[Bug 1771651] Re: The installation fails with a "GRUB installation failed" message.

[Launchpad Bug Tracker]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

** Changed in: grub-installer (Ubuntu)
       Status: New => Confirmed

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1771651

Title:
  The installation fails with a "GRUB installation failed" message.

Status in grub-installer package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  Release: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver)
  Summary: The installation fails with a "GRUB installation failed" message. 
           Workaround available, see below.

  Since 16.04 installed fine, you could see this as a regression...

  * System setup (relevant part only)
  - UEFI enabled
  - Secure Boot disabled
  - SSD with a pre-install MBR (msdos) partition layout
  /dev/sda
    /dev/sda1  ext4  /      (format)
    /dev/sda2  ext4  /home  (do NOT format)
    /dev/sda3  swap

  * During the install (relevant part only)
  - Installation type: select "Manual"
  - Prepare partitions: see layout above

  >>> What I expected to happen: installation success!
  >>> What happened instead: (see below)

  After the complete installation is done, an alert box pops up:

  Alert box: GRUB installation failed
  """
  The 'grub-efi-amd64-signed' package failed to install into /
  target/. Without the GRUB boot loader, the installed system will
  not boot.
  """
  Button: OK

  Side note: I think this alert box fails to fill in the "/target/"
  part...

  After clicking on [OK] an "Installer Crashed" window appears. Before I
  can read anything, the window disappears. (This also looks like a
  bug!). Then the installer flips back to the live desktop with the
  "Install" icon on the desktop.

  I reboot the system. The next error appears:

  """
  error: file '/boot/grub/i386-pc/normal.mod' not found.
  Entering rescue mode...
  grub rescue>
  """

  At this point I can't do anything because grub is missing files! I
  consider this also a bug, the installer should always install GRUB
  full because failures are unforeseen by their very nature. You should
  always have a full GRUB installation available when this happens, even
  when the installer assumes(!) it's doing the right thing... Do -not-
  assume Murphy's law doesn't apply to you, because then it will hit you
  even harder...

  My guess on what went wrong:

  The installer detected that UEFI was enabled, then (wrongly)
  assumed/detected that Secure Boot was also enabled. Then logic
  dictates (...) that the HDD/SSD should be a GPT disk with the
  appropriate layout and (wrongly) "thinks" MBR is not an option. Now
  GRUB fails because it encounters a MBR disk.

  ======================
  === The Workaround ===
  ======================

  The simple workaround is; use a GPT disk with the appropriate
  partition layout. When using a GPT disk with the appropriate partition
  layout is not an option, then use this three step workaround:

  1) Fix the wrong GRUB installation
  2) Manual boot the system with GRUB
  3) Run update-grub so the system will boot correctly

  * Step 1: Fix the wrong GRUB installation

  - Boot into the live desktop
  - Open a terminal
  - Find the boot disk... 
    ...in this case it is: /dev/sda
  - Find the partition where /boot is installed... 
    ...in this case it is: /dev/sda1
  - Now run the commands:
    (replace /dev/sda1 and /dev/sda with the appropriate values)

  sudo mount /dev/sda1 /mnt
  sudo grub-install --boot-directory=/mnt/boot /dev/sda

  * Step 2: Manual boot the system with GRUB

  - Boot the system, the "grub>" prompt should appear.
  - Find the partition where /boot is installed...
    ...in this case it is: (hd0,msdos1)
  - Find the partition where / is installed...
    ...in this case it is: /dev/sda1
  - Heads-up: pay attention to the "ls" commands, 
    the vmlinuz and initrd filenames may differ!
  - Now run the commands:

  ls
  ls (hd0,msdos1)/boot
  set root=(hd0,msdos1)
  linux /boot/vmlinuz-4.15.0-20-generic root=/dev/sda1
  initrd /boot/initrd.img-4.15.0-20-generic
  boot

  - The system should boot now...

  * Step 3: Run grub so the system will boot automatically

  - The system is now booted
  - Open a terminal
  - Now run the command:

  sudo update-grub

  - Now reboot the system
  - The system will boot normally now ... if everything went well...

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