Installer gparted creates 2 BIOS boot partition

[Robert Pearson]

New hard drive from Seagate blank. Created GUID Partition Table and empty UEFI System Partition. Then booted from installation DVD.

Installer stated that my GPT type (???) required a 1 MB bios partition. (For legacy boot on a drive larger than 2TB?????).

Removed everything and recreated the GUID Partition Table. When I created the 1 MB bios partition, two 1 MB partitions were created, the first was unused and the second was flagged as the BIOS boot partition.

Drives larger than 2 TB cannot use a MBR. I should be able to install as UEFI without the legacy BIOS 1984 vintage garbage. (The 1 or 2 partitions for BIOS code.)

Loosing 1 MB of disk space is not a big deal, but the installer should be moved up to the 2005's and allow UEFI only installation on drives too big for MBR and BIOS booting.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 18.04
Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:18.04.19
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-25.27-generic 4.15.18
Uname: Linux 4.15.0-25-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.2
Architecture: amd64
CrashDB: ubuntu
CurrentDesktop: MATE
Date: Wed Jul 4 00:36:54 2018
InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-07-04 (0 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-MATE 18.04 LTS "Bionic Beaver" - Release amd64 (20180426)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
Symptom: dist-upgrade
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

It isn't clear what you are trying to report. The installer *does* support installing in UEFI mode using GPT on > 2TB disks. You need a 1 mb bios_grub partition to boot in BIOS mode on a GPT partitioned disk.

[Robert Pearson (rpearsonii)]

Why? If the drive is larger than 2 TB it is not supported by BIOS mode. Why must I reserve 2 (count them 2) 1 MB partitions if I am never going to boot in legacy mode? This is exactly the lack of thinking I am trying to get fixed!

[oldfred (oldfred)]

Installer only asks for bios_grub if you boot install media in BIOS mode.

With UEFI systems you want to always boot installer in UEFI boot mode and then it will use ESP - efi system partition.

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

What? You only need one ( not two ) 1 mb bios_grub partition *if* you want to boot a GPT disk in bios mode.

[Robert Pearson (rpearsonii)]

Allow me to rephrase my bug report.

I NEVER want to boot in BIOS mode. But the installer includes 1 MB bios_grub partition anyway. The bug is that it also creates a second (2) 1 MB partition with absolutely no use.

That is the bug I'm trying to point out.

[Robert Pearson (rpearsonii)]

Fred,
The installed creates the bios_grub partition when you boot in UEFI mode.

Phillip,
Yes. 2! It creates one for the bios_grug and then a second one. That is the
bug. I did not ask for it and I cannot delete it.

Robert

On Fri, Aug 3, 2018 at 3:11 PM, Phillip Susi <email address hidden> wrote:

> What? You only need one ( not two ) 1 mb bios_grub partition *if* you
> want to boot a GPT disk in bios mode.
>
> --
> You received this bug notification because you are subscribed to the bug
> report.
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1780015
>
> Title:
> Installer gparted creates 2 BIOS boot partition
>
> Status in ubiquity package in Ubuntu:
> Incomplete
>
> Bug description:
> New hard drive from Seagate blank. Created GUID Partition Table and
> empty UEFI System Partition. Then booted from installation DVD.
>
> Installer stated that my GPT type (???) required a 1 MB bios
> partition. (For legacy boot on a drive larger than 2TB?????).
>
> Removed everything and recreated the GUID Partition Table. When I
> created the 1 MB bios partition, two 1 MB partitions were created, the
> first was unused and the second was flagged as the BIOS boot
> partition.
>
> Drives larger than 2 TB cannot use a MBR. I should be able to install
> as UEFI without the legacy BIOS 1984 vintage garbage. (The 1 or 2
> partitions for BIOS code.)
>
> Loosing 1 MB of disk space is not a big deal, but the installer should
> be moved up to the 2005's and allow UEFI only installation on drives
> too big for MBR and BIOS booting.
>
> ProblemType: Bug
> DistroRelease: Ubuntu 18.04
> Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:18.04.19
> ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-25.27-generic 4.15.18
> Uname: Linux 4.15.0-25-generic x86_64
> ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.2
> Architecture: amd64
> CrashDB: ubuntu
> CurrentDesktop: MATE
> Date: Wed Jul 4 00:36:54 2018
> InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-07-04 (0 days ago)
> InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-MATE 18.04 LTS "Bionic Beaver" - Release amd64
> (20180426)
> PackageArchitecture: all
> SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
> Symptom: dist-upgrade
> UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
>
> To manage notifications about this bug go to:
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubiquity/+bug/
> 1780015/+subscriptions
>

[Phillip Susi (psusi)]

Your original description says that you created one partition, then the installer created the other. You probably didn't create the first one correctly so it wasn't actually a bios_grub partition, so the installer created one.

If you don't want to boot in bios mode, then you don't need a bios_grub partition at all; you need an EFI system partition. If the installer told you that you need a bios_grub partition, then you booted the installer in bios mode. If that isn't what you want, then you need to boot the installer in EFI mode.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Robert Pearson (rpearsonii)]

I did NOT boot in BIOS mode. The 1 MB partition was flagged as the bios_grub partition. The installer created the second 1 MB partition because it is full of bogs.

This is NOT a case of operator error. This is a report of bugs in the software. Please turn it over to someone who is willing to actually fix the bug.

P.S. Some hard drives are larger than 2 TB. Some are as large as 12 TB. I do not believe someone who buys a large drive is not stupid enough to boot in BIOS mode rendering most of the drive unavailable. Your installation code need to check the size of the drive and if it is larger than
2 TB. If so, do not include all the junk for smaller drives. This is a case of the software falling years (decades?) behind the hardware.