[Bug 1090829] Re: grub-efi fails to install with Input/output error

[Ubfan]

How I corrupted the ubuntu directory:
On a Toshiba Satellite S855 with Windows 8 preinstalled and Secure boot enabled, successfully installed 12.10 64b to a 4G stick, without making a efi partition on it.  This created a good EFI/ubuntu directory on the hard disk, but left the EFI/Boot directory containing ony a grub.cfg file to boot the stick (so Windows would no longer boot), (although the 4G stick would boot).
  In this condition, I then installed 12.10 to a previously freed up space on the hard disk, which failed at the bootloader part, but
did end up in a condition which Windows booted.    Tried again to install to the 4G stick, this time with an efi partition on the stick, which failed with the "grub-install dummy" error. Looking at the EFI with ls -l, the ubuntu directory just showed a name the "d" for directory, and all else appeared as "?"s.  Apparently, the second (or maybe third) install of Ubuntu corrupted the ubuntu directory in the Windows EFI directory,.  Examining the failed stick, the /etc/fstab file refers to the hard disk's EFI partition (by UUID), not the one on the stick (which was empty).

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1090829

Title:
  grub-efi fails to install with Input/output error

Status in “dosfstools” package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in “grub2” package in Ubuntu:
  Incomplete

Bug description:
  HP G6 laptop with Windows 8 installed, and looking to have a dual-boot
  with Ubuntu 12.10

  With SecureBoot enabled: http://paste.ubuntu.com/1421098
  And with SecureBoot disabled: http://paste.ubuntu.com/1421155

  grub-efi fails writing on the original ESP:

  # grub-install --efi-directory=/boot/efi --target=x86_64-efi
  mkdir: cannot create directory `/boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu': Input/output error

  Remark: this is similar but not duplicate of Bug #1091477


  **************** WORKAROUND1 (works):
  1) Via Gparted create another EFI partition (FAT32, 200MB, located in the first 100GB of the disk), move the 'boot' flag on it
  2) Install grub-efi in this new ESP (eg https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UEFI#Converting_Ubuntu_into_EFI_mode ).

  **************** WORKAROUND2 (to be tested):
  1) Backup the files in the ESP
  2) Format the ESP
  3) Recreate the ESP (FAT32, same size) via Gparted, place the 'boot' flag on it
  4) Restore the backups into this new ESP
  5) Install grub-efi in this new ESP.

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