Boot fails with kernels 6.17 or 6.18 after 2025-12-08 update

Dubliner · 12 December 2025 09:50

Hello,

Please allow me to ask a probably stupid question.

How does the file /boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi get updated?

Background:

I updated an encrypted PC as well as an encrypted laptop to the latest stable version of Manjaro. Everything works well on the laptop (kernel 6.17). The PC is not able to boot neither kernel 6.17 nor 6.18 (I end up on a black screen following the grub menu). Alas, at least 6.12 still boots on that PC without any problems (phew!).

On the laptop (i.e. the working one), the file /boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi shows the date of the recent update as modify time (10-Dec-2025).

On the PC (i.e. the one only booting kernel 6.12), that file is dated June 2024 when the system was first installed. Thus, I assume this might be the culprit.

I have not touched /etc/mkinitcpio.conf.
I ran mkinitcpio -P and update-grub several times to no avail.

I also read the thread on Encrypted system is not booting after stable update although it is a little beyond me TBH. However, the solution suggested there (mkinitcpio -P; sudo update-grub) did not allow me to boot kernels 6.17 or 6.18.

Since I worry a lot about my system (would be a disaster if it ended up not booting any kernel), what is the safest way to proceed?

magus · 12 December 2025 10:12

A system info is always handy on the forum, but even without it I’ll try my best on my previous experiences.

So I assume by doesn’t boot, you just see a black screen? Which if true then I assume you have Nvidia in your PC?

If yes, then make sure linux617-nvidia and linux618-nvidia are also installed.

install-grub

Run this aswell, then reboot.

anon33601770 · 12 December 2025 10:14

I don’t exactly know all the in’s and out’s

but

/boot/efi/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi

and

/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi

should be identical - essentially the same file, despite the different name

There are multiple post on the subject matter here.

If you can boot (which kernel doesn’t matter)
you can copy the Manjaro one to the other
or
use the script
install-grub
to achieve the same result

If this is not installed, install it first.

install it if not present already:
sudo pacman -Syu install-grub

run it:
sudo install-grub

Dubliner · 12 December 2025 23:58

Thank you very much for your quick help, both of you.

Yes, I only get a black screen when trying to boot 6.17 or 6.18 which makes figuring out what went wrong really difficult.

I’ve run install-grub now. (Spoiler, the problem persists.)

[computer user]# install-grub
Grub will be installed on: EFI
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found theme: /usr/share/grub/themes/manjaro/theme.txt
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.18-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.18-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.17-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.17-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.12-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.6-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.1-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.1-x86_64.img
Warning: os-prober will be executed to detect other bootable partitions.
Its output will be used to detect bootable binaries on them and create new boot entries.
ERROR: unsupported sector size 4096 on /dev/dm-2.
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
Root filesystem isn't btrfs
If you think an error has occurred, please file a bug report at "https://github.com/Antynea/grub-btrfs"
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.bin
Found memtest86+ EFI image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.efi
done

[computer user]# mkinitcpio -P
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux612.preset: 'default'
==> Using default configuration file: '/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64 -g /boot/initramfs-6.12-x86_64.img
==> Starting build: '6.12.61-1-MANJARO'
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [kms]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [consolefont]
==> WARNING: consolefont: no font found in configuration
  -> Running build hook: [plymouth]
  -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
  -> Running build hook: [openswap]
==> WARNING: you are using potentially dangerous unlock_method keyfile, please make sure you know what you are doing
==> WARNING: https://docs.kernel.org/power/swsusp.html
==> WARNING: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Swap_encryption#busybox-based_initramfs
==> WARNING: keyfile_device_mount_options variable is not set and unlock_method is set to keyfile
  -> Running build hook: [resume]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-6.12-x86_64.img'
  -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux617.preset: 'default'
==> Using default configuration file: '/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-6.17-x86_64 -g /boot/initramfs-6.17-x86_64.img
==> Starting build: '6.17.11-1-MANJARO'
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [kms]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [consolefont]
==> WARNING: consolefont: no font found in configuration
  -> Running build hook: [plymouth]
  -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qat_6xxx'
  -> Running build hook: [openswap]
==> WARNING: you are using potentially dangerous unlock_method keyfile, please make sure you know what you are doing
==> WARNING: https://docs.kernel.org/power/swsusp.html
==> WARNING: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Swap_encryption#busybox-based_initramfs
==> WARNING: keyfile_device_mount_options variable is not set and unlock_method is set to keyfile
  -> Running build hook: [resume]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-6.17-x86_64.img'
  -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux618.preset: 'default'
==> Using default configuration file: '/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-6.18-x86_64 -g /boot/initramfs-6.18-x86_64.img
==> Starting build: '6.18.0-1-MANJARO'
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [kms]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [consolefont]
==> WARNING: consolefont: no font found in configuration
  -> Running build hook: [plymouth]
  -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'qat_6xxx'
  -> Running build hook: [openswap]
==> WARNING: you are using potentially dangerous unlock_method keyfile, please make sure you know what you are doing
==> WARNING: https://docs.kernel.org/power/swsusp.html
==> WARNING: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Swap_encryption#busybox-based_initramfs
==> WARNING: keyfile_device_mount_options variable is not set and unlock_method is set to keyfile
  -> Running build hook: [resume]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-6.18-x86_64.img'
  -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux61.preset: 'default'
==> Using default configuration file: '/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-6.1-x86_64 -g /boot/initramfs-6.1-x86_64.img
==> Starting build: '6.1.159-1-MANJARO'
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [kms]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'xhci_pci'
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [consolefont]
==> WARNING: consolefont: no font found in configuration
  -> Running build hook: [plymouth]
  -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
  -> Running build hook: [openswap]
==> WARNING: you are using potentially dangerous unlock_method keyfile, please make sure you know what you are doing
==> WARNING: https://docs.kernel.org/power/swsusp.html
==> WARNING: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Swap_encryption#busybox-based_initramfs
==> WARNING: keyfile_device_mount_options variable is not set and unlock_method is set to keyfile
  -> Running build hook: [resume]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-6.1-x86_64.img'
  -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful
==> Building image from preset: /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux66.preset: 'default'
==> Using default configuration file: '/etc/mkinitcpio.conf'
  -> -k /boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64 -g /boot/initramfs-6.6-x86_64.img
==> Starting build: '6.6.119-1-MANJARO'
  -> Running build hook: [base]
  -> Running build hook: [udev]
  -> Running build hook: [autodetect]
  -> Running build hook: [kms]
  -> Running build hook: [modconf]
  -> Running build hook: [block]
==> WARNING: Possibly missing firmware for module: 'xhci_pci'
  -> Running build hook: [keyboard]
  -> Running build hook: [keymap]
  -> Running build hook: [consolefont]
==> WARNING: consolefont: no font found in configuration
  -> Running build hook: [plymouth]
  -> Running build hook: [encrypt]
  -> Running build hook: [openswap]
==> WARNING: you are using potentially dangerous unlock_method keyfile, please make sure you know what you are doing
==> WARNING: https://docs.kernel.org/power/swsusp.html
==> WARNING: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Dm-crypt/Swap_encryption#busybox-based_initramfs
==> WARNING: keyfile_device_mount_options variable is not set and unlock_method is set to keyfile
  -> Running build hook: [resume]
  -> Running build hook: [filesystems]
  -> Running build hook: [fsck]
==> Generating module dependencies
==> Creating zstd-compressed initcpio image: '/boot/initramfs-6.6-x86_64.img'
  -> Early uncompressed CPIO image generation successful
==> Initcpio image generation successful

[computer user]# update-grub
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found theme: /usr/share/grub/themes/manjaro/theme.txt
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.18-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.18-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.17-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.17-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.12-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.6-x86_64.img
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-6.1-x86_64
Found initrd image: /boot/intel-ucode.img /boot/initramfs-6.1-x86_64.img
Warning: os-prober will be executed to detect other bootable partitions.
Its output will be used to detect bootable binaries on them and create new boot entries.
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
Root filesystem isn't btrfs
If you think an error has occurred, please file a bug report at "https://github.com/Antynea/grub-btrfs"
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.bin
Found memtest86+ EFI image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.efi
done

I see nothing unusual in the install-grub output. This is the result:

$ sudo ls -Ral /boot/efi
/boot/efi:
total 12
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Jan  1  1970 .
drwxr-xr-x 5 root root 4096 Dec 12 23:54 ..
drwx------ 4 root root 4096 Jun 28  2024 EFI

/boot/efi/EFI:
total 16
drwx------ 4 root root 4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 3 root root 4096 Jan  1  1970 ..
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jun 28  2024 boot
drwx------ 2 root root 4096 Jun 28  2024 Manjaro

/boot/efi/EFI/boot:
total 224
drwx------ 2 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 4 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 ..
-rwx------ 1 root root 221184 Jun 28  2024 bootx64.efi

/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro:
total 344
drwx------ 2 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 4 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 ..
-rwx------ 1 root root 344064 Dec 12 23:51 grubx64.efi

After reboot, it’s still the same situation: Kernel 6.12 boots just fine. Kernels 6.17 and 6.18 will produce a black screen as soon as the GRUB menu disappears.

Before the update I was running kernel 6.16 without any problems.

More confusingly, running manjaro-gnome-25.1-pre1-251208-linux618.iso in Ventoy from a USB drive worked flawlessly. This baffles me.

# vim:set ft=sh
# MODULES
# The following modules are loaded before any boot hooks are
# run.  Advanced users may wish to specify all system modules
# in this array.  For instance:
#     MODULES=(usbhid xhci_hcd)
MODULES=(amdgpu radeon)

# BINARIES
# This setting includes any additional binaries a given user may
# wish into the CPIO image.  This is run last, so it may be used to
# override the actual binaries included by a given hook
# BINARIES are dependency parsed, so you may safely ignore libraries
BINARIES=()

# FILES
# This setting is similar to BINARIES above, however, files are added
# as-is and are not parsed in any way.  This is useful for config files.
FILES=(/crypto_keyfile.bin)

# HOOKS
# This is the most important setting in this file.  The HOOKS control the
# modules and scripts added to the image, and what happens at boot time.
# Order is important, and it is recommended that you do not change the
# order in which HOOKS are added.  Run 'mkinitcpio -H <hook name>' for
# help on a given hook.
# 'base' is _required_ unless you know precisely what you are doing.
# 'udev' is _required_ in order to automatically load modules
# 'filesystems' is _required_ unless you specify your fs modules in MODULES
# Examples:
##   This setup specifies all modules in the MODULES setting above.
##   No RAID, lvm2, or encrypted root is needed.
#    HOOKS=(base)
#
##   This setup will autodetect all modules for your system and should
##   work as a sane default
#    HOOKS=(base udev autodetect modconf block filesystems fsck)
#
##   This setup will generate a 'full' image which supports most systems.
##   No autodetection is done.
#    HOOKS=(base udev modconf block filesystems fsck)
#
##   This setup assembles a mdadm array with an encrypted root file system.
##   Note: See 'mkinitcpio -H mdadm_udev' for more information on RAID devices.
#    HOOKS=(base udev modconf keyboard keymap consolefont block mdadm_udev encrypt filesystems fsck)
#
##   This setup loads an lvm2 volume group.
#    HOOKS=(base udev modconf block lvm2 filesystems fsck)
#
##   This will create a systemd based initramfs which loads an encrypted root filesystem.
#    HOOKS=(base systemd autodetect modconf kms keyboard sd-vconsole sd-encrypt block filesystems fsck)
#
##   NOTE: If you have /usr on a separate partition, you MUST include the
#    usr and fsck hooks.
HOOKS=(base udev autodetect kms modconf block keyboard keymap consolefont plymouth encrypt openswap resume filesystems fsck)

# COMPRESSION
# Use this to compress the initramfs image. By default, zstd compression
# is used for Linux ≥ 5.9 and gzip compression is used for Linux < 5.9.
# Use 'cat' to create an uncompressed image.
#COMPRESSION="zstd"
#COMPRESSION="gzip"
#COMPRESSION="bzip2"
#COMPRESSION="lzma"
#COMPRESSION="xz"
#COMPRESSION="lzop"
#COMPRESSION="lz4"

# COMPRESSION_OPTIONS
# Additional options for the compressor
#COMPRESSION_OPTIONS=()

# MODULES_DECOMPRESS
# Decompress loadable kernel modules and their firmware during initramfs
# creation. Switch (yes/no).
# Enable to allow further decreasing image size when using high compression
# (e.g. xz -9e or zstd --long --ultra -22) at the expense of increased RAM usage
# at early boot.
# Note that any compressed files will be placed in the uncompressed early CPIO
# to avoid double compression.
#MODULES_DECOMPRESS="no"

Since the same mkinitcpio.conf is used for all kernels, I do not understand why kernel 6.12 would boot while 6.17 and 6.18 do not. Unfortunately, I can no longer try kernel 6.16 as it is no longer available.

What might have changed starting with kernel 6.17 that leads to the black screen?
What else could I try to fix this? Of course, I’d prefer options that are safe and won’t lock me out of the system.

magus · 13 December 2025 00:19

Post the output of inxi --filter --verbosity=8

Dubliner · 14 December 2025 09:20

Thanks for helping me!!!

Gladly, here we go:

System:
  Kernel: 6.12.61-1-MANJARO arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 15.2.1
    clocksource: tsc avail: hpet,acpi_pm
    parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64 root=UUID=<filter> rw
    quiet cryptdevice=UUID=<filter>
    root=/dev/mapper/luks-<filter1> splash
    resume=/dev/mapper/luks-<filter2>
    udev.log_priority=3
  Desktop: GNOME v: 49.2 tk: GTK v: 3.24.51 wm: gnome-shell
    tools: gsd-screensaver-proxy dm: GDM v: 49.2 Distro: Manjaro
    base: Arch Linux
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: HP product: HP Z8 G4 Workstation v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 3 serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: HP model: 81C7 v: MVB 0C serial: <superuser required>
    part-nu: Z3Z16AV uuid: <superuser required> Firmware: UEFI vendor: HP
    v: P60 v02.92 date: 08/10/2023
Battery:
  Message: No system battery data found. Is one present?
Memory:
  System RAM: total: 256 GiB available: 250.61 GiB used: 6.88 GiB (2.7%)
  Message: For most reliable report, use superuser + dmidecode.
  Array-1: capacity: 4.50 TiB note: check slots: 24 modules: 16
    EC: Single-bit ECC max-module-size: 192 GiB note: est.
  Device-1: CPU0-DIMM1 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-2: CPU0-DIMM2 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-3: CPU0-DIMM3 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-4: CPU0-DIMM4 type: no module installed
  Device-5: CPU0-DIMM5 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-6: CPU0-DIMM6 type: no module installed
  Device-7: CPU0-DIMM7 type: no module installed
  Device-8: CPU0-DIMM8 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-9: CPU0-DIMM9 type: no module installed
  Device-10: CPU0-DIMM10 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered
    (buffered) size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1
    max: 1 width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-11: CPU0-DIMM11 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered
    (buffered) size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1
    max: 1 width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-12: CPU0-DIMM12 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered
    (buffered) size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1
    max: 1 width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-13: CPU1-DIMM1 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-14: CPU1-DIMM2 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-15: CPU1-DIMM3 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-16: CPU1-DIMM4 type: no module installed
  Device-17: CPU1-DIMM5 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-18: CPU1-DIMM6 type: no module installed
  Device-19: CPU1-DIMM7 type: no module installed
  Device-20: CPU1-DIMM8 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered (buffered)
    size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1 max: 1
    width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-21: CPU1-DIMM9 type: no module installed
  Device-22: CPU1-DIMM10 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered
    (buffered) size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1
    max: 1 width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-23: CPU1-DIMM11 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered
    (buffered) size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1
    max: 1 width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
  Device-24: CPU1-DIMM12 type: DDR4 detail: synchronous registered
    (buffered) size: 16 GiB speed: 2666 MT/s volts: note: check curr: 1 min: 1
    max: 1 width (bits): data: 64 total: 72 manufacturer: Micron
    part-no: 18ASF2G72PDZ-2G6E1 serial: <filter>
PCI Slots:
  Permissions: Unable to run dmidecode. Root privileges required.
CPU:
  Info: model: Intel Xeon Gold 6150 bits: 64 type: MCP SMP arch: Skylake
    level: v4 note: check process: Intel 14nm family: 6 model-id: 0x55 (85)
    stepping: 4 microcode: 0x2007006
  Topology: cpus: 2x dies: 1 clusters: 18 cores: 18 smt: <unsupported>
    cache: L1: 2x 1.1 MiB (2.2 MiB) desc: d-18x32 KiB; i-18x32 KiB
    L2: 2x 18 MiB (36 MiB) desc: 18x1024 KiB L3: 2x 24.8 MiB (49.5 MiB)
    desc: 1x24.8 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 1200 min/max: 1200/3700 scaling: driver: intel_pstate
    governor: powersave cores: 1: 1200 2: 1200 3: 1200 4: 1200 5: 1200 6: 1200
    7: 1200 8: 1200 9: 1200 10: 1200 11: 1200 12: 1200 13: 1200 14: 1200
    15: 1200 16: 1200 17: 1200 18: 1200 19: 1200 20: 1200 21: 1200 22: 1200
    23: 1200 24: 1200 25: 1200 26: 1200 27: 1200 28: 1200 29: 1200 30: 1200
    31: 1200 32: 1200 33: 1200 34: 1200 35: 1200 36: 1200 bogomips: 194472
  Flags: 3dnowprefetch abm acpi adx aes aperfmperf apic arat
    arch_capabilities arch_perfmon art avx avx2 avx512bw avx512cd avx512dq
    avx512f avx512vl bmi1 bmi2 bts cat_l3 cdp_l3 clflush clflushopt clwb cmov
    constant_tsc cpuid cpuid_fault cqm cqm_llc cqm_mbm_local cqm_mbm_total
    cqm_occup_llc cx16 cx8 dca de ds_cpl dtes64 dtherm dts epb ept ept_ad
    erms est f16c flexpriority flush_l1d fma fpu fsgsbase fxsr hle ht hwp
    hwp_act_window hwp_epp hwp_pkg_req ibpb ibrs ida intel_ppin intel_pt
    invpcid lahf_lm lm mba mca mce md_clear mmx monitor movbe mpx msr mtrr
    nonstop_tsc nopl nx ospke pae pat pbe pcid pclmulqdq pdcm pdpe1gb pebs
    pge pku pln pni popcnt pse pse36 pti pts rdrand rdseed rdt_a rdtscp
    rep_good rtm sdbg sep smap smep smx ss ssbd sse sse2 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
    stibp syscall tm tm2 tpr_shadow tsc tsc_adjust tsc_deadline_timer vme vmx
    vnmi vpid x2apic xgetbv1 xsave xsavec xsaveopt xsaves xtopology xtpr
  Vulnerabilities:
  Type: gather_data_sampling mitigation: Microcode
  Type: indirect_target_selection status: Not affected
  Type: itlb_multihit status: KVM: VMX disabled
  Type: l1tf mitigation: PTE Inversion; VMX: conditional cache flushes, SMT
    disabled
  Type: mds mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled
  Type: meltdown mitigation: PTI
  Type: mmio_stale_data mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled
  Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
  Type: retbleed mitigation: IBRS
  Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
  Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
    prctl
  Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
    sanitization
  Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: IBRS; IBPB: conditional; STIBP: disabled;
    RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: Not affected; BHI: Not affected
  Type: srbds status: Not affected
  Type: tsa status: Not affected
  Type: tsx_async_abort mitigation: Clear CPU buffers; SMT disabled
  Type: vmscape mitigation: IBPB before exit to userspace
Graphics:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Cape Verde GL [FirePro W4100]
    vendor: Dell driver: amdgpu v: kernel alternate: radeon arch: GCN-1
    code: Southern Islands process: TSMC 28nm built: 2011-20 pcie: gen: 3
    speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16 ports: active: DP-3,DP-4 empty: DP-1,DP-2
    bus-ID: 2d:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:682c class-ID: 0300 temp: 51.0 C
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.21 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.9
    compositor: gnome-shell driver: X: loaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,vesa
    dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu display-ID: 0
  Monitor-1: DP-3 model: HP ENVY 27s serial: <filter> built: 2018
    res: 3840x2160 dpi: 163 gamma: 1.2 chroma: red: x: 0.655 y: 0.333 green:
    x: 0.306 y: 0.639 blue: x: 0.149 y: 0.059 white: x: 0.314 y: 0.329
    size: 597x336mm (23.5x13.23") diag: 685mm (27") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 3840x2160, 2560x1600, 2560x1440, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, 1600x1200,
    1680x1050, 1600x900, 1280x1024, 1440x900, 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600,
    720x576, 720x480, 640x480, 720x400
  EDID-Warnings: 1: parse_edid: unhandled CEA mode 97 2: parse_edid:
    unhandled CEA mode 96
  Monitor-2: DP-4 model: LG (GoldStar) HDR 4K serial: <filter> built: 2015
    res: 3840x2160 dpi: 163 gamma: 1.2 chroma: red: x: 0.682 y: 0.314 green:
    x: 0.278 y: 0.675 blue: x: 0.153 y: 0.047 white: x: 0.314 y: 0.329
    size: 600x340mm (23.62x13.39") diag: 690mm (27.2") ratio: 16:9
    modes: 3840x2160, 2560x1440, 1920x1080, 1600x900, 1280x1024, 1280x800,
    1152x864, 1280x720, 1024x768, 800x600, 720x480, 640x480
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0 drv: radeonsi
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: kms_swrast surfaceless: drv: radeonsi
    wayland: drv: radeonsi x11: drv: radeonsi
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa v: 25.3.1-arch1.2
    glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: AMD FirePro W4100 (radeonsi verde
    ACO DRM 3.61 6.12.61-1-MANJARO) device-ID: 1002:682c memory: 1.95 GiB
    unified: no display-ID: :0.0
  Info: Tools: api: eglinfo,glxinfo x11: xdpyinfo,xprop
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel C62x HD Audio vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: snd_hda_intel
    v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a1f0 class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Oland/Hainan/Cape
    Verde/Pitcairn HDMI Audio [Radeon HD 7000 Series] vendor: Dell
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: gen: 3 speed: 8 GT/s lanes: 16
    bus-ID: 2d:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aab0 class-ID: 0403
  API: ALSA v: k6.12.61-1-MANJARO status: kernel-api tools: N/A
  Server-1: JACK v: 1.9.22 status: off tools: N/A
  Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.4.9 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active
    tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet X722 vendor: Hewlett-Packard driver: N/A pcie:
    gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: N/A bus-ID: 04:00.0 chip-ID: 8086:37cc
    class-ID: 0200
  Device-2: Intel Ethernet X722 for 1GbE vendor: Hewlett-Packard
    driver: i40e v: kernel pcie: gen: 1 speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1 port: N/A
    bus-ID: 04:00.2 chip-ID: 8086:37d1 class-ID: 0200
  IF: enp4s0f2np2 state: up speed: 1000 Mbps duplex: full mac: <filter>
  IP v4: <filter> type: dynamic noprefixroute scope: global
    broadcast: <filter>
  IP v6: <filter> type: noprefixroute scope: link
  Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
  WAN IP: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Message: No bluetooth data found.
Logical:
  Message: No logical block device data found.
  Device-1: luks-<filter1> maj-min: 254:0
    type: LUKS dm: dm-0 size: 1.81 TiB
  Components:
  p-1: sda2 maj-min: 8:2 size: 1.81 TiB
  Device-2: luks-<filter2> maj-min: 254:1
    type: LUKS dm: dm-1 size: 8.8 GiB
  Components:
  p-1: sda3 maj-min: 8:3 size: 8.8 GiB
RAID:
  Hardware-1: Intel sSATA Controller [RAID Mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0
    port: 2040 bus-ID: 00:11.5 chip-ID: 8086:2827 rev: N/A class-ID: 0104
  Hardware-2: Intel SATA Controller [RAID Mode] driver: ahci v: 3.0
    port: 2020 bus-ID: 00:17.0 chip-ID: 8086:2826 rev: N/A class-ID: 0104
Drives:
  [...]
  ID-1: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Western Digital
    model: WD Red SA500 2.5 2TB size: 1.82 TiB block-size: physical: 512 B
    logical: 512 B speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 00WD
    scheme: GPT
  SMART Message: Unknown smartctl error. Unable to generate data.
  [...]
  Optical-1: /dev/sr0 vendor: hp HLDS model: DVDRW GUD1N rev: LD04
    dev-links: cdrom
  Features: speed: 24 multisession: yes audio: yes dvd: yes
    rw: cd-r,cd-rw,dvd-r,dvd-ram state: running
Partition:
  ID-1: / raw-size: 1.81 TiB size: 1.78 TiB (98.37%) used: 328.92 GiB (18.0%)
    fs: ext4 block-size: 4096 B dev: /dev/dm-0 maj-min: 254:0
    mapped: luks-<filter1> label: N/A
    uuid: <filter>
  ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 300 MiB size: 299.4 MiB (99.80%)
    used: 568 KiB (0.2%) fs: vfat block-size: 512 B dev: /dev/sda1 maj-min: 8:1
    label: N/A uuid: <filter>
Swap:
  Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: no
  ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 8.8 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%) priority: -2
    dev: /dev/dm-1 maj-min: 254:1
    mapped: luks-<filter2> label: <filter>
    uuid: <filter>
Unmounted:
  Message: No unmounted partitions found.
USB:
  Hub-1: 1-0:1 info: hi-speed hub with single TT ports: 16 rev: 2.0
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 1d6b:0002
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-2: 1-1:2 info: Realtek RTS5411 Hub ports: 2 rev: 2.1
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 0bda:5411
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-3: 1-1.1:4 info: VIA Labs USB2.0 Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.1
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 2109:2815
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-4: 1-6:3 info: Realtek RTS5411 Hub ports: 4 rev: 2.1
    speed: 480 Mb/s (57.2 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 chip-ID: 0bda:5411
    class-ID: 0900
  Device-1: 1-6.1:6 info: Logitech Nano Receiver type: mouse,HID
    driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 2.0 speed: 12 Mb/s (1.4 MiB/s)
    lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 power: 98mA chip-ID: 046d:c526 class-ID: 0300
  Device-2: 1-7:5 info: Holtek Keyboard type: keyboard,HID
    driver: hid-generic,usbhid interfaces: 2 rev: 1.1
    speed: 1.5 Mb/s (183 KiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 1.0 power: 500mA
    chip-ID: 04d9:1603 class-ID: 0300
  Hub-5: 2-0:1 info: super-speed hub ports: 10 rev: 3.0
    speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 1d6b:0003
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-6: 2-5:2 info: Realtek Hub ports: 2 rev: 3.0
    speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 0bda:0411
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-7: 2-5.1:4 info: VIA Labs USB3.0 Hub ports: 4 rev: 3.2
    speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 2109:0815
    class-ID: 0900
  Hub-8: 2-9:3 info: Realtek Hub ports: 4 rev: 3.0
    speed: 5 Gb/s (596.0 MiB/s) lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 chip-ID: 0bda:0411
    class-ID: 0900
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 40.0 C pch: 37.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu
    temp: 52.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Repos:
  Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 1448 libs: 341 tools: gnome-software,pamac,yay
  Active pacman repo servers in: /etc/pacman.d/mirrorlist
    1: https://mirror.23m.com/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    2: https://mirror.init7.net/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    3: https://mirror.alpix.eu/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    4: https://ftp.rz.tu-bs.de/pub/mirror/manjaro.org/repos/stable/$repo/$arch
    5: https://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    6: https://ftp.tu-chemnitz.de/pub/linux/manjaro/stable/$repo/$arch
    7: https://manjaro.mirrors.lavatech.top/stable/$repo/$arch
    8: https://manjaro.kurdy.org/stable/$repo/$arch
Processes:
  [...]
Info:
  Processes: 602 Power: uptime: 59m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: deep
    avail: s2idle wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
    suspend, test_resume image: 100.22 GiB services: gsd-power,upowerd
    Init: systemd v: 258 default: graphical tool: systemctl
  Compilers: clang: 21.1.6 gcc: 15.2.1 Shell: Zsh v: 5.9
    running-in: gnome-terminal inxi: 3.3.40

If I may ask another probably stupid question: On your system, are /boot/efi/EFI/boot/bootx64.efiand /boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi really identical? With me bootx64.efi has not been updated neither on the PC in question nor on the laptop (which is working/booting just fine).

/boot/efi/EFI/boot:
total 224
drwx------ 2 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 4 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 ..
-rwx------ 1 root root 221184 Jun 28  2024 bootx64.efi

/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro:
total 344
drwx------ 2 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 4 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 ..
-rwx------ 1 root root 344064 Dec 12 23:51 grubx64.efi

Are both of these files supposed to be generated by install-grub and/or update-grub? This is what I tried (see output in my post above). Only grubx64.efi actually changed.

soundofthunder · 14 December 2025 09:58

They are supposed to be, yes, at least when first installed.

Over time, things can happen – another version of GRUB might be installed in a multi-boot scenario, for example, and the file in the fallback location (/EFI/BOOT) may be overwritten by standard GRUB installation scripts of a second Linux OS.

Sometimes the difference can by choice – one might prefer one GRUB to take precedence as the fallback efi boot loader – and so on.

The rule-of-thumb, however, is that they remain identical, albeit each of them having different file names.

install-grub is only a script to… err… install GRUB – the EFI boot files (*.efi) are generated by the normal GRUB installation process.

The install-grub script was designed with a lot more checks in comparison to default scripts. If I recall, many complained that grubx64.efi would get overwritten. Subsequently install-grub now checks for that, and if a file exists in the fallback location, it doesn’t get overwritten.

update-grub is a script that simply updates GRUB configuration – it’s arguably inconsequential when using the install-grub script.

vikinbread · 14 December 2025 19:30

I’ve had similar-ish issues where the boot file that is actually used, which in my case is

/boot/efi/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi

doesn’t actually get updated while update-grub just updates

/boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi

I’ve done a straight copy over and it seems to fix it

cp /boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi

Double check this file copy as I don’t have the actual command I ran as it was in the live image so I don’t have the history.

I feel like I’ve asked about this before, but I can’t find the forum post. My issue is that the bootx64.efi gets corrupted on updates (I’m guessing its linked to a specific package as this last major update broke it, but I haven’t had issues for quite some time) and I can no longer boot and I get stuck in the grub terminal. Considering your Manjaro boot file shows that it gets updated correctly copying it over should fix it as that was what I have experienced/fixed. Probably isn’t the best practice fix, but if I recall correctly the forum post I made yielded no better fix.

Aragorn · 14 December 2025 19:33

No, it doesn’t get corrupted. It just doesn’t get updated. This is why Manjaro created the install-grub script, which makes sure that the EFI stubs are identical.

sudo pacman -S install-grub

Once you’ve got it installed, it’ll be run automatically with every major update.

vikinbread · 14 December 2025 19:35

I have it installed, but it seems to fail/not work every time.

In my case the file does get corrupted as I have to get my live USB to fix the issue as no kernel will load. From the sounds of it the poster here has a different issue, but similar problem I am having leads to it.

magus · 14 December 2025 22:01

They are identical in terms of content yes. The dates are different on my end too, just like in your case. You can confirm the content integrity by comparing the outputs of:
sudo md5sum /boot/efi/EFI/boot/bootx64.efi
sudo md5sum /boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi
For example on my end they’re both: 8ff4272e1bdb24fb82f6aeb51a9a239a, so their contents are identical, as they should be. You can also post the output of efibootmgr just to have some more intel.

Just to confirm, when you’re in Live USB mode, are you manjaro-chroot -ed into your actual system, before doing the grub-install, right?

@Dubliner - Since you’re on systemd, mkinitcpio got updated lately, there should be even a pacnew for it (DIFFPROG=meld pacdiff -s)

But anyways, try this in your /etc/mkinitcpio.conf:

From your current HOOKS=(base udev autodetect kms modconf block keyboard keymap consolefont plymouth encrypt openswap resume filesystems fsck)

Modify to new: HOOKS=(systemd autodetect kms modconf block keyboard sd-vconsole plymouth sd-encrypt openswap resume filesystems fsck)
Explanation: base has been replaced upstream with systemd, udev is optional for systemd, and both keymap and consolefont is also handled by sd-vconsole now because of systemd. Source. You can even leave out fsck aswell if you’re on btrfs, and pass is set to 0 on your rootfs within /etc/fstab.

Then sudo mkinitcpio -P and sudo update-grub. Reboot and cross fingers.

soundofthunder · 15 December 2025 03:44

Yes, that is one of the reasons why the install-grub script was created – to not replace the fallback efi loader if it differs – in cases where the difference might actually have been intended (in a multi-boot scenario, for example).

Some install-grub background info might be of interest:

This is a common misconception about update-grub:

What the update-grub script actually does is to update the GRUB configuration – it’s functionally equivalent to grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg– there’s no other voodoo involved.

The premise of replacing the file manually is sound;

The command unfortunately isn’t – the files in each location have different names, despite being byte-identical;

Instead, use something like this:

sudo cp /boot/efi/EFI/Manjaro/grubx64.efi /boot/efi/EFI/BOOT/bootx64.efi

Note that without sudo the command will fail

vikinbread · 15 December 2025 23:53

I get the issues when running updates

sudo pacman -Syyu

And on occasion when installing a new kernel using the GUI Manjaro Settings Manager.

Currently they are in lock-step with each other, but that may change down the road

I used to have a dual boot situation with a windows partition, but I have since removed that partition. Maybe something is still kicking around messing up the generation? I haven’t been so bothered by it as I assumed it was a bug somewhere that would hopefully get fixed in the future and the fix isn’t that difficult. Albeit it is infrequent enough that it is quite scary before I remember this is a reoccurring issue.

Oh yeah definitely messed that one up. That is why I gave the disclaimer on to double check, thanks for the correction.

I was running it in chroot so sudo is redundant, but in the posters case yes!

soundofthunder · 16 December 2025 02:15

sudo pacman -Syu is the recommended update command – note the single y – be kind to the servers.

You could check that yourself with:

sudo tree -f /boot/efi/EFI

tree may not be installed by default, if not:

sudo pacman -S tree

Indeed, in a chroot environment sudo is not required as you are already the Super User (root) – beware, there be

Forgive any long-winded responses to questions; they are typically for the benefit of others reading who might not be fully aware of basic Linux concepts.

Dubliner · 18 December 2025 22:38

Still, no luck.

I tried the stable update from 2025-12-15 today which included new kernels. Right after the update, I ran both install-grub and update-grub without receiving any errors. Also, bootx64.efi and grubx64.efi are identical now:

./EFI/boot:
total 344
drwx------ 2 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 4 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 ..
-rwx------ 1 root root 344064 Dec 18 23:13 bootx64.efi

./EFI/Manjaro:
total 344
drwx------ 2 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 .
drwx------ 4 root root   4096 Jun 28  2024 ..
-rwx------ 1 root root 344064 Dec 18 23:13 grubx64.efi

It’s still the same problem. I can boot kernel 6.12.62-1-MANJARO but kernels 6.17 and 6.18 will not boot (black screen following the GRUB menu).

Again, I tried the iso image (the one provided in the announcement) through Ventoy which booted kernel 6.18 just fine.

Just FYI: My PC is not multi-boot (never been, either). I have only ever had Manjaro installed.

The .kver files do not seem to have changed during today’s update (at least mtime hasn’t changed):

# ls -al /boot
total 309864
drwxr-xr-x  5 root root     4096 Dec 18 23:09 .
drwxr-xr-x 18 root root     4096 Dec 11 23:07 ..
drwx------  3 root root     4096 Jan  1  1970 efi
drwxr-xr-x  6 root root     4096 Dec 18 23:13 grub
-rw-------  1 root root 47759496 Dec 18 23:08 initramfs-6.12-x86_64.img
-rw-------  1 root root 50022446 Dec 18 23:09 initramfs-6.17-x86_64.img
-rw-------  1 root root 50056285 Dec 18 23:09 initramfs-6.18-x86_64.img
-rw-------  1 root root 40926287 Dec 12 23:54 initramfs-6.1-x86_64.img
-rw-------  1 root root 41677343 Dec 12 23:54 initramfs-6.6-x86_64.img
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 14934016 Nov 11 19:07 intel-ucode.img
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       22 Dec 12 20:42 linux612-x86_64.kver
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       22 Dec 12 20:42 linux617-x86_64.kver
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       21 Dec 12 20:42 linux618-x86_64.kver
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       22 Dec  7 08:12 linux61-x86_64.kver
-rw-r--r--  1 root root       22 Dec  7 08:12 linux66-x86_64.kver
drwxr-xr-x  2 root root     4096 Feb  7  2025 memtest86+
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 13914624 Dec 18 23:08 vmlinuz-6.12-x86_64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 16433344 Dec 18 23:08 vmlinuz-6.17-x86_64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 16580800 Dec 18 23:08 vmlinuz-6.18-x86_64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 11776512 Dec 11 23:09 vmlinuz-6.1-x86_64
-rw-r--r--  1 root root 13128192 Dec 11 23:09 vmlinuz-6.6-x86_64

magus · 19 December 2025 01:22

FYI just in case if you’ve overlooked my reply, since I see no direct response to my suggestions…

Dubliner · 19 December 2025 13:10

Thank you for your suggestions, @magus! I appreciate this a lot.

In fact, I had tried to compare those files:

[hpz8g4 Manjaro]# sha256sum grubx64.efi 
ca3d5033c0826b65c0b88140b988df562dd02ba5dc87e570d70720a57f986bfd  grubx64.efi

[hpz8g4 boot]# sha256sum bootx64.efi 
ca3d5033c0826b65c0b88140b988df562dd02ba5dc87e570d70720a57f986bfd  bootx64.efi

So, that wasn’t it.

As for the output of efibootmgr, on a HP Z8 G4 there is rather a lot (System Diagnostics, HP Recovery) which might include serial numbers which I do feel comfortable to share publicly. Alas, maybe the relevant lines:

BootCurrent: 0010
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0010,0012,0011,000E,000C,000A,000F,0017,0016,0018,0015,000D,0000,0001,0002,0003,0004,0005,0006,0007,0008,0009,0013,000B
[...]
Boot0010* Manjaro	HD(1,GPT,[uuid redacted],0x1000,0x96000)/\EFI\Manjaro\grubx64.efi[...]
[...]

Also, I do not seem to be the only one facing this weird problem. Here’s a thread on Reddit which sounds vaguely familiar: https://www.reddit.com/r/pop_os/comments/1ou4f2a/6174_kernel_no_booting/

If the solution to this is getting a new firmware for the PC, then I’ll be in a lot of trouble with an old workstation.

One more question: Are the kernels in the live iso images identical (!) to the ones provided through pacman?

linux-aarhus · 19 December 2025 13:45

Only for so far they haven’t been updated in the repo.

So if you look at the 25.0.10 ISO at time of writing 2025-12-19T13:43:00Z then the kernel will not be the same as in the repo.

Any ISO is a snapshot of the stable branch at the date of creation - which explains why Manjaro has a date in the ISO filename - as well as kernel used.

This section is for adding modules earliest possible in the boot process.

I am fairly certain you can remove the radeon driver from the equation.

I will advise to drop speculating on the 6.17 kernel peculiarities and instead use the Linux 6.18 kernel. Drop 6.17 into oblivion - it is where it will end in short while anyhow - it is already marked EOL on kernel.org.

soundofthunder · 19 December 2025 14:00

Is there a specific reason for wanting kernel 6.17 or above? You mentioned earlier that 6.12 (LTS) was working well enough (as it ideally should, being an LTS). You could stay with that a while longer, and perhaps check the status of 6.18 (LTS) again after a few more iterations (say, in a month or three).

There’s arguably no pressing need to have the latest and greatest – unless, of course, there is.

Regards.

magus · 19 December 2025 14:12

You’re welcome @Dubliner , but what about the most important part - mkinitcpio - that I detailed for you? Have you tried that aswell? I suspect the root of the cause is stemming from there…