14.04 on new hardware. Error about not supporting smbios newer than 2.8

[Frank616]

Machine is a Lenovo S510 i5-6400 with Win10 installed and current as of mid May on a 500 GB mechanical drive. OS I am installing is Kubuntu 14.04 64 bit on a 250 GB Samsung Evo 850 SSD connected to Sata3. Boot order is Sata 3, then Sata 2, then Sata 1, with Sata 1 being the Win10 disk, and Sata 2 being the DVD drive.

I can do a full install successfully, but when I get to the install screen asking me for the network name of the machine, it is filled in with:

irma-SMBIOS-implementations-newer-than-version-2.8-are-not-fully-supported-by-this-version-of-dmidecode-Lenovo-S510

Install completes nonetheless, but when I reboot, it goes straight to Win10, bypassing the Samsung drive. It will boot and run 14.04 from the DVD, which is how I installed it to the Samsung drive to begin with.

I have seen numerous bugs reported over the dmidecode issue, but none of them seem to address a failure to boot.

I installed Mint 17.3 with identical results (which is to be expected).

So what options do I have? If I move to a newer version of Kubuntu, is this going to solve the problem?

I have a 16.04 DVD here somewhere, and I will try downloading the 17.04 image as well.

Any suggestions appreciated.

Please read all the posts in this thread first. I have been working on it since this original post.

Frank.

[Frank616]

OK, found and installed 16.04. No issues with the SMBIOS error message, but it still won't boot into Kubuntu.

The Lenovo "BIOS" has a 'default' boot order, and also an 'automatic' boot order. In both of these I have placed the Kubuntu drive at the top of the list. It still boots into Windows...

As a last ditch effort, I manually selected a 'single boot' option, as I was able to boot Kubuntu from a flash drive using that. I selected "Ubuntu" on the Win10 mechanical drive on SATA 1 (Sata 3 is not shown as an option for a 'one time' boot). THAT worked. It loaded 16.04.

So, I really don't get it. What am I doing wrong, or what don't I understand about booting Linux on a Lenovo machine?

I'm now downloading the 14.04.5 64 bit image in hopes that it may include a fix for the SMBIOS error. The previous image I used was the image of the original release.

Thanks.

Frank.

[Snowhog]

Please read all the posts in this thread first.I have been working on it since this original post.

Frank.

What posts? This is the first one in 'this thread'.

[Frank616]

Snowhog:

No, there are two. I answered my own post with an update.

In any case, now another update:

I downloaded 14.04.5 and installed that. This loads correctly with no errors about SMBIOS etc. Runs fine.

However, it will NOT automatically boot on this machine no matter what boot order I select in the "BIOS".

I can make it boot into Kubuntu 14.04.5 if I select a 'one time' boot device, and choose the ubuntu option on SATA1, which is the Win10 disk. Now how that got there, and what I have to do to get it off and put Linux back in control of booting remains a complete mystery to me.

Hope someone can help.

Thanks.

Frank.

[Snowhog]

Is this a "newer" PC, i.e., does it utilize UEFI?

[Frank616]

Yes. Skylake chip.

[Snowhog]

You might want to review Qqmike's Boot Kubuntu Using UEFI Only -- no GRUB, no bootloader, no rEFInd, no other boot manager/loader which deals with UEFI on newer PCs.

[Frank616]

Thanks. Will do.

I just tried update-grub, which worked. But then when it booted, it went right back to Win10 which wanted to help me 'repair the disk'! :-(

MAN but MS can be a PITA!

Frank.

[Frank616]

Snowhog:

OK, I found the thread, but I don't see what you are trying to point me to there. I don't see a heading "Boot Kubuntu Using UEFI Only" or similar.

Sorry, I don't understand.

I did find a post elsewhere about a recent HP machine that has UEFI extensions that only allow boot by ID, and the only ID allowable is Windows Boot Manager.

HPs are also hard coded UEFI to boot by description and only valid description is "Windows Boot Manager". UEFI spec does not allow that, but it seems more vendors are now using it.

https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2332214 - message 2 in that thread.

I may be in that situation...

In any case, I CAN get it to boot by using the 'one time' boot option. However, had I known...

Frank.

[Qqmike]

If you want to try using some UEFI, some of the material in this how-to might be helpful:

UEFI Simplified, a quicker version

https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...l=1#post379977

In particular, you first boot into Kubuntu (any way you can). Then find your current UEFI boot order:
sudo efibootmgr
or
sudo efibootmgr -v
Then you try to change that boot order using
sudo efibootmgr -o, as in

Change UEFI BootOrder: sudo efibootmgr -o 0003,0000,0002,0004, or sudo efibootmgr -o 3,0,2,4

and as explained in the how-to cited.

This works on my machine, an ASUS; but I don't have any Windows OSs.
Your luck will depend on the Lenovo, how Lenovo implemented the UEFI standard in their firmware, and any quirky things re Windows, I'm assuming you are booting by UEFI, since you said so, using the 64-bit version of Kubuntu and your newer machine. Also assuming you have googled for any quirky/buggy issues with Windows in your specific setup.

[Frank616]

Qqmike:

Then you try to change that boot order using
sudo efibootmgr -o, as in

Yeah, I succeeded in changing the boot order, putting Ubuntu first, and Windows second. I checked again, and that was the order alright. As soon as I rebooted, however, Windows or the BIOS had already set it back the way it was. :-( If the machine detects any change, I get an 'automatic repair' notice on boot up to Win10, and all my changes disappear. Even tried turning off secure boot, but it still won't boot Linux directly. The only way I can get to that disk and that install is in the one-time boot menu. That requires pressing the "Enter" key on power up, then the F12 key for the one time boot sequence, then selecting Ubuntu.

Looks Like MS / Lenovo have that machine locked down pretty tight.

Yeah, I dunno. There are some options in the "BIOS" that may disable some of this, but I hate to play with them until I know exactly what they do. I don't want to trash the Win10 install either.

I've been scouring the web to find out more about the Lenovo "BIOS", but haven't found anything so far that explains exactly what the various options really do.

What should have been the work of an hour or so has turned into a full day of wasted time and mounting frustration. I do give MS credit, however, for having found so many ways to frustrate the installation of Linux. "MS loves Linux?" I think not.

Anyway, I'll keep digging. If anyone here has more ideas, I'm willing to give them a try.

Frank.

[Qqmike]

Not sure without searching around, which I think you probably have already done a good job of. Somehow Windows is setting and reverting to the default bootloader in UEFI, or some-such thing.

Setting this aside for the moment, you might try rEFInd, a boot manager and boot loader, by Rod Smith (an expert on booting, UEFI, and author of gdisk). I have it installed and am letting it do the booting, as do others; even if you really don't need it, it's nice to have handy. It might present you with a menu of boot options that would work. It will boot your Kubuntu by booting your GRUB, and that is OK as there may be a bug preventing rEFInd booting your Kubuntu by the stub loader method (without GRUB). I.e., keep your GRUB installed, as is; let rEFInd find it and use it. It's worth a try. It might work fine; and you could use it while you are researching other solutions.

Anyway, my brief how-to on rEFInd is here:

rEFInd
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...l=1#post372221

[Qqmike]

Even tried turning off secure boot,

Yes, and just to be thorough here, you want to disable secure boot before installing Kubuntu (with its GRUB).

It if often advised to turn off Fast Boot (for Windows), too. You do that twice: once in BIOS, and once inside Windows.

[Frank616]

Qqmike:

Yes, and just to be thorough here, you want to disable secure boot before installing Kubuntu (with its GRUB).

I have nothing invested in the current Kubuntu install. Shall I turn off secure boot, then reinstall again?

BTW, what is the difference between secure boot and UEFI? I thought they were the same.

Any idea how an Ubuntu boot option appeared in the Windows boot menu on the mechanical HDD with Win10? Did my running of update-grub do that?

Anyway, I'll try rEFInd tomorrow or Sunday. I've run out of time for today.

Thank you for the help.

Frank.

[Qqmike]

I have nothing invested in the current Kubuntu install. Shall I turn off secure boot, then reinstall again?

I would do that. In fact, here's exactly what I did on a new PC build before installing Kubuntu:

Configure UEFI (BIOS)

Turn on the PC, at the POST press the key (F2) to enter UEFI(-BIOS).
CSM (compatibility support module): set to Auto (default).
Disable Secure Boot: Change to “Other O/S”, which disables Secure Boot for the ASUS UEFI. Disable Fast Boot.

The CSM (Compatibility Support Module): It should be set to "Off" if that is the only choice given to you in your UEFI firmware menus. My ASUS gave the choice of "Auto," so I used it -- implying that the firmware will figure out that I have UEFI and that I am using UEFI and that CSM will not be used.
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...l=1#post368216

From wikipedia:

The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification that defines a software interface between an operating system and platform firmware.

IOW, it is taking the place of what we used to call "BIOS." Even with a new UEFI computer, many people still use the terms BIOS, BIOS setup, etc.; but they really should instead say UEFI firmware setup, or something like that. Sometimes writers will say UEFI/BIOS setup, which is a little messy but reminds the reader that the firmware is now the newer UEFI.

When you boot a new Windows 8 PC, the Secure Boot feature in the UEFI firmware checks the operating system loader and its drivers to ensure they're signed by an approved digital signature.

So, no, UEFI and Secure Boot are not the same. UEFI is the whole show, the entire firmware itself. Secure Boot is a setting you can make within that firmware, in a sense.

Any idea how an Ubuntu boot option appeared in the Windows boot menu on the mechanical HDD with Win10? Did my running of update-grub do that?

That "Ubuntu option" is actually not a problem per se: The word "Ubuntu" is used for ALL Ubuntu derivatives! Mint, Kubuntu, Xubuntu, etc. Now THAT is a problem because if you have, say, Minti, Kubuntu, and Ubuntu all installed and dual-booting together, you can't tell which is which from the boot menus--they all say Ubuntu! Anyway, I address that issue in that how-to link; there are some advanced ways around this catch. For now, not to worry about. Just realize that when you see Ubuntu in a boot menu, it is for your Kubuntu OS.

So, you could first, as you implied, make the changes in the firmware (shut off Secure Boot, shut off CSM, shuit off Fast Boot). Then install Kubuntu (and let the installer go ahead, as usual, and install GRUB); make sure you are using the 64-bit Kubuntu since the 32-bit will not work for UEFI.
See how that works.
Then, if it doesn't work, try installing rEFInd, it will probably work to boot your computer, use it for awhile or forever.