Installing 16.04 beta over 12.04 grub install failed, package shim-signed 1.12+0.8-0ubuntu2 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

[Paul Cunnell]

Tried installing 16.04 beta 2 over my (old) 12.04 LTS - failed at the last stage to install grub properly, then got this error when I rebooted.

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: shim-signed 1.12+0.8-0ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-18.34-generic 4.4.6
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-18-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
BootEFIContents:
 fw
 fwupx64.efi
Date: Fri Apr 15 23:10:41 2016
EFIBootMgr: Error: command ['efibootmgr', '-v'] failed with exit code 2: efibootmgr: EFI variables are not supported on this system.
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.4ubuntu1
 apt 1.2.7
SourcePackage: shim-signed
Title: package shim-signed 1.12+0.8-0ubuntu2 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

The error message shows that you are trying to install the UEFI version of grub on a system which is not configured to use UEFI. The apt log shows what looks like a manual request for this package's installation on April 15, not as part of an upgrade:

Start-Date: 2016-04-15 23:09:39
Requested-By: ubuntu (999)
Install: linux-image-extra-4.4.0-18-generic:amd64 (4.4.0-18.34, automatic), linux-headers-4.4.0-18-generic:amd64 (4.4.0-18.34, automatic), linux-headers-4.4.0-18:amd64 (4.4.0-18.34, automatic), linux-signed-image-4.4.0-18-generic:amd64 (4.4.0-18.34, automatic), linux-image-4.4.0-18-generic:amd64 (4.4.0-18.34, automatic)
Upgrade: linux-headers-generic:amd64 (4.4.0.15.16, 4.4.0.18.19), linux-image-generic:amd64 (4.4.0.15.16, 4.4.0.18.19), linux-signed-image-generic:amd64 (4.4.0.15.16, 4.4.0.18.19), linux-signed-generic:amd64 (4.4.0.15.16, 4.4.0.18.19), linux-generic:amd64 (4.4.0.15.16, 4.4.0.18.19)
End-Date: 2016-04-15 23:10:17

Start-Date: 2016-04-15 23:10:33
Requested-By: ubuntu (999)
End-Date: 2016-04-15 23:10:33

Start-Date: 2016-04-15 23:10:37
Commandline: apt-get --no-upgrade -o Acquire::gpgv::Options::=--ignore-time-conflict -y install grub-efi-amd64-signed
Install: grub-efi-amd64-bin:amd64 (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu2, automatic), grub-efi-amd64:amd64 (2.02~beta2-36ubuntu2, automatic), grub-efi-amd64-signed:amd64 (1.65+2.02~beta2-36ubuntu2)
Error: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
End-Date: 2016-04-15 23:10:39

Start-Date: 2016-04-15 23:10:41
Commandline: apt-get --no-upgrade -o Acquire::gpgv::Options::=--ignore-time-conflict -y install shim-signed
Install: shim-signed:amd64 (1.12+0.8-0ubuntu2), shim:amd64 (0.8-0ubuntu2, automatic)

Prior to this, you had the correct version of grub installed for your system, grub-pc.

Did you manually choose to install the grub-efi-amd64-signed or shim-signed packages at some point?

You said that you were installing 16.04 over 12.04, but your logs look like a system that has been upgraded, not one that is newly installed. Please provide more detail about the exact steps you took which triggered this bug.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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