(solved) grub-install fails: modinfo.sh does not exist

Message

Spanik · Post by **Spanik** » Tue May 18, 2021 9:52 am

Reinstalling the laptop and I'm now at installing Grub. But this fails. Disk setup is as follows:

/dev/sda (gtp) (spinning HD)

/dev/sda1 swap
/dev/sda2 xfs /root
/dev/sda3 xfs /home
/dev/sda4 xfs /var
/dev/sda5 xfs/mnt/data

/dev/sdb (dos) (ssd)

/dev/sdb1 ext2 /boot (boot flag set)
/dev/sdb2 xfs /

As the laptop is from the changeover to efi I used "echo 'GRUB_PLATFORMS="efi-64"' >> /etc/portage/make.conf" "to add the functionality.

The emerge was ok. But the install does not work.

Code: Select all

(chroot) livecd / # grub-install /dev/sdb
grub-install: error /usr/lib/grub/i386-pc/modinfo.sh doesn't exist. Please specify --target or --directory

Adding "--target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot" does not help.

Do I need to start again and not add the efi option?

alamahant · Post by **alamahant** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:03 am

You said it all

Adding "--target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot" does help.

Plz do that

Spanik · Post by **Spanik** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:04 am

This is an Intel I7.

Spanik · Post by **Spanik** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:10 am

alamahant wrote:You said it all
Adding "--target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot" does help.
Plz do that

Sorry, this was a typo from me, it should read "does NOT help". I corrected the original.

alamahant · Post by **alamahant** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:13 am

Code: Select all

This is an Intel I7.

ok no problem.
Actually there is a problem the

Code: Select all

mkfs.vfat /dev/sdb1
mkdir /boot/efi
mount /dev/sdb1 /boot/efi
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi

is the correct form.

If you dont do that then all kernel initrd and grub related stuff will be inside the <esp>.
This is not very standard,unless you are doing it for a specific reason.

Please see UEFI with GPT section in
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/GRUB2

I think it is high time that the handbook stop telling people to mount the esp on /boot.
It is WRONG.
UNORTHODOX
CONFUSES PEOPLE
https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/Handbook:A ... Bootloader

Post by **pietinger** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:14 am

You wrote you have tried to install grub from the liveCD. What happens if you mount your /root to /mnt/gentoo, chroot into it (like described in the AMD64-handbook) and then try to install grub2 again ?

P.S.: And check before, if it was really an UEFI-boot => check if /sys/firmware/efi exists -> yes -> ok, it was really an uefi boot

Code: Select all

# ls /sys/firmware

Spanik · Post by **Spanik** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:21 am

pietinger wrote:You wrote you have tried to install grub from the liveCD. What happens if you mount your /root to /mnt/gentoo, chroot into it (like described in the AMD64-handbook) and then try to install grub2 again ?

I do install from the chroot.

Actually there is a problem the
Code:

mkdir /boot/efi
mount <esp> /boot/efi
grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi

is the correct form.
Furthermore the /boot/efi partition should be "vfat"

mkfs.vfat /dev/sdb1

If you dont do that then all kernel initrd and grub related stuf will be inside the <esp>.

Ok, so you now got me thinking that in the previous install I also used ext2 for the /boot.At least that is what I wrote down before I wiped the partitions (and from the fstab that I saved). This makes me think I do not used efi before and I should remove that option from the make.conf and rebuild grub.

Post by **pietinger** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:22 am

alamahant wrote:Furthermore the /boot/efi partition should be "vfat"

... and MUST reside on a disk which is partitioned with GPT (and not MBR) !

Post by **pietinger** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:24 am

Spanik wrote:This makes me think I do not used efi before and I should remove that option from the make.conf and rebuild grub.

Yes. This is the other option: You do an old MBR-boot (but then you can never use SecureBoot because for this you need UEFI).

Spanik · Post by **Spanik** » Tue May 18, 2021 10:55 am

pietinger wrote:
alamahant wrote:Furthermore the /boot/efi partition should be "vfat"
... and MUST reside on a disk which is partitioned with GPT (and not MBR) !

I did wipe the partitions but I did not changed anything to the type of disk. So this also points in the direction that I used an MBR. I also saw that I saved the old make.conf and there is no "GRUB_PLATFORMS="efi-64"" there.

pietinger wrote:
Spanik wrote:This makes me think I do not used efi before and I should remove that option from the make.conf and rebuild grub.
Yes. This is the other option: You do an old MBR-boot (but then you can never use SecureBoot because for this you need UEFI).

Ok, but I never use that.

So, emerge -C grub:2, remove the "GRUB_PLATFORMS" from make.conf, add "CHOST" and emerge grub:2 again and see where/how that ends.

Spanik · Post by **Spanik** » Tue May 18, 2021 1:31 pm

Ok, "emerge -C grub:2, remove the "GRUB_PLATFORMS" from make.conf, add "CHOST" and emerge grub:2 again and see where/how that ends" did the trick.

Thanks.