Bug 32946

Summary:	grub2 not displayed in UEFI installations
Product:	Mageia	Reporter:	Jybz <j.biernacki+mga>
Component:	RPM Packages	Assignee:	Mageia Bug Squad <bugsquad>
Status:	NEEDINFO ---	QA Contact:
Severity:	major
Priority:	Normal	CC:	doktor5000, lewyssmith, mageia, marja11
Version:	9
Target Milestone:	---
Hardware:	All
OS:	Linux
Whiteboard:
Source RPM:		CVE:
Status comment:

Description Jybz 2024-03-07 20:43:27 CET

For the third time, someone reports that grub2 is not displayed.

First time it occurs on my computer a year ago on Mageia8, it was well displayed with mga7 and the beginning on mga8, then disappeared, but as I played with mageia4arm, drakx, and so on, I though I did it on my own and ignores the issue as Mageia is pretty stable. For over a year, I can't use grub, it jumps from bios display directly to Mageia splash screen. The timeout of grub2 is respected. The default and latest kernel is used. IIRC, inputs are ignored (I'm AFK for a week). I was also able to update to Mageia9 and the issue is still there. Maybe it is due to my bios configuration on my Lenovo x250. I already tried once to fix my grub configuration but it really looks like default configuration.

Second time reported by Guygoye while a kind of install party. He does not have the machine on his hands, so can't go further.

Third time, now it is reported on a fresh install of Mageia9 aside windows10. The user GPE GPE complains that he cannot switch to windows on his second-hand lenovo, he jumps from the Bios directly to mageia's splash screen : https://www.mageialinux-online.org/forum/topic-31380.php .

Comment 1 Lewis Smith 2024-03-07 21:14:52 CET

1: it jumps from bios display directly to Mageia splash screen
2: ?
3: jumps from the Bios directly to mageia's splash screen

I will look further tomorrow, but CC'ing Martin now, who often has good advice in this area.

CC: (none) => lewyssmith, mageia

Comment 2 Martin Whitaker 2024-03-08 00:49:39 CET

Assuming you are booting in UEFI mode, try using rEFInd instead of GRUB.

Comment 3 Lewis Smith 2024-03-09 20:26:32 CET

My usual suggestion! But it leaves the problem...

@Jybz
what happens on these machines when you boot a, Installation (Live is quickest) ISO? It will not show Windows, but should show a Grub menu.

Comment 4 Marja Van Waes 2024-06-21 18:34:44 CEST

CC'ing Florian, because in case it occurred to a forums user, too.

(In reply to Martin Whitaker from comment #2)
> Assuming you are booting in UEFI mode, try using rEFInd instead of GRUB.

What about making rEFInd the default for UEFI installations, would that make sense?

@ Jybz,

Were all three machines booting in UEFI mode, or just one or two of them?

(In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #3)

> @Jybz
> what happens on these machines when you boot a, Installation (Live is
> quickest) ISO? It will not show Windows, but should show a Grub menu.

No reply, setting Status: to NEEDINFO

CC: (none) => doktor5000, marja11
Status: NEW => NEEDINFO

Comment 5 Jybz 2024-06-23 15:05:15 CEST

(In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #3)
> My usual suggestion! But it leaves the problem...
> 
> @Jybz
> what happens on these machines when you boot a, Installation (Live is
> quickest) ISO? It will not show Windows, but should show a Grub menu.

Booting iso is not a problem because we jump in them after a BIOS manipulation.


(In reply to Marja Van Waes from comment #4)
> CC'ing Florian, because in case it occurred to a forums user, too.
> 
> (In reply to Martin Whitaker from comment #2)
> > Assuming you are booting in UEFI mode, try using rEFInd instead of GRUB.
> 
> What about making rEFInd the default for UEFI installations, would that make
> sense?
IIRC rEFInd is nicer but has less options. So I would not recommand to switch as default.

> 
> @ Jybz,
> 
> Were all three machines booting in UEFI mode, or just one or two of them?
> 
> (In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #3)
> 
> > @Jybz
> > what happens on these machines when you boot a, Installation (Live is
> > quickest) ISO? It will not show Windows, but should show a Grub menu.
> 
> No reply, setting Status: to NEEDINFO

All machines were UEFI.

I just reboot and tried if I was guilty with a BIOS option, this is a LENOVO, and when I pressed [ESC], the default boot process changed with an additional step (was that security ? It was too fast to distinguish the purpose), then it asks to press a key to continue as usual, and FINALY it displays grub2.

I could repeat the behavior twice, but I dislike it.

I set in the Bios "Display keys on startup" (or something similar), I've the sentence display how to junp into the Bios, but it does not display grub afterward. The [ESC] key with the additional step still does.

Comment 6 Marja Van Waes 2024-06-25 17:45:09 CEST

(In reply to Jybz from comment #5)

Thanks for your replies, that is useful information :-)

> > 
> > (In reply to Lewis Smith from comment #3)
> > 
> > > @Jybz
> > > what happens on these machines when you boot a, Installation (Live is
> > > quickest) ISO? It will not show Windows, but should show a Grub menu.
> > 

I don't think you answered that question, did you? He was referring to something like https://doc.mageia.org/draklive/9/en/content/images/live-bootUEFI.png (live) or https://doc.mageia.org/installer/9/en/content/images/dx-welcome2.png (traditional

Summary: grub2 not displayed => grub2 not displayed in UEFI installations