Re: GRUB on EFI:

[Aaron Brooks]

Giovanni Mascellani <address@hidden> writes:

> 
> Hi everyone.
> 
> I'm trying to run GRUB on my new EFI-based laptop. Unfortunately I'm
> running into a few problems. I'm using GRUB 2.00 downloaded using:
> 
> wget ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-2.00.tar.gz
> 
> Configured with:
> 
> ./configure --with-platform=efi --target=x86_64 --program-prefix=""
> 
> And built with:
> 
> make
> 
> (these operations are ran over a computer other than the one I'm trying
> to boot, of course; anyway, they're both Debian installations, 64 bits).
> 
> Then I create the GRUB EFI image with:
> 
> cd grub-core
> ../grub-mkimage -o grub.efi -O x86_64-efi -p '' -d . part_gpt ext2 fat
> configfile part_msdos linux boot multiboot chain
> 
> and copy it on a USB stick (MS-DOS partition table, FAT partition),
> putting it in the directory /efi/boot/bootx64.efi. I also copy all
> grub-core/*.lst grub and grub-core/*.mod in /efi/boot/x86_64-efi and
> create an empty configuration file in /efi/boot/grub.cfg.
> 
> Then I insert the stick in the new computer (the one that I'm trying to
> boot), which has a GPT partition table and a few partitions.
> Particularly, the second one is ext4 formatted and contains the root of
> the Debian installation. I boot the computer using UEFI via the USB
> stick I created and get the GRUB shell. I try to boot Linux with the
> following commands:
> 
> insmod efi_gop
> set root=(hd1,gpt2)
> linux /boot/vmlinuz-2.6.32-5-amd64 root=/dev/sda2
> initrd /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-5-amd64
> 
> Until here, GRUB doesn't complain of anything. Then I give the command
> "boot", would expect the kernel to start, but instead I just receive the
> message "error: couldn't terminate EFI services." and again the GRUB
> prompt. If I give again "boot", it says "error: overlap detected". Then,
> if I give again the "linux" and "initrd" commands (with the same
> arguments as before) and then "boot", the kernel starts, but apparently
> is unable to find the root device.
> 
> The strange thing is that doing many attempts (with slightly different
> commands, mostly playing with things as fix_video, gfxterm, videotest
> and video=efifb kernel options) sometimes, although quite rarely, I
> manage to have the system correctly booted, including the detection of
> the root filesystem (BTW, kernel and initrd are always the same). I
> couldn't spot so far any pattern related to when the boot succeeds or
> not. On the other hand
> 
> My instinct suggests me that most of the problem hides behind that
> "couldn't terminate EFI services", but unfortunately I know nothing
> about GRUB or EFI to try to understand its meaning. Could someone on
> this list try to help me tracking down the problem?
> 
> The EFI implementation is Aptio version 2.14.1219 (it also advertises
> itself as version 204, don't know which number is more significant). The
> computer is an Asus N56VZ-S4033V.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who can help me.
> 
> Giovanni.


Hi Everyone,

I am also having this problem.

Build and installed grub 2 with:
wget ftp://ftp.gnu.org/gnu/grub/grub-2.00.tar.gz
tar xvf ./grub-2.00.tar.gz
cd grub-2.00
./configure --with-platform=efi
cd grub-core
../grub-mkimage -O x86_64-efi -d . -o grub.efi -p "" part_gpt part_msdos ntfs
ntfscomp hfsplus fat ext2 normal chain boot configfile linux multiboot btrfs
cp grub.efi /mnt/efi/EFI/grub
cp *.mod *.lst /mnt/efi/EFI/grub/x86_64-efi

Rebooted and attempted to boot with:
insmod efi_gop
insmod part_gpt
insmod btrfs
set root=(hd0,gpt4)
linux   /vmlinuz-3.2.0-29-generic root=UUID=ef4acc9a-2b42-49bf-bb2d-c4af8b63f92e
ro address@hidden
initrd  /initrd.img-3.2.0-29-generic

Upon issuing boot grub returns "error: couldn't terminate EFI services" and
freezes, requiring a hard reboot. This is repeatable.

(hd0,gpt4) is a btrfs volume with 2 sub-volumes, @boot & @root. @boot is the
default (I know this is working fine since it is finding the kernel image).

The system is a Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD3H & Intel i5-3570k. I am using rEFInd to
launch grub.

Any assistance would be great!

Thanks,

Aaron.