Incorrectly warns "No EFI System Partition was found" on BIOS/MBR

[Alkis Georgopoulos]

While installing Ubuntu MATE 22.04 under BIOS mode, I select manual partitioning and I create an MBR disk with a single ext4 partition. Then I get a dialog with this warning:

"""
Go back to the menu and resume partitioning?

No EFI System Partition was found. This system will likely not be able to boot successfully, and the installation process may fail.

Please go back and add an EFI System Partition, or continue at your own risk.
"""

That dialog is inappropriate there and may scare inexperienced users. Ubiquity could check that /sys/firmware/efi doesn't exist, and that the disk is formatted with MBR, and not display that dialog.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Chris Warrick (kwpolska)]

I got the same behavior with Kubuntu 22.04's final ISO.

[Besmir Zanaj (besmirzanaj-gmail)]

same issue here

[am (juniper1982)]

Hi. I found the same issue with Kubuntu 22.04. Same error. I don't have an efi system.

But it sounds like one can simply go ahead and install the system. Is that correct?

I should say I did the same as the OP. Manual partitioning. I got to the end of the partitioning table and get the same alarming message.

[Chris Guiver (guiverc)]

A discussion on IRC with alksig mentioned this bug report yesterday, so I tested for it

Ubuntu-MATE jammy ISO (20220715; ie. daily of 22.04.1) install to
- hp dc7700 (c2d-e6320, 5gb, nvidia quadro nvs 290)

Manual partitioning, select the one partition that was created yesterday by a Lubuntu jammy (daily) install; ie. /dev/sda1 for /; WITH format. ie. box has no ESP or efi system partition

Result is clean install; reboot & all looks good.
No issues with this issue.

YES there was a warning (during installation; yesterday with Lubuntu too), but that has been there for some time, I know and expect it; and know this box from 2005 will not be impacted thus it doesn't worry me.

I'm aware some install circumstances do NOT cause the warning to show, others (& most) do; but to me at least, it's not an issue. I'd expect most users will know if it applies, or given this box is old & pre-dates EFI box it doesn't. Further the drive could be moved post-install to another box where it IS an issue; the warning covers that too (I see many people in support do this; and I've seen it done in real life too). I have no issue with the warning.

http://iso.qa.ubuntu.com/qatracker/milestones/429/builds/253283/testcases/1302/results/

[Alkis Georgopoulos (alkisg)]

@guiverc thank you very much for testing; I'd like to comment on two phrases above though:

> but that has been there for some time

It didn't happen in the last LTS release, 20.04.
It's the first time that LTS users see this regression.

> I'd expect most users will know if it applies

I guess you mean "Linux techinians and testers" there, because out of e.g. 10.000 students and teachers here, I think less than 1% of them will know if they've booted in BIOS or UEFI mode.

For the sake of normal users, this scary warning needs to be removed.

[Cédric M. Campos (cedricmc)]

Yesterday I installed the most recent point release, 22.04.1, on an old computer with BIOS/MBR. I manually partitioned the disk (no EFI) beforehand to then install. The installation program issued the aforementioned warning. This did not happened with 20.04 (or 18.04) that I recall.

[Russ Williams (h-launchpad-net-russcon-org)]

15 months later, this installer bug still exists?!

It is inherited by Linux Mint's installer and just caused me to waste a lot of time and frustration websearching for info and a solution about it when I was installing; my install failed (but in hindsight, for another less obvious reason rather than the bogusly reported missing EFI partition), and this bug needlessly sent me down a false trail. I agree with Alkis that this false needlessly scary warning should be removed. Especially given that Ubuntu and its derivatives purport to be more user-friendly versions of Linux.