Configuring an EFI System Partition on a new laptop

[TwoFistedJustice]

Firstly, this is a new thread that evolved from a different thread on partition permissions on setting up a new laptop.

The subject of this thread is setting up an ESP (EFI System Partition - a double acronym to impress your friends!)

Here is a pretty thorough write up on EFI
https://www.rodsbooks.com/efi-bootlo...rinciples.html

UEFI stands for Unified Extensible Firmware Interface.

It is a hardware standard which replaces the old BIOS standard for booting computers. Most new computers come with a BIOS emulator. So on a Linux only system you can get away with not using an ESP.

I'm still reading through that doc up there so I don't have any really detail questions or thoughts yet.

But on a basic level let's start with how do you set up a basic ESP under Kubuntu on a new SSD?
and
How do you avoid setting up an ESP under Kubuntu on a new SSD?

What are the pros and cons of each?

[Don B. Cilly]

Why would you avoid it?
It takes up no space at all. Honestly, as I've said, I have six distros on this machine and my EFI partition uses 6.8 MB.
Everything is getting more and more dependent on EFI and less on MBR.
By using EFI, you can eventually ditch grub and use rEFInd as a boot manager (all pros and no cons).

If you're setting up a new Kubuntu-only system on a laptop... the installer will do it for you.
Just accept the defaults. They're easy enough to modify later.

[TwoFistedJustice]

Why would you avoid it?
It takes up no space at all. Honestly, as I've said, I have six distros on this machine and my EFI partition uses 6.8 MB.
Everything is getting more and more dependent on EFI and less on MBR.
By using EFI, you can eventually ditch grub and use rEFInd as a boot manager (all pros and no cons).

If you're setting up a new Kubuntu-only system on a laptop... the installer will do it for you.
Just accept the defaults. They're easy enough to modify later.

I've read the bulk of the rodsbooks link and come to pretty much the same conclusion. The only 'advantage' to not using UEFI is that of not having to learn a new complex thing. Which is only an advantage if you are never going to set up an OS on a modern computer again.

Here's the link to the official Ubuntu docs on Installing Ubuntu in UEFI Mode

[claydoh]

MBR pros - none, really. Or rather neutral.
Cons: More work to manage in multi-OS situations, as you have to make sure any secondary OS do not install a boot loader to the MBR (they can be installed to a partition instead), and there will be more maintenance required to keep things straightforward.

EFI - pros - No MBR to get mucked up - if you boot multiple OSs, if one boot menu is broken, you can always use the computer's boot selection f-key at boot to load another OS
cons- this is more particular to *buntu 'flavours'. say if you have only one drive, or more particularly one EFI partition, all official Ubuntu variant - Ubuntu, Xubuntu, Kubuntu, etc - use the same exact grub setup, so when installing an extra one, the installer can, or more likely will, overwrite the existing OS info in the EFI partition, as the directories with the boot loader are all named "ubuntu'. Multi-disk and multiple EFI partitions. mitigate this.

As Don has multiple OS installs, he may be able to verify if the above still holds true, as I have not had more than operating systems on one machine since about 2001 or so, back when I had Win98/ME, BeOS, and at least 4 Linux distros at any one time.

[Qqmike]

UEFI is no longer new. Most computers after about 2011 should have UEFI firmware setup. I've written a bunch of UEFI how-to's, if you are interested:

UEFI, GPT, ESP, GRUB2-EFI, (dual)-booting, fixing things
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...-fixing-things

When you set up the ESP, don't forget to set the boot flag on it (which marks it as the ESP).

[oshunluvr]

Why would you avoid it?

Well that's easy to answer. Because it's an unnecessary additional layer of complication, driven by Microsoft, and there's no benefit that I am aware of other than it's required for Windows. To prove my point: this and the previous thread.

That being said, it's not a huge deal either. The only computer I have it on are the ones that also have windows. Otherwise, why bother?

[Don B. Cilly]

Well, that's funny.
Because, I never bothered with UEFI, until I installed Kubuntu 18.04.
Notwithstanding the fact that I had to set the BIOS to boot from USB in legacy mode, or it simply would not boot, the installer told me "No EFI system partition was found, the system will likely not be able to boot successfully and the installation may fail".

Not having had any Windows for about ten years, I'd never heard of it.
Last install I did was 16.04 and it didn't ask for it. 18.04 positively demanded it. See above message.
So I looked it up, made the partition, the installer whined about an ESP flag, the partitioner didn't have it, I tried gparted, it did have it, after a few aeons I finished the installation, my hair was white, and Bob wasn't my uncle anymore because I'd exterminated the whole family in frustration, but I quite liked the latest Plasma.

[Qqmike]

Well, that's funny.
Because, I never bothered with UEFI, until I installed Kubuntu 18.04.

I dealt with UEFI out of anticipated guilt/responsibility.

This started back with GRUB, the good ol' days when we were all experimenting and doing things the old-fashioned way, and when I did this hefty piece:

HOW TO: GRUB Methods - Toolkit
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...ethods-Toolkit

Then GRUB 2 came out and ruined it, with their sophisticated scripts and what-not. I did the GRUB how-to for us here at Kubuntu. So I felt responsible for helping people into GRUB 2 since I had done the original GRUB, and so ...

GRUB2: A Guide for Users
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...uide-for-Users

When GRUB 2 came out, we lost a lot of GRUB how-to writers (like Herman at Big Pond) because, well, I think, because they disliked GRUB2 and GRUB2 took over the fun show with all their professionally crafted scripts and such. Thus, I felt even more responsibility to write the GRUB 2 Guide.

Then here comes the UEFI business. Ditto for me: I'd feel guilty if I didn't write down a "get started with UEFI" how-to, and thus, all this:

UEFI, GPT, ESP, GRUB2-EFI, (dual)-booting, fixing things
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/showth...-fixing-things

Like a lot of you guys, I did eventually build an up-to-date PC with UEFI motherboard firmware, so I wanted to get with the show and go that way; but I could have done that in one afternoon without writing the UEFI how-to! I do like to write, did a lot of it professionally (textbook, articles, business writing, etc.), but I'm kind of hoping "they" don't monkey too much with UEFI and just let this be the end of Linux booting technology.

[Don B. Cilly]

Good job. All I could do was making hate threads about grub.

Good thing I eventually found rEFInd and stopped suffering... :·)

[Snowhog]

...but I'm kind of hoping "they" don't monkey too much with UEFI and just let this be the end of Linux booting technology.

And you live in what fantasy realm?

[vinnywright]

And you live in what fantasy realm?

ha ha ,,,,,yes the coders cant stop coding and all will eventually change .

VINNY

[Qqmike]

Yeah, you guys are right: change seems to be unavoidable.

[Don B. Cilly]

Ah,

..., as the directories with the boot loader are all named "ubuntu'. Multi-disk and multiple EFI partitions. mitigate this.

... As Don has multiple OS installs, he may be able to verify if the above still holds true...
.

Not exactly sure what you mean, but this is how my EFI dir is structured:

/boot/efi/EFI$ tree --filelimit 10
.
├── BOOT
│   ├── bkpbootx64.efi
│   ├── bootx64.efi
│   └── fbx64.efi
├── refind
│   ├── BOOT.CSV
│   ├── drivers_x64
│   │   └── ext4_x64.efi
│   ├── icons [71 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   ├── icons-backup [71 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   ├── keys [13 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   ├── refind.conf
│   ├── refind.conf-sample
│   └── refind_x64.efi
├── tools
└── ubuntu
  ├── grub.cfg
  └── shimx64.efi

8 directories, 10 files

[claydoh]

Ah,



Not exactly sure what you mean, but this is how my EFI dir is structured:

/boot/efi/EFI$ tree --filelimit 10
.
├── BOOT
│   ├── bkpbootx64.efi
│   ├── bootx64.efi
│   └── fbx64.efi
├── refind
│   ├── BOOT.CSV
│   ├── drivers_x64
│   │   └── ext4_x64.efi
│   ├── icons [71 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   ├── icons-backup [71 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   ├── keys [13 entries exceeds filelimit, not opening dir]
│   ├── refind.conf
│   ├── refind.conf-sample
│   └── refind_x64.efi
├── tools
└── ubuntu
  ├── grub.cfg
  └── shimx64.efi

8 directories, 10 files

Look in your EFI partitions and see how each OS has a separate directory. Do you see one called "kubuntu" or are "ubuntu", for any official Ubuntu variant you have installed?

Sent from my LG-H931 using Tapatalk

[Don B. Cilly]

That is my EFi partition, isn't it?
I only use one. rEFInd boots all of them.
Still, of course all Ubuntu variants are called Ubuntu. I mean, I don't know why, but they are :·)

You type lsb_release in Kubuntu, it returns Ubuntu.