I could enter Win10
    • (Issue?) If select USB HDD a, the screen turns black and comes back to the same Boot Menu, as if nothing happens

  2. Unplugged USB a, I installed 18.04 on USB b using another Live USB via the same T480 (not sure if properly done, after this step, nothing seems to change on my Boot Menu)

    With USB b plugged in, from the Boot Menu:

    • If select "ubuntu", I could enter Ubuntu OS 18.04
    • If select "Windows Boot Manager", I could enter Win10
    • (Issue?) If select USB HDD b, the screen turns black and comes back to the same Boot Menu, as if nothing happens

  3. (Issue) If I unplug b, and plug USB a in again, I could no longer boot into Ubuntu anymore even if I selected "ubuntu" from the Boot Menu - the screen shows "GNU GRUB version 2.02" terminal-like interface waiting for me to type in something. Looks like what happened in Step 1 has been overwritten by Step 2.

  4. (Issue) I had an external SSD c installed 18.04 using Live USB via the desktop P520, but if c unplugged, neither a nor b could be booted from P520.

P.S.: it is okay that I have an additional USB 3.1 Drive d to be associated with the desktop only, but switching between 16.04 and 18.04 on the same machine is a pain for now.

ashum
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  • Welcome! Do you need to have the the OSs installed, or lives systems (with persistence?) will suffice? – schrodingerscatcuriosity Mar 06 '20 at 00:47
  • @guillermochamorro, thanks for bringing me the terminology "live systems with persistence", after checking the Disadvantages of Persistent Live USB here, I would much prefer the OSs installed. – ashum Mar 06 '20 at 01:27
  • The best way is to have an independent OS. One OS for one machine. – Sadaharu Wakisaka Mar 06 '20 at 01:33
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    You need to have the boot loader in the external USB drives. There is a bug in Ubuntu installer that puts the boot loader in the first EFI partition it finds, usually in the internal drive. Simplest solution is to disconnect the internal drive when you install Ubuntu in the external drive. – user68186 Mar 06 '20 at 02:02
  • See this answer for a workaround. Let me know if it works. – user68186 Mar 06 '20 at 02:17
  • If you have grub on your HDD, plug in all the external drives and do a update-grub. This should put all of your devices on the grub menu. -------- Another comparison of Persistent vs Full install can be found here: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1213734/18-04-ubuntu-liveusb-completely-resets-after-reboot/1213795#1213795 – C.S.Cameron Mar 06 '20 at 03:13
  • I have followed @user68186's workaround, and installed the grub on my external USB drive EFI partition. However, when I later boot from the "USB HDD" (instead of "ubuntu") in the Boot Menu, it shows: "System BootOrder not found. Initializing defaults. Reset System" and goes back to the startup screen with the Lenovo logo. Still able to boot from "ubuntu" and "Windows Boot Manager" though. Could anyone instruct please? – ashum Mar 06 '20 at 03:26
  • Typically only one install is default boot in ESP. And external drives boot from /EFI/Boot/bootx64.efi. A full install of Ubuntu uses that, but also needs /EFI/ubuntu folder as the full install version of shim renamed to bootx64 is hard codes for files in /EFI/ubuntu. To really understand where everything is: May be best to see details, use ppa version 2nd option or any working install, not older Boot-Repair ISO: Please copy & paste link to the Boot-info summary report ( do not post report), the auto fix sometimes can create more issues. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair – oldfred Mar 06 '20 at 03:54
  • I have no clue where things went wrong. Please update the question with the information @oldfred requested above. – user68186 Mar 06 '20 at 17:07

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