Cannot boot Mate 24.04

[ericmarceau]

The only thing I have to suggest is to have a clean Windows-only install on one disk, then have GRUB installed on a second Linux-oriented drive (not partition), where having that drive as primary, you can have the menu offer the choices of either Linux/Windows at boot, or you can have it modified with the GRUB customization to default to either of those two, until you change that back to boot-time selection or a different default.

I personally opt for GRUB-driven boot-time selection, rather than changing the master drive for boot in BIOS, which I find cumbersome, and only do that when absolutely necessary.

My own experience is trying to make GRUB work with a Windows-primary drive has been problematic for me ... and I just gave up, not wanting to deal with Windows "issues" because "foreign matter" (a.k.a. grub-related) is introducing unexpected conditions and content which it would prefer not have to deal with.

[Cet_Cet]

yes. current line in /etc/default/grub;GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet"

[ericmarceau]

This may be extreme, but the only clear way to detect differences between the 22.04 and the 24.04 installs.

If you are willing and it is not too difficult (you've done it 10 times already), would you consider the following?

• step [1] - reinstall the 22.04, capture the full text of the installation log and capture the full text of the first boot log, then
• step [2] - reinstall the 24.04, again capture the full text of the installation log and capture the full text of the first boot log.

With both of those in hand for comparison, you may be able to spot where things go off the rails, or make those available (somewhere) for more knowlegeable people (not myself unfortunately) to spot the discrepency in the two install processes which has already been reported officially as being a new installer to begin with.

[not_Rich]

That boot repair error "The boot files of [sda3 (end>100GB)] are far from the start of the disk" is a bit misleading, I followed this guide created a new partition for boot and told grub repair to install grub there. It finished with no errors this time, but still does not boot.
All operating systems are on their own separate hard drives.
I may try installing it with the hard drive plugged into sata 0 to see if this helps, and have a look at the logs

I would rather not let grub anywhere near my Windows 10, I prefer the boot select in the bios, Windows and Mate are permanent, I play around with other operating systems I want to try Bliss OS ( Android14 ) sometime.

[ericmarceau]

I'm sorry, but I am confused by responses you provided at different times. You state quite categorically:

@not_Rich

All operating systems are on their own separate hard drives.

but instead, the report

@not_Rich

Boot-Info_20240916_1621.txt - Google Drive

shows clearly that you installed Ubuntu on the same physical disk drive as Windows but on another partition (possibly secondary).

You also say you don't want grub to mess with your Windows, but the simple fact that you have a GRUB boot partition on that same drive (sda4) says different, namely that GRUB has messed with the boot sector, which implies that it has messed with what Windows expects, and therefore could potentially cause issues for Windows.

So, not trying to insult, but either you didn't understand what we were asking/saying, or you didn't understand what you actually did, namely the distinction between the meaning of disk vs partition.

As I said, I am confused by what you are saying you did (separate drives) vs what is being reported (same drive, different partitions).

For that reason, I am not sure at this point whether this is

• an Ubuntu installation issue (not UbuntuMATE), or
• a GRUB installation issue for mixed OS context (co-resident Windows and Ubuntu).

You may wish tocontact the Author of the method you referred to, yannubuntu, on Ubuntu's Launchpad, where it shows him as the submitter of that PPA on Launchpad. You need your own login for that to be granted the option (button at upper right of page) to send a message directly to him.

[not_Rich]

I have four hard drives Windows 10, Ubuntu, Storage and a testing hard drive that I am using to try Ubuntu 24.
The boot info was generated on the testing hard drive while all others were disconnected, one hard drive one operating system is the way I do things. I may contact the author of the application.

[ricmarques]

Hi, @not_Rich

Let me start by saying that my "dual boot" experience is only with laptops (and NOT desktops) that have a single SSD drive (in some cases, it's a "2.5" form factor SSD with a "SATA" interface; in one other case it's an an "M.2" form factor SSD with a "PCIe NVMe" interface) where I dual boot between Windows 10 (in some of those computers) -or- Windows 11(in another computer) + Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS (in some of those computers) -or- Ubuntu MATE 24.04 LTS (in other computers).

So, I'm not sure than I can help you more than the great contributions that @mdd12 , @wally27 , @Philippe , @Cet_Cet and @ericmarceau have already given in this topic, but I'll try.

I have read the "Boot Repair" reports that you've included in your previous answer in this topic at "Cannot boot Mate 24.04 - #20 by not_Rich". I understood that /dev/sda is your testing hard drive where you installed "Ubuntu MATE 24.04.1" and /dev/sdb is probably your "Boot-Repair" USB Flash drive / pen drive -or- your "Ubuntu MATE 24.04.1" Live USB Flash drive. Am I right?

You already wrote that you have a "MSI H61M-P31/W8 motherboard." Could you please tell what is the brand and model of your desktop computer or is it "custom-made"? If you boot from your "Ubuntu MATE 24.04.1" Live USB Flash drive, with only your testing hard drive connected, could you please tell what is the output of the following commands (before replying, please check first that the respective outputs do NOT contain any information that you want to keep private, for any reason)?

$ inxi --machine --system --cpu --disk --partitions-full --unmounted --raid

$ blkid

$ lsblk --fs --paths | grep --invert-match '/snap'

$ lsblk --all | grep --invert-match '/snap/'

$ sudo parted --list

$ sudo fdisk -l | sed -e '/Disk \/dev\/loop/,+5d'

[not_Rich]

Hi

Yes /dev/sda is the installation sdb is the mate live usb boot.
The computer is an Advent Dt2410 I replaced the main Windows drive with a Samsung ssd and 3 more.
The command line outputs are on my Google Drive
or here on Mega

[ricmarques]

Hi again, @not_Rich

@not_Rich

Yes /dev/sda is the installation sdb is the mate live usb boot.
The computer is an Advent Dt2410 I replaced the main Windows drive with a Samsung ssd and 3 more.
The command line outputs are on my Google Drive
or here on Mega

Thanks for the information. Your "Google Drive" link is returning a 404 Not Found error, but your "Mega.nz" link is working.

In your sudo parted --list output, I've noticed that your first partition of the /dev/sda testing SSD drive, has the Flags "bios_grub" which, considering that you said your computer has UEFI, doesn't seem right. It should have the Flags "boot, esp". Also the "File system" in that same output for that same first partition should be "FAT32" but it's appearing as blank instead.

In these conditions, I'm afraid that the best suggestion that I can give you is to repeat the installation process, but I suggest that you do the following in that new installation:

1. - Using the "Ubuntu MATE 24.04.1 LTS" ("Noble Numbat") USB Live Flash drive, run the "GParted" tool that is available from it, and Create a New Partition Table in the /dev/sda (PLEASE, make sure that /dev/sda is still pointing to the intended SSD drive!) of type gpt

2. - Then, please run the Installer again, and do the following, in the Installer:

2.1. - In the "Type of installation" step choose "Interactive installation":

2.2. - In the "Optimise your computer" / "Install recommended proprietary software?" step, tick both checkboxes ("Install third-party software for graphics and Wi-fi hardware" and "Download and install support for additional media formats").

2.3. - In the "Internet connection" / "Connect to the internet" step, choose either "Use wired connection" if you have one wired connection -or- the Wifi option if you only have Wi-fi.

2.4. - In the "Disk setup" / "How do you want to install Ubuntu MATE?" step, choose "Manual installation | For advanced users seeking optimized disk setups.":

2.5. - You should now be in the "Manual partitioning" window and see your /dev/sda with free space:

2.6. - In that same "Manual partitioning" window, click on the "Device for boot loader installation" dropdown list and change it to /dev/sda. When you do that, you'll see that it will automatically create a /dev/sda1 FAT32 partition with the mount point /boot/efi of size 1.13 GB :

2.7. - In that same window, create a partition for the /boot mountpoint. To do that, click on the + button to bring up the "Create partition" window. Give it a size between 1024 MB and 2048 MB, choose Ext4 in the "Used as" dropdown list and enter /boot in the "Mount point" textbox:

2.8. - Still in that same window, create a partition for the swap. Give the size that you consider to be adequate. Here, I am creating a 4 GB Swap partition:

2.9. - And still in that same window, create a partition for / mount point. Give it all the remaining size, choose Ext4 in the "Used as" dropdown list and enter / in the "Mount point" textbox:

2.10. - Finally, review the partition layout and click the "Next" button to carry on with the installation:

I hope this helps Please, keep us posted about your developments and/or if you any questions or comments.

[not_Rich]

@ricmarques

In your sudo parted --list output, I've noticed that your first partition of the /dev/sda testing SSD drive, has the Flags "bios_grub" which, considering that you said your computer has UEFI, doesn't seem right. It should have the Flags "boot, esp". Also the "File system" in that same output for that same first partition should be "FAT32" but it's appearing as blank instead.

Yes the system is UEFI.
I think we are getting closer to the root of the issue. I had been using Balena Etcher to write the USB however on a recent attempt using a USB that already had a live image Windows threw up so many "your device needs formatting" messages that Balena failed.
I tried the image writing tool supplied with Ubuntu Mate and that worked fine for v22, I installed it on my testing hard drive and it boots fine.
This is Ubuntu Mate 22 working perfectly, this is the "automatic partitioning erase disc and install Ubuntu"

Here is the sudo parted --list

Balena Etcher works fine with Mate 22 however 24 live boots ok but seems to install in legacy which seems to be why I cannot boot from it after the installation.
Using the disks tool supplied with Mate, the Ubuntu Mate version 24 USB drive is only visible when I use legacy boot, and I don't think I will be able to create a /boot/efi if I use legacy, however I may be wrong.

Maybe there is a more suitable app for burning the live usb or I could convert the drive from legacy to UEFI after the install.

I really appreciate everyone's help on this one, I could not have got this far without you, but I have had enough for one day.

[not_Rich]

I tried Rufus to burn the 24 iso to a USB using both MBR and GPT options, this USB is only bootable if I select legacy boot on both occasions, So i tried it anyway

@ricmarques

2.6. - In that same "Manual partitioning" window, click on the "Device for boot loader installation" dropdown list and change it to /dev/sda. When you do that, you'll see that it will automatically create a /dev/sda1 FAT32 partition with the mount point /boot/efi of size 1.13 GB :

Using legacy boot and "Device for boot loader installation" it does not create a /boot/efi partition, it just created a 1.05MB partition.
Ignore sdb that's the USB.

also the command from the live usb
sudo efibootmgr
EFI variables are not supported on this system.

Looks like I have no choice but to attempt to change manually, when I feel up for it.

[ricmarques]

Hi again, @not_Rich

I have re-read the "inxi" output that you included in your "Mega.nz" upload, per my request, and I've noticed there is the following line:

Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: Advent model: DT2410 v: 1.0 serial: <superuser required>
    BIOS: American Megatrends v: 3.0B9 date: 09/08/2012

Now, the fact that it says "BIOS" there and not "UEFI" makes me think that one of two things is probably happening:

A) Either that machine has a "BIOS" and not a "UEFI"

- OR -

B) That machine does have a "UEFI" that has the so-called "CSM ("Compatibility Support Module") and, in that case, I'm guessing that your "UEFI" settings are configured to boot in Legacy BIOS mode. Am I right?

If I'm right in assuming that "B)" above is your scenario, then I see at least two possible alternative options:

Option 1: Keep your UEFI boot Settings as they are currently (to boot in "Legacy BIOS" mode) and - considering that your "Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS" ("Jammy Jellyfish") installation is working and also assuming that you don't have already saved data (documents, pictures and/or other files) that you want to back up first - run the following command in a "MATE Terminal" window, inside your "Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS", to do an in-place upgrade your "Ubuntu MATE 22.04 LTS" to "Ubuntu MATE 24.04.1 LTS" ("Noble Numbat"):

sudo do-release-upgrade

- OR -

Option 2: This second option involves changing your UEFI Settings. Naturally, I suggest that you please FIRST make sure that you have Good BACKUPS of your files (also from your Windows installation) before changing BIOS / UEFI settings and/or Boot Loader configurations, in case that your system becomes unbootable by any change! So, this second option involves changing your UEFI Settings to DISABLE the "Legacy" boot mode and then doing a fresh install again of "Ubuntu MATE 24.04.1 LTS" in your testing SSD, choosing the option to Erase the whole disk ("Erase disk and install Ubuntu MATE") during installation, so the partition table and the necessary partitions get automatically created and, hopefully, by doing this, the FAT32 /boot/efi partition will be created and the system will boot properly after the installation.

I hope this helps Please, continue keeping us posted. Good luck!

[not_Rich]

Hi RicMarques

@ricmarques

A) Either that machine has a "BIOS" and not a "UEFI"

• OR -

B) That machine does have a "UEFI" that has the so-called "CSM ("Compatibility Support Module") and, in that case, I'm guessing that your "UEFI" settings are configured to boot in Legacy BIOS mode. Am I right?

I have had a look in the bios and cannot find any setting for compatibility support mode in the there. I only have the option to use UEFI or legacy.

When I use legacy the Ubuntu 24 usb is recognized as USB at the bottom, when I use UEFI its missing, Ubuntu Mate 22 works either way.

When I use UEFI all my hard drives are there and so would be Ubuntu 22 if the USB was in when I took the picture, I don't know why the OCZ drive is showing up twice, but that's trivial.

I did install v22 on the Samsung 870 that I wanted to use but the upgrade to 24 broke things as mentioned by Jef here.
There seemed to be a problem with the upgrade back then.

Yesterday I upgraded my testing drive from 22 to 24 with no problems whatsoever, I will play around with it a bit more until I am happy and then install 22 and upgrade it on the Samsung 870 which is the currently broken OS.

[Philippe]

I'm really impressed by the quality of your answers, bravo!

[ericmarceau]

As they say ... "It's all in the details!"

[not_Rich]

I have fixed it by resetting the bios to defaults

This is what I see now, never seen the UFI shell option before.

Long story
About six months ago I got a message in the bios I think saying that the overclocking settings have been reset to defaults. I have never overclocked, someone suggested replacing the cmos battery so I did with a cheap one from ebay.
Just recently I have been having problems booting USB's that previously worked so I reset the bios and bought a Duracell cr2032.

Only I know the problems I have had before, therefore it seems I have to select my answer as the sollution.

[ricmarques]

Wow, @not_Rich ! Congratulations for that amazing "detective work" You sure deserve to select your own answer as the solution. Thanks for having reported back with your findings and your solution (resetting the BIOS / UEFI and buying a Duracell CR2032 battery to replace your CMOS battery). Well done!