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I don't know if this is relevant, but a few weeks ago, I updated my ubuntu from (if my recollection is correct) 20.04 to 22.04 as I was prompted to do by the OS.

On my Laptop, I have both an ubuntu distribution and a windows distribution installed.

So I usually get a GRUB menu when I start my Laptop where I have the following options:

  • Ubuntu
  • Advanced options for Ubuntu
  • Windows Boot Manager (on /dev/nvme0n1p1)
  • UEFI Firmware Settings

Today, my ubuntu won't boot up anymore. When I start my laptop, I get the GRUB menu (as usual) but when I choose to start ubuntu, I get stuck in the loading screen, depicting the manufacturer logo (HP). Sometimes not even that and I get stuck in the boot-up prompt where it shows me the steps taken for the boot up. The Windows boot works normally.

I tried to go to Advanced options for Ubuntu. There I got the following options:

  • Ubuntu, with Linux 5.15.0-47-generic
  • Ubuntu, with Linux 5.15.0-47-generic (recovery mode)
  • Ubuntu, with Linux 5.4.0-125-generic
  • Ubuntu, with Linux 5.4.0-125-generic (recovery mode)

I tried to start with 5.4.0.125 but the same thing happens.

I started recovery mode. That sometomes gets stuck in A start Job is running for Network Time Synchronization. At which point I usually force restart with the power-off button. It should also be noted, that I dont have a stable internet connection, because I just moved. Im not sure if my laptop is connected to my wifi, because I had to reconnect my other devices. And it doesnt have an ethernet plug, so I basically have to get my system running offline or somehow connect the wifi while it is in this "unbootable" state.

When I finally got through after 1-2 restarts, I tried the following options:

  • dpkg
  • fsck
  • root

The first two didnt fix the problem. Either it finished and nothing changed or got stuck at some point (waited about 15 minutes for every step there).

I am able to use "root" to get my prompt, however, I dont even know where to start there to fix the problem. I can't even run sudo apt update/upgrade, because I'm not connected to the internet. I even tried to check for my wifi net in the "root" prompt and used ifconfig but there was nothing and when I just used ifconfig wlan0 it told me there is no such device.

I found this and wanted to

Reinstall Ubuntu While Keeping Files and Programs

So I followed this guide, installed Rufus on my other laptop and created a Ubuntu Live-USB. When I try to boot from USB, I again get a GRUB prompt. This one looks a little different (lower resolution) and has the option to "boot from next volume". Which leads me to the original GRUB prompt described above. So this indicates to me, that I am correctly booting from the USB-Stick. These are the options on the GRUB:

  • Try or install Ubuntu
  • Ubuntu (safe graphics)
  • OEM install (for manufacturers)
  • Boot from next volume
  • UEFI Firmware Settings

However, when I choose Try or install Ubuntu or `Ubuntu (safe graphics)", the exact same thing happens. Which is odd, because as I understand it, this should be a newly installed working system independent of the old broken one.

I sadly don't know enough about ubuntu or linux to fix this myself or even know which next step to take. And since the live USB doesn't seem to work either, and the system didn't react to a USB stick with the .iso on it, I don't even know how to reinstall my system. That being said, the goal is to not fully delete evrything anyway, but rather to somehow repair Ubuntu or at least reinstall it so that my other data stays intact.

One more thing I at least got to figure out is how to get to my boot parameters for the GRUB option Ubuntu from the first/original GRUB, which I tried to type out here:

setparams 'Ubuntu'

recordfail
load_video
gfxmode $linux_gfx_mode
insmod gzio
if [ x$grub_platform = xxen ]; then insmod xzio; insmod lzopio; fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod ext2
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root (uuid)
linux        /boot/vmlinuz-5.15.0-47-generic root=UUID=(uuid) ro  quiet splash $vt_handoff
initrd        /boot/initrd.img-5.15.0-47-generic

Update

As suggested in the comments, I tried the Live-USB on another Laptop and it worked.

So to summarize:

Defect Laptop:

  • Ubuntu partition doesn't work
  • Ubuntu Live-USB doesn't work
  • Windows partition works

Other Laptop:

  • Windows partition works
  • Ubuntu Live-USB works

I don't understand this. If it was a hardware defect, I would expect the Windows partition to also not work. It it was a software defect, Id expect the Live-USB to not work on the other device. This feels contradictory. Id be very happy about any explanation or suggestion that could lead me to solve this problem.

Benjamin Basmaci
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  • Have you tried your newly created USB media on a different computer? Maybe 'try ubuntu' using that on the laptop you created it on? At least you'll know if your USB Ubuntu is working properly and can hopefully exclude that as one of the problems. You will need to 'tell' your computer to boot from USB - you usually have to hit one of Del / f2 / f10 / f12 / Esc to get it to enter the Bios menu where you can select the boot device. – Will Sep 12 '22 at 18:52
  • @Will As I described above, im fairly sure that it boots from USB first, as I get a new GRUB menu. And to get there I already changed the boot order so that USB would be checked first. And Im a bit scared to use the USB on my other Laptop, because I don't want to mess that one up as well. – Benjamin Basmaci Sep 12 '22 at 19:01
  • A few things-- if you want to use USB installation media as a rescue disk, you need to make sure it's valid. Errors when copying the ISO can result in invalid media. That means you need to verify the integrity of the ISO you download and you also need to verify the flash to USB. Once you've got working bootable USB media, you can run boot-repair. Another note-- if you want to work on this at the root shell prompt, you have to enable networking, or else the system will be read-only, which makes it impossible to fix anything. – Nmath Sep 12 '22 at 19:48
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    If you get grub menu & can boot to recovery mode, Boot-Repair will not be able to fix anything. It primarily updates or reinstalls grub. Report can show configuration, but does not show gui info which it sounds like is your issue. What model HP & what video card/chip? If nVidia, did you uninstall before upgrade & reinstall after upgrade. If not purge to avoid conflicts & install nVidia driver. Enable networking, make sure system is otherwise updated & install nVidia. – oldfred Sep 12 '22 at 22:41
  • plz paste the output of [ -d /sys/firmware/efi ] && echo "EFI boot on HDD" || echo "Legacy boot on HDD" AND try disabling secure boot in bios settings – cmak.fr Sep 22 '22 at 23:10
  • Please download and run the Ubuntu Forum's system-info script and let it upload the result to a pastebin. Then edit your original question to show a link to the pastebin. That information will help me and others understand what you have (software and hardware) and it will help us help you. – sudodus Sep 23 '22 at 14:29
  • Duplicate of https://askubuntu.com/questions/1293037/ubuntu-20-04-stuck-on-efi-stub-uefi-secure-boot-is-enabled – cmak.fr Sep 23 '22 at 21:23
  • First I thought of the uefi-certificate update from last windows updates (KB5012170). But it looks that you managed to boot ubuntu at least once. In Windows/Linux dualboot I suggest using rEFInd boot manager: https://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/ – Marco Sep 24 '22 at 08:27

1 Answers1

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To begin turn off 'secure boot' in your UEFI settings. Turn off the 'fast boot' option in Windows. Then make Grub2 your default bootloader again ( set UEFI to boot Ubuntu ).

Some Windows updates change these settings automatically, so I guess this is what happened in your case.

HomerSimpson
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