Manjaro XFCE fails to boot after upgrade (maybe TIFU)

[Markowitch]

Hello everyone

Manjaro has been my daily driver for a long time. I’m really pleased with it, but I think I killed it by accident!

I upgraded my system using the app in XFCE for that kind of thing. However, it kept complaining about a JDK or JRE that was needed for some old version of Electron.

I nuked the orphan packages using this command (I think - can’t remember)

sudo pacman -R $(pacman -Qtdq)

I then updated the system, and it finished with success notifying me that I had to reboot. It was here the trouble started.

When I reboot, the system keeps taking me into the BIOS settings.

Hitting ESC during boot takes me into the GRUB menu that have two entries:

1. UEFI Firmware Settings
2. Memory Tester (memtest86+)

Hitting E for Edit boot options revel this content:

setparams 'UEFI Firmware Settings'

                         fwsetup

When following the normal boot sequence I get send into the BIOS right away without any visible errors.

I have a Debian LiveUSB and can see my system files when I mount the partition.

How can I diagnose the problem, with logs and so on, so that I can get a minimal working system?

Any help greatly appriciated!

[Markowitch]

In the grub command line:

grub> ls
(hd0) (hd0,gpt3) (hd0,gpt2) (hd0,gpt1)

Ok something is there let’s explore!

grub>ls (hd0)/
error: unknown file system (translated from Danish)
grub> ls (hd0,gpt1)/
efi/
grub>ls (hd0,gpt2)/
lost+found/ boot/ dev/ proc/ run/ (cutting it short - this is the partition for the system)
grub>ls (hd0,gpt3)/
error: unknown file system

The efi folder in (hd0,gpt1) is organized like this:

efi/boot/bootx64.efi
efi/boot/Manjaro/grubx64.efi

I then tried this out:

set root=(hd0,gpt1)
insmod linux
insmod normal
normal

And the system booted - directly into the BIOS…

[megavolt]

Hello @Markowitch

For some reason, Grub was not updated on your system. Update once in a Manjaro live session: GRUB/Restore the GRUB Bootloader - Manjaro If you only have a Debian live session available, you will need to chroot (switch to the local installation) manually.

[Markowitch]

Thanks for the reply @megavolt
I’ll start the Debian LiveUSB

(for some reason I can’t download ISO’s from manjaro.org. Transfers grind to a halt after the first 40MB)

> sudo /sbin/fdisk -l
A lot of text
Disk /dev/nvme0n1
Device  ... Type
/dev/nvme0n1p1  EFI system
/dev/nvme0n1p2  Linux filesystem
/dev/nvme0n1p3  Linux Swap

Skipping info about the LiveUSB which is on /dev/sda

So I will ´chroot´ to the local installation. But I’m not sure how to? I got the chroot command on the LiveUSB, but I guess I should mount the EFI system and the linux filesystem?

[linux-aarhus]

The ISO from the website is provided using CDN77.

Perhaps try the manjaro-get-iso script (python) which also pulls the official using CDN but provides also release review and developer preview options.

→ Applications / Manjaro Get Iso · GitLab
→ [root tip] [recovery] Basic Manjaro Linux Recovery

[megavolt]

@Markowitch

I guess I should mount the EFI system and the linux filesystem?

No, first Linux, then EFI.

sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p2 /mnt
sudo mount /dev/nvme0n1p1 /mnt/boot/efi
sudo mount --bind /dev /mnt/dev
sudo mount --bind /proc /mnt/proc
sudo mount --bind /sys /mnt/sys
sudo mount --bind /run /mnt/run
sudo chroot /mnt /usr/bin/bash 

In chroot:

mkinitcpio -P
grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
exit

[Markowitch]

Thanks for the details @megavolt
In the meantime I tried the download from cdn77 on another computer, and it worked. So now I’m burning a manjaro XFCE LiveUSB with Rufus on Win.

[Markowitch]

Rufus is a bit weird. It will not make a bootable LiveUSB from the Manjaro iso
manjaro-xfce-24.2.1-241216-linux612.iso

So I used Ventoy, which makes the USB bootable and lets you copy ISO files to it, that you can choose in the startup menu on boot time.

[linux-aarhus]

@Markowitch

Rufus is a bit weird. It will not make a bootable LiveUSB from the Manjaro iso

Yes - the rufus developer(s) is not fond of Manjaro - because the team won’t change the ISO layout just to support Rufus tool.

→ The ISO files have not been made compatible with ISO/File copy mode - #8 by nikgnomic

When I last checked - years ago - Rufus switch to dd mode when the filesystem contains manjaro’s filesystem

Ventoy is the recommended tool - you may have to check if using grub mode is better than default.

Plain old dd also work.

[Markowitch]

Ok @megavolt I’m back with another question.

I’ve booted Manjaro from the USB (using Ventoy to select the ISO)

I got the XFCE desktop and opened a terminal.

> manjaro-chroot -a
==> Mounting (ManjaroLinux) [/dev/nvme0n1p2]
 --> mount: [/mnt]
 --> mount: [/mnt/boot/efi]

root# pacman -Syu grub

// Skipping a lot of output

root# grub-install --target=x86_64-efi --efi-directory=/boot/efi --bootloader-id=manjaro --recheck

Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Intstallation finished. No error reported

Following the how-to I also have to make sure the configuration is up to date

GRUB/Restore the GRUB Bootloader

root# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Generating grub configuration file ....
Found theme: /usr/share/grub/themes/manjaro/theme.txt
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: mkdir /var/lock/dmraid
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
Root filesystem isn't btrfs
If you think an error has occurred, pleas file a bug report at "https://github.com/Antynea/grub-btrfs"
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.bin
/usr/bin/grub-probe: warning: unknown device type nvme0n1.
Found memtest86+ EFI image /boot/memtest86+/memtest.efi
/usr/bin/grub-probe: warning: unknown device type nvme0n1.
done

I guess it found some strange stuff and bailed. The system still reboots into BIOS.

According to the above how-to the problem could also be resolved by updating GRUB, so that’s what I’ll try.

Boot into the LiveUSB and start a terminal.

> manjaro-chroot -a
==> Mounting (ManjaroLinux) [/dev/nvme0n1p2]
 --> mount: [/mnt]
 --> mount: [/mnt/boot/efi]

root # pacman -Syu install-grub
// skipping output
Packages (1) install-grub-2:2.12-3
// skipping output

root # install-grub
WARNING: EFI directroy not found! Grub couldn't be installed.

I’m a bit lost… maybe I overlooked something in the how-to…

[megavolt]

@Markowitch

root# grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg

Generating grub configuration file ....
Found theme: /usr/share/grub/themes/manjaro/theme.txt
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: mkdir /var/lock/dmraid
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
Root filesystem isn't btrfs
If you think an error has occurred, pleas file a bug report at "https://github.com/Antynea/grub-btrfs"
Found memtest86+ image: /boot/memtest86+/memtest.bin
/usr/bin/grub-probe: warning: unknown device type nvme0n1.
Found memtest86+ EFI image /boot/memtest86+/memtest.efi
/usr/bin/grub-probe: warning: unknown device type nvme0n1.
done

Interesting… what is output of:

@megavolt

mkinitcpio -P

Seems like there are no boot images at /boot to boot from.

[Markowitch]

@megavolt

Interesting… what is output of:

@megavolt

mkinitcpio -P

Seems like there are no boot images at /boot to boot from.

Ok, let’s try it (did a chroot prior)

root# mkinitcpio -P
==> ERROR: No presets found in /etc/mkinitcpio.d

@megavolt I assume I have an EFI system and not a BIOS system (the how-to mention those) because this path exists /sys/firmware/efi (while chroot).

root# /etc/mkinitcpio.d/linux65.preset.pacsave

# mkinitcpio preset file for the '6.5-x86_64' package

#ALL_config="/etc/mkinitcpio.conf"
ALL_kver="/boot/vmlinuz-6.5-x86_64"
ALL_microcode=(/boot/*-ucode.img)

PRESETS=('default' 'fallback')

#default_config="/etc/mkinitcpio.conf"
default_image="/boot/initramfs-6.5-x86_64.img"
#default_uki="/efi/EFI/Linux/manjaro-6.5-x86_64.efi"
#default_options="--splash /usr/share/systemd/bootctl/splash-manjaro.bmp"

#fallback_config="/etc/mkinitcpio.conf"
fallback_image="/boot/initramfs-6.5-x86_64-fallback.img"
#fallback_uki="/efi/EFI/Linux/manjaro-6.5-x86_64-fallback.efi"
fallback_options="-S autodetect"

[megavolt]

@Markowitch

root# mkinitcpio -P
==> ERROR: No presets found in /etc/mkinitcpio.d

I assume there is no kernel installed, Linux 6.5 is long EOL and I suppose it was removed on that upgrade. It was an stable kernel and not a long term support one (LTS). Install linux66 (which is LTS):

mhwd-kernel --install linux66

Take a look here: https://www.kernel.org/

[soundofthunder]

@linux-aarhus

Ventoy is the recommended tool

[HowTo] Create a Ventoy USB to launch Manjaro (and other) ISO's

Ventoy A New Bootable USB Solution Boot with a Ventoy USB and ISO files are automatically listed in the Ventoy menu. Any ISO present can then be launched and booted directly. The obvious advantage here is that instead of constantly writing a Manjaro Installer ISO to a new USB any time you might need it, every ISO you desire can be stored on the Ventoy USB and launched the same way. A 32GB capacity USB would allow ample space to store several ISOs of your choice; an 8GB capacity USB might …

[Markowitch]

Ok, I kept my system updated frequently.

[manjaro /]# mhwd-kernel --install linux66
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 multilib is up to date
error: no targets specified (use -h for help)

[Markowitch]

Extra info. With manjaro-chroot the content of ls -l /boot is:

drwxr-xr-x 3 root root    4096 Jan  1  1970 efi
drwxr-xr-x 6 root root    4096 Mar  8 13:11 grub
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 9683968 Feb 11 18:09 intel-ucode.img
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root    4096 Mar  5 17:47 memtest86+

[soundofthunder]

@Markowitch

Ok, I kept my system updated frequently.

[manjaro /]# mhwd-kernel --install linux66
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 multilib is up to date
error: no targets specified (use -h for help)

For the record, the command should normally be performed using sudo.

• Manjaro Kernels

In a chroot environment, however, commands should be run without sudo.

• Note that when installing a kernel in a chroot environment, using pacman is usually suggested

---

Also, in case you missed the previously given link;

• GRUB/Restore the GRUB Bootloader

On the chance that the update failed in some way the following tutorial might also be useful;

• [HowTo] Recovering from an interrupted update/upgrade

Regards.

[Markowitch]

@soundofthunder

For the record, the command should normally be performed using sudo.

Tried with sudo - same result. I am root after i did manjaro-chroot.

And check with regards to the restore GRUB bootloader link. I am reading it forwards and backwards as we speak.

[megavolt]

@Markowitch

[manjaro /]# mhwd-kernel --install linux66

pacman -Sy linux66

[Markowitch]

Going in…

[manjaro /]# pacman -Sy linux66                
:: Synchronizing package databases...
 core is up to date
 extra is up to date
 multilib is up to date
resolving dependencies...
looking for conflicting packages...

Packages (1) linux66-6.6.80-1

Total Download Size:   129.69 MiB
Total Installed Size:  134.81 MiB

:: Proceed with installation? [Y/n]