Modify Grub EFI file location with Multi-Boot OS

[LechonLover]

I didn't see any error messages when performing the command. I used powershell, and opened it as administrator.

I did it again, and took a screenshot this time. I entered the following bcdedit /set "{bootmgr}" path "\EFI\Debian\grubx64.efi
Unfortunately it will not let me attach the file, it says the board attachment quota has been reached. Anyway it said, operation completed successfully.

I have tried most of what p.H. has suggested other than the last part, where he pointed out what might be the problem with the UEFI, but I am not quite sure how to resolve. (See Below)

Here are possible causes I can think of that the UEFI firmware always boots Windows boot manager and the expected solutions :
- ignores EFI boot entries and uses the "removable device path" -> replace /EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi (with grub-install --removable)
- uses the boot entry labelled "Windows Boot Manager" regardless of boot order -> bcdedit
- uses the hardwired Windows boot manager pathname -> replace /EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi

[Head_on_a_Stick]

I entered the following bcdedit /set "{bootmgr}" path "\EFI\Debian\grubx64.efi

That is incorrect, the debian directory does not start with a capital D. Try again with the correct path.

If it still doesn't work then the only option left to try is the last one.

Mount the ESP:

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# mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

Backup the Windows EFI loader:

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# cp /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi{,.bak}

Then copy grubx64.efi to the Windows EFI loader location:

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# cp /mnt/EFI/debian/grubx64.efi /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi

If you're using Debian 10 and want Secure Boot support then copy over shimx64.efi instead and also place grubx64.efi in the same directory:

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# cp /mnt/EFI/debian/shimx64.efi /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
# cp /mnt/EFI/debian/grubx64.efi /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot

And finally create a file at /boot/grub/custom.cfg with the following content to boot the renamed Windows EFI loader:

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menuentry 'Windows (renamed)' {
   set root=(hd0,1)
   chainloader /EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi.bak
}

But it may be better to use the UUID to set the root for that stanza:

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   search --set=root --UUID $uuid --hint hd0,1

Replace $uuid with the actual UUID of the EFI system partition (which can be found with the blkid command).

EDIT: corrected path to bootmgfw.efi

[LechonLover]

Head_on_a_Stick - Thank you very much, you solved my problem

I first tried as you suggested, and performed the bcdedit command, but this time using lowercase for debian. I restarted the computer, but unfortunately, it went to booting windows again.

I then followed through the steps you provided. My bootmfgw.efi was in a different location than you suggested but I was able to figure it out by opening nautilus /dev/sda1

Here is a copy of my entries from terminal.

simon@HP-X360:~$ mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
mount: only root can do that
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt

simon@HP-X360:~$ cp /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi{,.bak}
cp: cannot stat '/mnt/EFI/Microsoft/bootmgfw.efi': No such file or directory
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo nautilus /dev/sda1

** (nautilus:2029): WARNING **: 23:08:35.702: Unable to get contents of the bookmarks file: Error opening file /root/.gtk-bookmarks: No such file or directory
^C
simon@HP-X360:~$ cp /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi{,.bak}
cp: cannot create regular file '/mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi.bak': Permission denied
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo cp /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi{,.bak}

simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo cp /mnt/EFI/debian/grubx64.efi /mnt/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi

simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo nano /boot/grub/custom.cfg
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo nano /boot/grub/custom.cfg
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo nautilus /dev/sda1

** (nautilus:2114): WARNING **: 23:12:49.757: Unable to get contents of the bookmarks file: Error opening file /root/.gtk-bookmarks: No such file or directory
^C

simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo blkid
/dev/sda1: UUID="8CAE-E7EB" TYPE="vfat" PARTLABEL="sda1 - EFI" PARTUUID="041dbf90-92cc-4b19-b0bb-89ccf64084c1"
/dev/sda3: LABEL="Windows 10" UUID="06723A41723A35B1" TYPE="ntfs" PARTLABEL="sda3 - Windows 10" PARTUUID="6a82e000-fded-47cb-8038-d8473743df3f"
/dev/sda4: LABEL="Elementary" UUID="a1f7d01d-91b7-4b08-85e7-69ac72fabb52" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="sda4 - Elementary" PARTUUID="d326b1ba-a74c-4580-af2a-12e7a0f691bf"
/dev/sda6: LABEL="Windows RE tools" UUID="ECF8B1E1F8B1AA6A" TYPE="ntfs" PARTLABEL="sda6 - Windows RE Tools" PARTUUID="ef33b516-2e42-409d-b518-aa467cd03a38"
/dev/sda7: LABEL="RECOVERY" UUID="98D4C6C6D4C6A63A" TYPE="ntfs" PARTLABEL="sda7 - HP Recovery" PARTUUID="70e6d463-2315-43eb-8c1a-c07679ea38d6"
/dev/sda8: LABEL="Debian" UUID="d63f60dc-8071-4bca-8bbc-f6e12a8617f0" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="sda8 - Debian" PARTUUID="036b1a85-f238-4f13-823b-2cbc5c203568"
/dev/sda9: LABEL="Linux-Shared" UUID="722354ff-0b40-48cf-a216-d0234f49a027" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="sda9 - Linux Shared" PARTUUID="12338744-674a-4ae6-a75d-fa79f139095f"
/dev/sda10: UUID="5ce96ea1-da8a-46ed-a3f1-d1d2214732c7" TYPE="swap" PARTUUID="3b21eed8-4332-44d5-a698-1775ab31ca74"
/dev/sda11: LABEL="Linux Mint" UUID="612e050e-f46b-4120-8d1a-869e3f82d0b7" TYPE="ext4" PARTLABEL="sda11 - Linux Mint" PARTUUID="5a3d6491-1be1-4ccc-8eb6-52151f96e529"
/dev/sda2: PARTLABEL="sda2 - Microsoft Reserved" PARTUUID="d5b4e36a-5a0f-432f-8036-ec42aad6d5cc"

simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo nano /boot/grub/custom.cfg
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo nano /boot/grub/custom.cfg
simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo reboot

After the rebooot, it went straight to debian bootloader.

I can't believe, it is fixed. Thank you so much, this has problem has been bugging me for so long.

Thank you for your time, and have a great day,
Simon

[p.H]

The bcdedit command wasn't passed successfully because the Windows boot entries should point to the Debian .efi loader

Boot0004 is a Windows boot entry pointing to the Debian boot loader. But it is not in the BootOrder, and other Windows boot entries pointing to Windows boot manager exist.

That is incorrect, the debian directory does not start with a capital D

AFAIK, FAT and EFI are case insensitive.

OP : note that this workaround is a last-resort hack and may be overwritten after any Windows update.

[Head_on_a_Stick]

Boot0004 is a Windows boot entry pointing to the Debian boot loader.

Damn, I missed that

@OP: can you add that entry to the boot order?

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# efibootmgr -o 4,6

If that works it would be a better solution than renaming bootmgfw.efi, which might interfere with Windows.

FAT and EFI are case insensitive

Yes of course, how silly of me. Thanks for the corrections.

OP : note that this workaround is a last-resort hack and may be overwritten after any Windows update.

+1

[LechonLover]

Thanks for the reply. I do understand this last attempt I did is a workaround, and doesn't quite solve the problem. From what I understand, we renamed bootmfgw.efi and then replaced that with the debian grubx64. So, since the laptop automatically keeps loading the windows bootmgr efi, the system is now displaying debian as the default.

I ran the following code as suggested, here is my output below:

simon@HP-X360:~$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 2001,0000,3000,0001,2002,2004
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0001* ubuntu
Boot0003* sparky
Boot0004* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0005* UEFI Hard drive
Boot0006* debian
Boot000A* Manjaro
Boot000C* MX18.3
Boot000D* feren
Boot2001* EFI USB Device
Boot3000* Internal Hard Disk or Solid State Disk

simon@HP-X360:~$ sudo efibootmgr -o 4,6
[sudo] password for simon:
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0004,0006
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0001* ubuntu
Boot0003* sparky
Boot0004* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0005* UEFI Hard drive
Boot0006* debian
Boot000A* Manjaro
Boot000C* MX18.3
Boot000D* feren
Boot2001* EFI USB Device
Boot3000* Internal Hard Disk or Solid State Disk



I will restart the system, and see what happens.