grub-install: error: failed to register EFI boot entry???

[Fritz Hudnut]

Today both of my ubuntu 20.10 installs had "grub" packages to upgrade, Lubuntu & U-MATE . . . over the last year?? upgrading grub in ubuntu has managed to wipe the grub listings of the other systems I have installed, leaving only U-MATE to boot up. I've had to use SG2 disk to boot into OpenSUSE to repair the damages done by the ubuntu grub process . . . it keeps happening.

Today I ran the Lu apt dist-upgrade and it had a few grub packages to upgrade . . . I ran them . . . I rebooted and, yep, grub list was again wiped . . . and into U-MATE we went. I ran apt over here and it showed the same grub packages . . . since the damage was already done I ran it. This time it actually showed errors with "grub-install" . . . . I may have other bug reports on this problem, but it seems like ubuntu's grub doesn't get "EFI"??? Devs haven't gotten this issue addressed as of this date?? I copied the data in the console:

[CODE]Setting up grub-pc (2.04-1ubuntu30) ...
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub'
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub.d/init-select.cfg'
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-42-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-42-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.4.0-9-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.4.0-9-generic
Found Manjaro Linux (20.1) on /dev/sdb7
Found openSUSE Tumbleweed on /dev/sdb8
Found openSUSE Tumbleweed on /dev/sdb9
Found Mac OS X on /dev/sdc2
Found Ubuntu Groovy Gorilla (development branch) (20.10) on /dev/sdc7
done
Setting up grub-efi-amd64-signed (1.151+2.04-1ubuntu30) ...
Installing grub to /var/lib/grub/esp.
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.
Installing grub to /var/lib/grub/esp.
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.
Installing grub to /boot/efi.
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.
Installing grub to /var/lib/grub/esp.
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.
Setting up shim-signed (1.43+15+1552672080.a4a1fbe-0ubuntu2) ...
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
grub-install: warning: Cannot set EFI variable Boot0000.
grub-install: warning: efivarfs_set_variable: writing to fd 8 failed: Invalid ar
gument.
grub-install: warning: _efi_set_variable_mode: ops->set_variable() failed: Inval
id argument.
grub-install: error: failed to register the EFI boot entry: Invalid argument.
dpkg: error processing package shim-signed (--configure):
 installed shim-signed package post-installation script subprocess returned erro
r exit status 1
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.31-2ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for systemd (246.2-1ubuntu1) ...
Processing triggers for man-db (2.9.3-2) ...
Processing triggers for install-info (6.7.0.dfsg.2-5) ...
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `/usr/share/info/automake-history.in
fo.gz'
Errors were encountered while processing:
 shim-signed
E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) [/CODE]

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 20.10
Package: ubuntu-release-upgrader-core 1:20.10.11
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 5.4.0-42.46-generic 5.4.44
Uname: Linux 5.4.0-42-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: wl
ApportVersion: 2.20.11-0ubuntu45
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: skip
CrashDB: ubuntu
CurrentDesktop: MATE
Date: Fri Sep 4 08:46:07 2020
InstallationDate: Installed on 2020-01-20 (228 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-MATE 20.04 LTS "Focal Fossa" - Alpha amd64 (20200119)
PackageArchitecture: all
SourcePackage: ubuntu-release-upgrader
Symptom: dist-upgrade
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Fritz Hudnut (este-el-paz)]

While working through some "broken packages" issues in my U-MATE 20.10 install I ran "apt full-upgrade" . . . didn't see anything about "grub" listed in the upgrades, but on reboot once again, the only system that will launch is . . . U-MATE . . . all the other 5 optional linux distros are again wiped from grub????

[Julian Andres Klode (juliank)]

This seems to be an issue with the devices firmware.

Please also be aware that only a single Ubuntu system can be installed at a time with a working boot menu, as any other ubuntu entry is replaced by the system that last updates grub.

[Fritz Hudnut (este-el-paz)]

@Julian Klode:

I've seen this "argument" before . . . which seems to display a lack of understanding of the capacity of grub2 to load and boot multiple systems . . . but does seem to display the "opinion" of ubuntu that continues to believe that only one system can be on grub at a time . . . which is in fact "correct" when ubuntu "grub" packages are run . . . grub is re-set to the last distro installed, more or less.

My firmware was updated a year or so back to bring the machine up to OSX 10.14 . . . and there is another "grub" bug report in which numerous people with a range of machines are having similar problems with ubuntu's handling of grub . . . and the "head in sand" response to the problem.

As I probably stated in the first post, after ubuntu removes all the other systems, if I use SG2 disk I can boot into OpenSUSE, run their "grub2-mkconfig" command, and voila, grub is again running at full capacity . . . . I'm not sure ow many bug reports I've filed on this problem, with similar response from ubuntu world . . . and the problem continues . . . unaddressed, marked "invalid," etc.