[SOLVED] Install help EFI

[eclectic-coding]

I am a new Debian user. I have used Ubuntu several times in the past and currently have a System76 / Oryx Pro laptop with Pop_OS. After testing Debian in VMWARE, and quite frankly was deeply impressed I have decided to test on my primary hardware to see if it would work for me.

I have installed Buster in a 500GB partition on a third SSD (sda) and the problem is actually booting up the system. During the install I was reminded I had not assigned a EFI, and I selected NO, even though I new the system would not boot. I was afraid, not begin familiar with Debian installer, that I would not have access to POP_OS anymore. Although this is where I am hoping to end up, I am not sure I am ready yet.

There is a /boot/efi where the primary is loaded from and I need help configuring. Honestly, I haven't setup a dual boot system since the move to EFI/UEFI so I am a little unsure.

I have reviewed the Wiki, but I am still unsure. Any help would be appreciated.

[Dai_trying]

You could try a tutorial I posted on my website and the second half of that refers to the UEFI grub installation, please pay special attention to selecting the correct drives/partitions. Basically you just need to install grub from Debian to the EFI system partition.

The second option is perform a fresh install but select the EFI partition when asked.

If you follow my guide and are unsure about anything ask here first, it is better to be safe than sorry

[eclectic-coding]

Thanks Dai_trying.
So, if I try the re-install, does the install amend the existing EFI partition? That was my concern. If the software I am using works and the laptop hardware does as well I imagine I will be doing a system wide clean install but I want to get this right with out major errors right now.

Good news is that I have a separate drive form /home with a rsync backup handy.

[Dai_trying]

if you look in the EFI partition (/boot/efi/EFI/) you should see a directory for Pop_OS which contains the boot instructions, when you install debian (or Debians grub) you will have a new directory named debian which contains all the debian boot instructions, so the partition is not changed as such but is simply added to, once installed correctly you should be able to use efibootmgr to re-order/add/remove/change the entries.

I like UEFI as I can multiboot several distros and I never lose control of grub (each distro can keep it's own) and I use UEFI boot manager (F12, but might be different on your machine) to select which OS I want to use if I want something other than the default.

[eclectic-coding]

Thank you for taking the time to explain UEFI to me.

When I installed my first Linux Distro in 1998, it was SO much different.

I am impressed how much things have changed in just the last two or three years.

[Dai_trying]

You are welcome.