[HP Pavilion dv6-7040tx Entertainment Notebook PC] GRUB boot menu does not appear

[JONNALAGADDA Srinivas]

When (re)booting, the GRUB boot menu does not appear. Instead, a black rectangle - where the boot menu should otherwise appear - is displayed.

A picture is attached herewith. It shows the said black rectangle. Please excuse the glossy screen, and the consequent poor visibility. The black rectangle is clearly visible in the left-bottom corner of the first picture.

The absence of a boot menu makes it virtually impossible for me to try any other kernel, pass boot options, etc.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: linux-image-3.13.0-24-generic 3.13.0-24.46 [modified: boot/vmlinuz-3.13.0-24-generic]
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-24.46-generic 3.13.9
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC0: js 2134 F.... pulseaudio
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Fri Apr 25 09:13:50 2014
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-04-20 (4 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140417)
MachineType: Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC
ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb
ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-3.13.0-24-generic.efi.signed root=/dev/mapper/ubuntu--vg-root ro quiet splash vt.handoff=7
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-3.13.0-24-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-3.13.0-24-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.127
SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 09/07/2012
dmi.bios.vendor: Insyde
dmi.bios.version: F.13
dmi.board.asset.tag: Type2 - Board Asset Tag
dmi.board.name: 181B
dmi.board.vendor: Hewlett-Packard
dmi.board.version: 52.23
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Chassis Asset Tag
dmi.chassis.type: 10
dmi.chassis.vendor: Hewlett-Packard
dmi.chassis.version: Chassis Version
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnInsyde:bvrF.13:bd09/07/2012:svnHewlett-Packard:pnHPPaviliondv6NotebookPC:pvr0790100000205710000620100:rvnHewlett-Packard:rn181B:rvr52.23:cvnHewlett-Packard:ct10:cvrChassisVersion:
dmi.product.name: HP Pavilion dv6 Notebook PC
dmi.product.version: 0790100000205710000620100
dmi.sys.vendor: Hewlett-Packard

[Brad Figg (brad-figg)]

This change was made by a bot.

[JONNALAGADDA Srinivas (sigma-ml)]

This bug stands in the way of my trying the suggestion made by Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury) in the context of Bug #1311187.

[Joseph Salisbury (jsalisbury)]

Are you holding the shift key after power on and seeing the BIOS info?

[penalvch (penalvch)]

JONNALAGADDA Srinivas, could you please provide the full computer model as noted on the sticker?

[JONNALAGADDA Srinivas (sigma-ml)]

Joseph Salisbury: When I hold the SHIFT key down after power on, I do not see any BIOS information.

Before installing 14.04, the computer BIOS was in legacy mode. At that time, holding SHIFT down while booting did show BIOS information.

When my initial attempts at installing 14.04 failed, I was advised by Phillip Susi (psusi) in the context of Bug #1302362 to try EFI mode. I disabled legacy mode, and was then successful in installing 14.04. However, after switching to EFI mode, I no longer get any BIOS information when I hold the SHIFT key down during boot.

[JONNALAGADDA Srinivas (sigma-ml)]

Christopher Penalver: The model of my notebook computer is HP Pavilion dv6 TR7040x. Should you need finer details, please let me know.

[JONNALAGADDA Srinivas (sigma-ml)]

Joseph Salisbury: I should add another piece of information, perhaps.

When I hold SHIFT key down during boot, the trackpad is not recognised any longer! In fact, the mouse pointer is not visible on the screen.

However, the above behaviour occurs only when the bluetooth receiver of my Microsoft wireless mouse is plugged into a USB port prior to the boot. Without the receiver plugged in, holding SHIFT key down during the boot process has no adverse effect -- Ubuntu does recognise the trackpad, and the mouse pointer is visible.

This may, of course, be unrelated as well!

[penalvch (penalvch)]

JONNALAGADDA Srinivas, as per http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=4063&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&sw_lang=&product=5277771#N1570 an update to your BIOS is available (F.24). If you update to this following https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BiosUpdate does it change anything? If it doesn't, could you please both specify what happened, and provide the output of the following terminal command:
sudo dmidecode -s bios-version && sudo dmidecode -s bios-release-date

Please note your current BIOS is already in the Bug Description, so posting this on the old BIOS would not be helpful.

For more on BIOS updates and linux, please see https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ReportingBugs#Bug_reporting_etiquette .

Thank you for your understanding.

[JONNALAGADDA Srinivas (sigma-ml)]

Christopher M. Penalver (penalvch): The HP-provided BIOS cabinet file no longer has an `.iso` file in it. And, I am travelling currently; I do not have a Windows 7 computer nearby to prepare a rescue CD.

I shall report back after May 12, when I return. Thanks for your pointer and suggestion!

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for linux (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]