[Bug 1396379] Re: installer uses first EFI system partition found even when directed otherwise

[Ubfan]

Grub gets rewritten, with a dependency upon the target's root, so if the
target is a removable USB, and you remove it, (think a 32GB USB stick
you want to give to a friend), grub files get removed too, and your host
system no longer boots. (and of course your target USB does not boot
either) That's a critical bug according to
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/Importance:

Critical: A bug that has a severe impact on a large portion of Ubuntu
users

    Causes data corruption
    Crashes the entire operating system
        For example, if the system fails to boot, or X fails to start, on various makes and models of computer 
    Renders the system temporarily or permanently unusable 

It's a quibble to say the bug didn't clobbered the system when the user
removes the removable target, after the installer ignores the explicit
grub target location.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1396379

Title:
  installer uses first EFI system partition found even when directed
  otherwise

Status in grub-efi-amd64-signed package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in ubiquity package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed

Bug description:
  (k)ubuntu 14.04.1
  package version: 2.02~beta2-9ubuntu1

  i installed ubuntu on my external hard disk, where i also have a previously installed fedora system. i also have a windows
  (efi-booted) system in the internal hard disk.

  at install time via ubiquity i get all grub configuration files in the first EFI-labelled partition (i.e. /dev/sda2 in my case) instead of the one i selected (/dev/sdb1).
  later i changed my fstab mounting /boot/efi on /dev/sdb1 and tried to reinstall grub package (apt-get install --reinstall grub-efi-amd64); now all grub configuration files are in the rigt place, but booting from the external hard disk still shows the fedora grub installation, while selectin the internal hard disk from the bios menu shows a submenu listing ubuntu and windows.
  explicitly installing grub in the correct disk (grub-install /dev/sdb; grub-mkconfig -o /boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu/grub.cfg) has no effect, nor it has running efibootmgr (efibootmgr -c --disk /dev/sdb --part 1).

  expected results: grub shoud have been installed in the disk/partition i chose;
  actual results: ubuntu always chooses the first disk to install grub on.

  Note that this is not just about the dummy grub install location
  selector that is not used in EFI mode, but configuring one partition
  as do not use, and the other as ESP in the manual partitioning screen.

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