On Sun, 12 May 2019 20:15:33 +0200 "Carlos E. R." <robin.listas@telefonica.net> wrote:
On 12/05/2019 16.29, Stephen Berman wrote:
On Sun, 12 May 2019 01:55:06 -0400 Felix Miata <mrmazda@earthlink.net> wrote:
Stephen Berman composed on 2019-05-12 00:53 (UTC+0200):
As I wrote, I also have /boot/efi mounted in Leap 15.0. Does that mean Leap is using UEFI to boot?
I'm pretty sure no astute Linux reseller is going to configure a new system to use the legacy MBR system unless specifically requested to do so, so yes. :-)
If so, how can I get Tumbleweed to use it as well? As I also wrote in my followup to Carlos E.R., I was unable to do this during the Tumbleweed installation. Should it be possible and if so, how?
A possibly relevant datapoint: When I compare the /boot directories in my Leap and Tumbleweed installations, in addition to /boot in Tumbleweed lacking the efi subdirectory, I see that, while in both installations the grub2 subdirectory contains the subdirectory x86_64-efi, in Leap it is filled with 267 *.mod files, while in Tumbleweed it is empty (both installations also contain the directory i386-pc under grub2; in Leap it contains 277 *.mod files, in Tumbleweed 278). Is this another indication that the bootloader (in Leap) is using UEFI?
Absolutely!
Check if you have /etc/default/grub on your TW. If it's there, then change
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="opensuse"
to
GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR="opensusetw"
or whatever suits your fancy to make them distinguishable where there would otherwise be conflict. I filed a bug last summer requesting this ability be included at installation time: https://bugzilla.opensuse.org/show_bug.cgi?id=1101756
Here on both Leap and TW it's unset, which according to the preceding comment in the file means "determine the value from /etc/os-release"; the latter files assign values to NAME, VERSION, ID, PRETTY_NAME, CPE_NAME and ID_LIKE that are distinct in both systems. Do you nevertheless recommend setting GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR?
When several grubs are installed, it is convenient to use different names for each, yes.
I can't tell from your answer whether this means I should set GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR differently in Leap and TW or let it be set by /etc/os-release, since most of the entries there differ between Leap and TW. But installing "several grubs" into /boot (wherever it is), seems to run counter to what you say below: "Each distribution must have their own separate /boot partition or directory." Please clarify.
This should enable installing Grub EFI from TW to takeover from Leap by the simple YaST2 EFI Grub installation process, which would I expect (not enough practice with fresh installations to be sure) change the values resulting from the command:
efibootmgr
Are you saying to select, in the Boot Code Options tab of the YaST2 Boot Loader module, "GRUB2 for EFI" from the dropdown list under Boot Loader? And do this in the installed TW or during the (re)installation? And should I then check "Enable Secure Boot Support"? (I think secure boot is disabled in my BIOS ) And what should I set "Protective MBR flag" to: "set", "remove", or "do not change"?
Also, if I select "GRUB2 for EFI" will the bootloader be installed in the existing /boot partition, overwriting what is there now from Leap?
Don't do that. Each distribution must have their own separate /boot partition or directory.
It is possible to put them into a single /boot partition, but I don't see the reason and I have never done it. A lot of work and dangerous hassle. Not worth it.
It is very weird nowdays to have a separate /boot partition. There many be reasons, like when using LVM or some raid modes or perhaps encryption. But you have not mentioned any of that.
I've never used a separate /boot partition till now, and if the machine hadn't come that way, I probably wouldn't have made one myself. (I did tell them when I ordered the machine that I intended to install TW and other Linux-based systems beside Leap but didn't ask for a specific partition scheme; that was probably a mistake. I suppose I could just delete the entire disk and start from scratch. Maybe that's the best way to go...)
Also, don't confuse the EFI partition with the /boot partition or the BIOS BOOT partition. Each one is different. And nowdays, /boot is usually a directory of "/". In fact, if you partition "/" as btrfs, you must not use a separate boot partition, or reverting to a previous snapshot will not be able to boot the previous kernel.
Are you sure? If so, why does openSUSE propose a separate /boot partition but also btrfs for the root partition?
The EFI partition is formatted as vfat, and is mounted inside /boot. There is only one per disk. It is however very strange to have Leap using bios mode and TW using EFI mode.
By strange do you mean unusual but not otherwise dangerous or do you mean it increases the risk of not being able to boot?
When you do not know how to create the bios partition, just look at the initial proposal, and replicate the choices for that partition on a different spot. It doesn't use any filesystem, it is raw. And it is tiny, 8..16 mega bytes.
That's what I first did, as I wrote in my OP, but to everything I tried the installer said there was no bootable partition. If there is some way during installation to create a bios partition without accepting the intaller's proposal, it remained hidden to me.
If I remember correctly, there is some point at the partitioner where you can choose which partitions to overwrite and which to leave intact, and then ask the installer to make a new proposal.
Yes, I think I tried that but the installer said something like the partition scheme I wanted was unsupported.
If what you said is correct, that the computer came with "/boot, / (root) and swap", then for sure it was booting in BIOS mode, even if the disk is GPT. I see on bootinfo that you have "Syslinux GPTMBR (4.04-5.01) is installed in the MBR of /dev/nvme0n1"n which confirms it.
In this setting, when installing another system, choose to leave the existing protective MBR intact.
It's hard for me to decide how to proceed when knowledgeable people (e.g. you and Felix Miata) firmly offer conflicting advice...
Note that when I open the Boot Loader module in Leap, it shows GRUB2 as the boot loader, and "Boot from Partition", "Set active Flag in Partition Table for Boot Partition" and "Write generic Boot Code to MBR" are checked and "Protective MBR flag" is set to "do not change". Is this display expected even if the bootloader is using EFI?
It is not using EFI, IMO. The settings are what I would do on a BIOS machine.
Your current setup is, I think, that Leap os-prober found the TW partition and added entries for it in its own grub. You have currently no way to boot by default the second grub - in bios mode. If you switch the computer to EFI mode, it is possible that Leap will not boot, and the the TW boot was incomplete and might not boot. The latter is just a feeling.
You should check your bios, what mode it is in.
The BIOS has UEFI CSM support enabled "to support a legacy PC boot process." And since that is enabled, that permits configuring "whether to enable the UEFI or legacy option ROM for the storage device controller" and also "for the PCI device controller other than the LAN, storage device, and graphics controllers"; both are set to enable "UEFI option ROM only." Steve Berman -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org To contact the owner, e-mail: opensuse+owner@opensuse.org