System BootOrder not found. Initialising Defaults every boot then goes to Ubuntu

Question

Please try and help me, what ever information you have. I have been stuck with this over a month. I have a HP Probook 640 G1 with UEFI without CSM and secure boot off. I have recently installed Ubuntu 20.04. It worked but every time I boot it says System BootOrder not found. Initialising Defaults. Then it semi resets the system and then boots to Ubuntu.

Is there a way to fix the initialisation of the defaults, because it significantly increases the boot time.

Thanks

Picture of efibootmgr:

Click Here

Picture of sudo dmidecode -s bios-version:

Click Here

Picture of boot order:

Click Here

Picture of attempt to update BIOS from BIOS:

Click Here

Update BIOS from USB:

Click Here

Thanks for the info. Do you also have Windows installed? Show me sudo dmidecode -s bios-version. If you enter the BIOS, there's a tab where you can set the boot order, and it should like something like DVD, USB, Hard DIsk... how is yours set? — heynnema, Jul 03 '20 at 14:57
Please see my answer. If it's helpful, please remember to accept it by clicking on the checkmark icon that appears just to the left of my answer. Thanks! — heynnema, Jul 04 '20 at 13:14
Hey @heynnema I found how I can update the BIOS with a removable USB stick, but it doesn’t want a .exe instead it wants a .bin file and a .efi I will add a photo of the screen I get in the original post, but can I get my hands on these files? — Jpac14, Jul 07 '20 at 11:53
You can use Archive Manager app to extract the files from the .exe. I looked at the .exe contents, and it may be a little difficult to determine the correct files. You could put all of the files on a USB flash, and see if it finds what it wants. But... to be safe... I'd recommend contacting HP Support and ask them. Or look on their Support Forum pages for a similar question/answer. Or, build a bootable FreeDOS USB stick and install the .exe that way. — heynnema, Jul 07 '20 at 12:16
HP's UEFI often only wants to boot from "Windows Boot Manager" as default entry. The work around is to make another Ubuntu boot entry using grub or shim but have description be "Windows Boot Manager". See IV for example efibootmgr entry, Sony, HP & others workarounds: https://askubuntu.com/questions/486752/dual-boot-win-8-ubuntu-loads-only-win Note that default entry assumes sda1 for ESP, if different partition must use -d & -p parameters. See man efibootmgr and other examples. — oldfred, Jul 07 '20 at 14:37
@oldfred I will try, this do I use grubx64 or shmix64 for no secure boot. — Jpac14, Jul 15 '20 at 12:06
@Jpac14 I'm still here. See oldfred's link at https://askubuntu.com/questions/486752/dual-boot-win-8-ubuntu-loads-only-win — heynnema, Jul 17 '20 at 14:27
Better to always use sudo efibootmgr -v, so you see details on boot entry, not just the name or label. And if it using file or folder that does not exist or is duplicate entry you should delete entry. UEFI remembers entries. Again see man efibootmgr for delete and reorder commands. See also https://askubuntu.com/questions/1198221/cloning-ssd-also-cloned-boot-options/1198228#1198228 for some examples. — oldfred, Jul 17 '20 at 15:27
From above: See IV for example efibootmgr entry, You want an entry that says "Windows Boot Manager" but uses shimx64.efi to boot from. Shim works whether Secure Boot is on or not, not sure why then we have grubx64.efi. — oldfred, Jul 18 '20 at 03:31
See also man efibootmgr and the -b parameter. Also: https://askubuntu.com/questions/1198221/cloning-ssd-also-cloned-boot-options/1198228#1198228 — oldfred, Jul 18 '20 at 13:19
Thankyou so much, both of you, it finally worked. You don’t understand how appreciative I am. Thankyou. — Jpac14, Jul 19 '20 at 01:52
@Jpac14 Can you please update me on the exact fix/steps that you took, partially 'cause I'm curious, and partly so I can update my answer. Thanks! — heynnema, Jul 21 '20 at 09:34
@heynnema So basically this is exactly what I did, I first removed the Windows Boot Manager key that was already there from the windows install for Bios update. Next I created a new key the pointed to shmix64.efi I named that key Windows Boot Manager. And it worked. — Jpac14, Jul 21 '20 at 10:22

heynnema · Accepted Answer · 2020-07-21T13:24:54.873

1

BIOS

HP Probook 640 G1

You have BIOS version 1.47.

A newer BIOS is available, version 1.50, and can be downloaded here.

Note: Some HP computers allow you to update the BIOS directly from your current BIOS.

Note: Verify that I have the correct web page for your model #.

Note: Have good backup before updating the BIOS.

efibootmgr

Regarding the boot problem... let's change the boot timeout from 0 seconds to 1 second.

  -t | --timeout seconds
          Boot Manager timeout, in seconds.

         • Timeout  -  the  time in seconds between when the boot manager
            appears on the screen until when it automatically chooses  the
            startup value from BootNext or BootOrder.

In terminal type:

sudo efibootmgr -t 1
reboot

Update #1:

For reference purposes, here's my efibootmgr output... I do have Windows installed...

~$ efibootmgr

BootCurrent: 0005
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0004,0007,0008
Boot0000* ubuntu
Boot0001* UEFI: IP4 Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Boot0002* UEFI: IP6 Realtek PCIe GBE Family Controller
Boot0003* UEFI: MKNSSDRE1TB
Boot0004* UEFI:CD/DVD Drive
Boot0005* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0006* UEFI: TOSHIBA
Boot0007* UEFI:USB Device
Boot0008* UEFI:Network Device

You can try turning off TPM and see if that changes anything.
I'm told, but can't confirm, as I don't have a HP, that HP specifically needs to see Windows Boot Manager... even if you don't use Windows. You can either try to reinstall Windows and see if the initializing message is gone, or you could use efibootmgr to create a Windows Boot Manager entry, but assure that your BootOrder is correct, with ubuntu as the first/only selection. See man efibootmgr for more info.
Interesting enough, in my efibootmgr output, BootCurrent: 0005 shows Windows Boot Manager, but I'm booted to Ubuntu right now.

Update #2:

First, let me give a disclaimer here... using efibootmgr can be a little tricky, and can cause your system not to boot if used improperly. Having said that, I'd first recommend you review/print man efibootmgr. Here are the hopefully correct/safe commands to add "Windows Boot Manager".

Next, I'd check your current BIOS, as it may have the utility to view/add/modify the UEFI boot table directly. If so, that might be the safest way to do this.

Here are the efibootmgr commands you may need...

efibootmgr # display the current settings

sudo efibootmgr --create --label "Windows Boot Manager" # create a new entry

sudo efibootmgr --bootorder xxxx,yyyy,zzzz # hex values

Update #3:

Removed the Windows Boot Manager key that was already there from the windows install for Bios update. Next I created a new key the pointed to shmix64.efi I named that key Windows Boot Manager.

edited Jul 21 '20 at 13:24

answered Jul 04 '20 at 13:13

heynnema

70,711

Hello heynnema, thankyou for your descriptive answer. I have had a few problems though. I actually had secure boot on so I have turned that off, and am considering reinstalling ubuntu and completing your steps again. I have changed the timeout and sadly this did nothing. Also I have found out the HP do not provide a BIOS upgrade for linux (a executable), I have also tried doing it from inside the BIOS I will show you a picture of what it return in the question description. I could install windows just to upgrade the BIOS but that would be something I would like to do last. – Jpac14 Jul 05 '20 at 00:29
Is there a third party BIOS upgrade? – Jpac14 Jul 05 '20 at 00:29
@Jpac14 When going to the BIOS link page, you have to select Windows 10 64-bit to see the available BIOS update to 1.50. Since you don't have Windows installed now, you may still be able to update it via the current BIOS, if it'll allow you to select an .exe file to load. Otherwise you may have to build a USB flash drive with FreeDOS to do it... or you may have to temporarily install Windows to do it. – heynnema Jul 05 '20 at 04:08
@Jpac14 Regarding the timeout value... you could try setting it to 10-30 seconds, and see if it makes any difference. If not, you can always set it back to 0 or 1. – heynnema Jul 05 '20 at 04:11
@Jpac14 Status please... – heynnema Jul 08 '20 at 13:17
Alright yes, so today I installed windows, boots perfectly updates the BIOS and install ubuntu again. Now I face a new problem. BTW erased disk then installed ubuntu. So when I boot my computer now. It just goes in a endless loop going to the HP logo then off. And repeats that. If you press Esc to get to the menu and then F9 for select boot device, there is item that says ubuntu and when I click that sure enough it boots to ubuntu, but when I shutdown again, it continues the loop. – Jpac14 Jul 10 '20 at 12:38
@Jpac14 Sorry to hear about your continued problems. It's difficult to say if your symptom is occurring at the BIOS level, or the Ubuntu plymouth boot scrren level. I see 3 possibilities. 1) you need to reset the BIOS to factory settings, 2) See my answer at https://askubuntu.com/questions/1238754/want-to-remove-oem-logo-during-boot-in-ubuntu-20-04/1248670#1248670 and choose something other than bgrt, 3) there's something wrong with the new BIOS and you may have to downgrade to 1.47. Please keep me posted. – heynnema Jul 10 '20 at 13:01
Okay, when I switch to BIOS, not UEFI and install Ubuntu it works regardless. I will reset my BIOS but what should I change, eg. Secure boot. I will also try option 2. But do you think I should just stick with BIOS and ditch UEFI, if BIOS will make my PC start slower then I would like to use UEFI. – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 01:53
@Jpac14 Did you reset the BIOS to factory settings? Try and stick with UEFI if you can. Your HDD should probably be in GPT partition table format then. Use gparted to do that before the Ubuntu reinstall. – heynnema Jul 11 '20 at 01:56
I will reset to default now, how can I check if it is GPT, ill have a look around gparted – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 02:00
Do you have discord? – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 02:01
If you're going to wipe the disk and reinstall Ubuntu, just use gparted to lay down a fresh GPT partition table (that will wipe the disk), and then do the install. No, I wouldn't have Discord on my machine... it's spyware, and it totally spams /var/log/syslog and /var/log/auth.log. – heynnema Jul 11 '20 at 02:04
Okay, is there any other way we can talk. Anyway, i can confirm that my drive in in gpt. What would you like me to do next wipe the drive or reset the bios or any of your other options – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 02:11
No, we can enter the chat room if we need to. Reset the BIOS to factory. Make sure it's in UEFI mode. Secure Boot off. Set the HDD to GPT. Reinstall Ubuntu. – heynnema Jul 11 '20 at 02:18
How do I set it to GPT – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 02:27
With gparted? Or.. – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 02:28
@Jpac14 Yes, gparted. Bedtime here. Back tomorrow. – heynnema Jul 11 '20 at 03:20
Alright, I have a update, so first I reset the BIOS it asked if I wanted to clear the TPM and I said yes. Next I checked all the settings. And after that it stopped the never ending loop but then came up with the “Initializing defaults” thing. Next I wipe the drive with Gparted, reinstalled ubuntu and I have the same problem I started with the Initialising defaults. – Jpac14 Jul 11 '20 at 12:03
@Jpac14 Please see Update #1 in my answer. – heynnema Jul 11 '20 at 14:13
Thankyou for the update, but do you think you could provide the commands to make the Windows Boot Manager comfiguration, It would really help because I don’t really wanna mess it up. Thankyou if you can if not, it’s ok. – Jpac14 Jul 12 '20 at 09:38
@Jpac14 Please see Update #2 – heynnema Jul 12 '20 at 15:33
Do I replace xxxx,yyyy and zzzz with anything – Jpac14 Jul 13 '20 at 12:00
@Jpac14 No, they're to hex values of the boot order. Only important if you have more than one. See my efibootmgr output. BootOrder: 0000,0004,0007,0008 correlates to a specific line item shown below. – heynnema Jul 13 '20 at 14:01
I found something interesting, when I do efibootmgr, there is a thing that says Windows Boot Manager, and I didnt create it. Must be left over. I’ll send a photo tomorrow. – Jpac14 Jul 14 '20 at 12:14

System BootOrder not found. Initialising Defaults every boot then goes to Ubuntu

1 Answers1