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[Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

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Danielsan
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[Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

#1 Post by Danielsan »

Hi Folks,

this is really driving me crazy...

My brother is trying to install Debian, I prepared for him a video guide based on a VM with EFI enabled, but when it is time to create the EFI partition he couldn't get the voice from the partitioning menu (see picture 2).

Before some information more: that computer was sold to him with a very crappy Ubuntu installation made by the seller without authorization, and I think this may have compromised the UEFI condition. As first attempt I suggested him to install directly the Bullseye alpha installer.

This is the current partitioning status (most of these picture are in Italian but those should be easy to understand yet)
picture 01

What is it biosgrub? I've never seen that stuff

I told him to create a new partition table in order to wipe out the current condition and to partition the way I consider better, but when its time to create the EFI partition he didn't get it, even if in Italian you can notice that any EFI voice is available:
picture 02

Hence I thought the issue could be the Alpha installer doesn't have yet a signature for "Secure boot", and as a matter of fact "Secure boot" is enabled:
picture 03

At that point we tried with the official 10.8 installer but we couldn't get the EFI scheme partition anyway.

I asked him if there was some toggles to disable "Secure boot" but it looks like the only way is clearing the keys, at that point I asked him to stop to have time to find out what is actually happening.
picture 04

What we haven't done yet is trying to partitioning the disk manually though a liveCD with something like Gparted.

I am pretty angry, I think the PC shop messed-up with their f*****g Ubuntu installation, my brother asked them to not install anything but they did anyway creating an user: "user"... :shock:
They did not even use an OEM Ubuntu version that make you create the user at the very first logging in.

As a matter of fact I never had this issue with Debian and even my recent purchased laptop has a very simple toggle to disable "Secure Boot" and it runs Debian Testing daily without any remarkable issue.
I have not idea how to help him and why Ubuntu can be installed and Debian cannot!!! :evil:

Thanks in advance for you help!
Last edited by Danielsan on 2021-03-23 04:42, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#2 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

Danielsan wrote:What is it biosgrub?
I think that's a BIOS boot partition, which holds GRUB's core.img for non-UEFI booting from a disk with a GUID partition table.

That first screenshot seems to show an EFI system partition that has been correctly identified. The presence of a BIOS boot partition shouldn't disrupt UEFI booting.

What is the actual error you are encountering when trying to install Debian?
Danielsan wrote:when its time to create the EFI partition he didn't get it, even if in Italian you can notice that any EFI voice is available
The second screenshot shows the filesystem selection stage. The ESP selection is performed when first creating a partition, which is done before then.
Danielsan wrote:even my recent purchased laptop has a very simple toggle to disable "Secure Boot"
Debian has been compatible with Secure Boot since the buster release: https://www.debian.org/releases/stable/ ... ecure-boot
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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#3 Post by Danielsan »

I always did like this video, check this out:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gsj6knr52jj4d7f/EFI.mp4?dl=0

When this computer was purchased the drive was empty, since it didn't show me up the ESP scheme partition I think the problem is within those UEFI keys... I can tell him to use the same EFI partition and go forward the way I set up for him however I asked him to show me off what happens if he uses the guided partitioning using the whole disk.

The computer must do what I want not want it wants... Jezuz... :shock:

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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#4 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

I don't have the patience to watch random videos, sorry.
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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#5 Post by Danielsan »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:I don't have the patience to watch random videos, sorry.
Fair enough, but this is not a random video, it is a clip extracted from the video guide I prepared for my brother; exactly where I create a new GPT partition table and then the ESP partition.

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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#6 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

Danielsan wrote:this is not a random video
It is for me :mrgreen:

The partition layout shown in the screenshots from the OP should work just fine so please share the exact errors that are encountered when proceeding with the installation to that layout.
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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#7 Post by Danielsan »

Not a problem... :wink:

This is my issue:

https://social.isurf.ca/photo/956058215 ... 3669-0.jpg

I want to have my EFI partition scheme at the installation time as usual, do not know what happened but it is related with UEFI and the former Ubuntu installation i guess...

p.s. there is a typo... :oops:

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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#8 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

Ah, I see. Make sure that UEFI mode is enabled and CSM ("Legacy" mode) is disabled in the firmware ("BIOS") options before booting the ISO image.
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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#9 Post by Danielsan »

Head_on_a_Stick wrote:Ah, I see. Make sure that UEFI mode is enabled and CSM ("Legacy" mode) is disabled in the firmware ("BIOS") options before booting the ISO image.
Thank you very much that led to a solution; he found the CSM section and he changed the setting from "uefi and oprom" to "only uefi" and then he was able to follow my instruction.

At this point a small reflection, all this question about UEFI and "secure boot" has been always a joke, it was only introduced to prevent people installing Linux. It doesn't prevent malicious people to boot any other OS to be ran from a USB device and it has never prevented to install piracy copies of Window either. I don't know for what is actually useful but since today M$ loves so much Linux can't we throw in the garbage UEFI, secure boot and all the rest of this trash?

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Re: Can't get EFI partition at installation partitioning tim

#10 Post by sunrat »

Danielsan wrote:I don't know for what is actually useful but since today M$ loves so much Linux can't we throw in the garbage UEFI, secure boot and all the rest of this trash?
UEFI was designed not by MS originally but by Intel, and is now managed by the UEFI Forum alliance. It solves many of the limitations of the original BIOS spec. Personally I find it just as easy to use.
And Debian now supports Secure Boot as mentioned above.
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Re: [Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

#11 Post by p.H »

sunrat wrote:(EFI) solves many of the limitations of the original BIOS spec
Like which ?

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Re: [Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

#12 Post by sunrat »

p.H wrote:
sunrat wrote:(EFI) solves many of the limitations of the original BIOS spec
Like which ?
- Support for booting GPT partitions without having to workaround with a BIOS boot partition
- 32 and 64 bit rather than 16 bit
- GUI UEFI menu with mouse support
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Re: [Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

#13 Post by p.H »

These are not BIOS limitations.
sunrat wrote:- Support for booting GPT partitions without having to workaround with a BIOS boot partition
BIOS boot on GPT does not require a BIOS boot partition. This is only a GRUB requirement when the filesystem containing /boot/grub is not in a plain partition.
Besides, UEFI boot requires an EFI system partition.
sunrat wrote:- 32 and 64 bit rather than 16 bit
So what ? The 16-bit BIOS can boot a 32 or 64 bit system.
sunrat wrote:- GUI UEFI menu with mouse support
There have been BIOS with GUI and mouse support long before UEFI (at least 1996), and UEFI without GUI.

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Re: [Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

#14 Post by Head_on_a_Stick »

Secure Boot is useful. It's far from perfect but it does help prevent rootkits and the like, which isn't possible with non-UEFI systems.
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Re: [Resolved] Debian-installer can't get EFI partition

#15 Post by p.H »

Secure boot only prevents boot loader and kernel rootkits.
Also, preventing rootkits is also possible without secure boot.

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