I’ve recently installed fresh installation of eos migrating from gnome to xfce on my external drive.
Unfortunatelly, when booting to usb and choosing Windows instead of Linux in the grub menu, i get the following output:
error: no such device: ****-****.
error: file '/efi/Microsoft/Boot/bootimgfw.efi' not found
How can I fix this?
I have already disabled the Fast Boot option.
How about booting your Windows without connecting your external disk? Does Windows boot up?
Also for those people who may be able to help, please post the output of the following commands to give them something to bite:
sudo parted -l
efibootmgr
sudo tree /boot/efi
Yeah, but I need to run it from grub and not switching the boot device in bios each time I turn on the machine.
sudo parted -l:
Model: Samsung Flash Drive FIT (scsi)
Disk /dev/sda: 257GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: msdos
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size Type File system Flags
1 131kB 257GB 257GB primary
Model: Samsung Flash Drive FIT (scsi)
Disk /dev/sdb: 257GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 538MB 537MB fat32 bios_grub
2 538MB 16.5GB 16.0GB linux-swap(v1) swap
3 16.5GB 257GB 240GB ext4
Model: SKHynix_HFS001TDE9X084N (nvme)
Disk /dev/nvme0n1: 1024GB
Sector size (logical/physical): 512B/512B
Partition Table: gpt
Disk Flags:
Number Start End Size File system Name Flags
1 1049kB 274MB 273MB fat32 EFI system partition boot, esp
2 274MB 290MB 16.8MB Microsoft reserved partition msftres
3 290MB 1022GB 1022GB ntfs Basic data partition msftdata
4 1022GB 1024GB 2097MB ntfs Basic data partition hidden, diag, no_automount
efibootmgr:
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 2001,0004,2002,2003
Boot0000* EFI USB Device (Samsung Flash Drive FIT) UsbWwid(90c,1000,0,030712309000349)/HD(1,GPT,952247d6-a58c-4143-83d3-fd82a8202a8e,0x800,0x100000)RC
Boot0004* Windows Boot Manager HD(1,GPT,8d060131-9319-4f02-ae7f-87f6848d170d,0x800,0x82000)/\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi57494e...
Boot2001* EFI USB Device RC
Boot2002* EFI DVD/CDROM RC
Boot2003* EFI Network RC
sudo tree /boot/efi:
/boot/efi
└── EFI
├── boot
│ └── bootx64.efi
└── endeavouros
└── grubx64.efi
4 directories, 2 files
this is a tricky question
your boot partition is bios-grub not boot & esp for UEFI
can you report
inxi -Fxza
test -d /sys/firmware/efi && echo efi || echo biosSystem:
Kernel: 6.10.2-arch1-2 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 14.2.1
clocksource: tsc avail: acpi_pm parameters: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-linux
root=UUID=9e7162c0-7bcf-4c3b-969f-884d43ace146 rw nowatchdog
nvme_load=YES resume=UUID=e009d620-2329-4ae1-b833-f10d0940faec
nvidia_drm.modeset=1 loglevel=3
Desktop: Xfce v: 4.18.1 tk: Gtk v: 3.24.43 wm: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0
with: xfce4-panel tools: xfce4-screensaver vt: 7 dm: LightDM v: 1.32.0
Distro: EndeavourOS base: Arch Linux
Machine:
Type: Laptop System: LENOVO product: 82NC v: Yoga Slim 7 Pro 14IHU5
serial: <superuser required> Chassis: type: 10 v: Yoga Slim 7 Pro 14IHU5
serial: <superuser required>
Mobo: LENOVO model: LNVNB161216 v: SDK0T76463 WIN
serial: <superuser required> part-nu: LENOVO_MT_82NC_BU_idea_FM_Yoga Slim 7
Pro 14IHU5 uuid: <superuser required> UEFI: LENOVO v: FJCN69WW
date: 03/21/2022
Battery:
ID-1: BAT1 charge: 11.8 Wh (21.5%) condition: 55.0/61.0 Wh (90.2%)
power: 8.4 W volts: 14.7 min: 15.4 model: Sunwoda L19D4PH3 type: Li-poly
serial: <filter> status: discharging
CPU:
Info: model: 11th Gen Intel Core i5-11320H bits: 64 type: MT MCP
arch: Tiger Lake gen: core 11 level: v4 note: check built: 2020
process: Intel 10nm family: 6 model-id: 0x8C (140) stepping: 2
microcode: 0x16
Topology: cpus: 1x cores: 4 tpc: 2 threads: 8 smt: enabled cache:
L1: 320 KiB desc: d-4x48 KiB; i-4x32 KiB L2: 5 MiB desc: 4x1.2 MiB L3: 8 MiB
desc: 1x8 MiB
Speed (MHz): avg: 690 high: 1045 min/max: 400/4500 scaling:
driver: intel_pstate governor: powersave cores: 1: 400 2: 1045 3: 1009
4: 990 5: 877 6: 400 7: 400 8: 400 bogomips: 51008
Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx
Vulnerabilities:
Type: gather_data_sampling status: Vulnerable: No microcode
Type: itlb_multihit status: Not affected
Type: l1tf status: Not affected
Type: mds status: Not affected
Type: meltdown status: Not affected
Type: mmio_stale_data status: Not affected
Type: reg_file_data_sampling status: Not affected
Type: retbleed status: Not affected
Type: spec_rstack_overflow status: Not affected
Type: spec_store_bypass mitigation: Speculative Store Bypass disabled via
prctl
Type: spectre_v1 mitigation: usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointer
sanitization
Type: spectre_v2 mitigation: Enhanced / Automatic IBRS; IBPB:
conditional; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS: SW sequence; BHI: SW loop, KVM: SW
loop
Type: srbds status: Not affected
Type: tsx_async_abort status: Not affected
Graphics:
Device-1: Intel TigerLake-LP GT2 [Iris Xe Graphics] vendor: Lenovo
driver: i915 v: kernel alternate: xe arch: Gen-12.1 process: Intel 10nm
built: 2020-21 ports: active: eDP-1 empty: DP-1, DP-2, DP-3, DP-4
bus-ID: 00:02.0 chip-ID: 8086:9a49 class-ID: 0300
Device-2: Chicony Integrated Camera driver: uvcvideo type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 2.0 bus-ID: 3-1:2 chip-ID: 04f2:b6cb
class-ID: fe01 serial: <filter>
Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.13 compositor: xfwm4 v: 4.18.0 driver:
X: loaded: modesetting alternate: fbdev,intel,vesa dri: iris gpu: i915
display-ID: :0.0 screens: 1
Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2240x1400 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 592x370mm (23.31x14.57")
s-diag: 698mm (27.48")
Monitor-1: eDP-1 model: AU Optronics 0x2698 built: 2020 res: 2240x1400
hz: 60 dpi: 190 gamma: 1.2 size: 300x188mm (11.81x7.4") diag: 354mm (13.9")
ratio: 16:10 modes: 2240x1400
API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: intel iris platforms: device: 0 drv: iris
device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: iris surfaceless: drv: iris x11: drv: iris
inactive: wayland
API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.1.5-arch1.1
glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: Mesa Intel Xe Graphics (TGL GT2)
device-ID: 8086:9a49 memory: 7.52 GiB unified: yes
Audio:
Device-1: Intel Tiger Lake-LP Smart Sound Audio vendor: Lenovo
driver: sof-audio-pci-intel-tgl alternate: snd_hda_intel, snd_soc_avs,
snd_sof_pci_intel_tgl bus-ID: 00:1f.3 chip-ID: 8086:a0c8 class-ID: 0401
API: ALSA v: k6.10.2-arch1-2 status: kernel-api
tools: alsactl,alsamixer,amixer
Server-1: sndiod v: N/A status: off tools: aucat,midicat,sndioctl
Server-2: PipeWire v: 1.2.2 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
4: pw-jack type: plugin tools: pactl,pw-cat,pw-cli,wpctl
Network:
Device-1: Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201 driver: iwlwifi v: kernel bus-ID: 00:14.3
chip-ID: 8086:a0f0 class-ID: 0280
IF: wlan0 state: up mac: <filter>
Info: services: NetworkManager, systemd-timesyncd, wpa_supplicant
Bluetooth:
Device-1: Intel AX201 Bluetooth driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB rev: 2.0
speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 mode: 1.1 bus-ID: 3-10:3 chip-ID: 8087:0026
class-ID: e001
Report: btmgmt ID: hci0 rfk-id: 2 state: down bt-service: disabled
rfk-block: hardware: no software: no address: N/A
Drives:
Local Storage: total: 1.4 TiB used: 23.64 GiB (1.7%)
SMART Message: Unable to run smartctl. Root privileges required.
ID-1: /dev/nvme0n1 maj-min: 259:0 vendor: SK Hynix model: HFS001TDE9X084N
size: 953.87 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B speed: 31.6 Gb/s
lanes: 4 tech: SSD serial: <filter> fw-rev: 41010C22 temp: 42.9 C
scheme: GPT
ID-2: /dev/sda maj-min: 8:0 vendor: Samsung model: Flash Drive FIT
size: 239.02 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB
rev: 3.1 spd: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
fw-rev: 1100 scheme: MBR
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
ID-3: /dev/sdb maj-min: 8:16 vendor: Samsung model: Flash Drive FIT
size: 239.02 GiB block-size: physical: 512 B logical: 512 B type: USB
rev: 3.1 spd: 5 Gb/s lanes: 1 mode: 3.2 gen-1x1 tech: SSD serial: <filter>
fw-rev: 1100 scheme: GPT
SMART Message: Unknown USB bridge. Flash drive/Unsupported enclosure?
Partition:
ID-1: / raw-size: 223.61 GiB size: 219.04 GiB (97.96%)
used: 23.64 GiB (10.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sdb3 maj-min: 8:19
ID-2: /boot/efi raw-size: 512 MiB size: 511 MiB (99.80%)
used: 296 KiB (0.1%) fs: vfat dev: /dev/sdb1 maj-min: 8:17
Swap:
Kernel: swappiness: 60 (default) cache-pressure: 100 (default) zswap: yes
compressor: zstd max-pool: 20%
ID-1: swap-1 type: partition size: 14.9 GiB used: 0 KiB (0.0%)
priority: -2 dev: /dev/sdb2 maj-min: 8:18
Sensors:
System Temperatures: cpu: 40.0 C mobo: N/A
Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A
Info:
Memory: total: 16 GiB note: est. available: 15.41 GiB used: 2.06 GiB (13.4%)
Processes: 263 Power: uptime: 15m states: freeze,mem,disk suspend: s2idle
avail: deep wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform avail: shutdown, reboot,
suspend, test_resume image: 6.12 GiB services: power-profiles-daemon,
upowerd, xfce4-power-manager Init: systemd v: 256 default: graphical
tool: systemctl
Packages: pm: pacman pkgs: 932 libs: 240 tools: yay Compilers: gcc: 14.2.1
Shell: Zsh v: 5.9 running-in: kitty inxi: 3.3.35
efi
Please, post commands output:
sed -n '/Windows/,/}/p' /boot/grub/grub.cfg
lsblk -fo +PARTUUID
menuentry 'Windows Boot Manager (on /dev/nvme0n1p1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-efi-5E4A-BBDE' {
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5E4A-BBDE
chainloader /efi/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
}
NAME FSTYPE FSVER LABEL UUID FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINTS PARTUUID
sdb
├─sdb1 vfat FAT32 4F14-CC07 510.7M 0% /boot/efi 952247d6-a58c-4143-83d3-fd82a8202a8e
├─sdb2 swap 1 e009d620-2329-4ae1-b833-f10d0940faec [SWAP] 516ddf2e-e6a3-4ea0-a281-ad6d519b5c44
└─sdb3 ext4 1.0 9e7162c0-7bcf-4c3b-969f-884d43ace146 184.2G 11% / 0d800cf5-9e24-4865-8100-3c2c1553fc9f
nvme0n1
├─nvme0n1p1 vfat FAT32 SYSTEM_DRV 3410-9928 8d060131-9319-4f02-ae7f-87f6848d170d
├─nvme0n1p2 48dbb0be-b5e8-4d0b-9a1f-4850e0c6355a
├─nvme0n1p3 ntfs Windows-SSD 2A281155281120FD 4238f75e-c3ec-495f-8d85-e098ac8eb8a7
└─nvme0n1p4 ntfs WINRE_DRV 3AB4121FB411DDE7 fd9d8840-e63d-4b9e-810f-5b17e40ad129
Do you really need to be doing this? Shouldn’t Bios search for the boot entries and try them one after the other until it finds the first bootable entry for a connected device and use that?
With that said, your Windows’ menu entry in grub.cfg looks correct to me.
I am not sure why Grub is looking for:
bootimgfw.efi ??
Or is it this the problem:
├─nvme0n1p1 vfat FAT32 SYSTEM_DRV 3410-9928
search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 5E4A-BBDE
How are you creating the Windows menuentry in grub.cfg?
Purely out of comfortability, I’d like it to be able to boot from grub. I agree it’s avoidable, but my question aims to that.
I am partially still a newbie to linux, I have never configured grub any further than the visual appearance in Grub Customizer. That said, the menuentry was created automatically with the EOS installation…
But! Thinking about that, I installed the EOS on another device with Windows 11 system, than I’am currently using. Although when I was using EOS on my previous install, it worked fine on both devices.
Personally, I would look into this. It seems that the UUID for the partition in which Grub is looking for boot files is not set correctly.
Have you already used Grub Customizer in this system?
No, I haven’t.
Did you try reinstalling grub as i posted
sudo grub-install /dev/nvme0n1p1
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
reboot
Done that, the problem persists.
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found background: /usr/share/endeavouros/splash.png
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-linux
Found initrd image: /boot/initramfs-linux.img
Found fallback initrd image(s) in /boot: initramfs-linux-fallback.img
Warning: os-prober will not be executed to detect other bootable partitions.
Systems on them will not be added to the GRUB boot configuration.
Check GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER documentation entry.
Adding boot menu entry for UEFI Firmware Settings ...
done
Did you try setting the entry in /etc/default/grub and make sure the line is uncommented.
GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=false
Then run the update grub command
sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Linux on an external drive cannot be used to automatically boot to Windows on any device you attach it and boot from, without manual/custom grub entries.
Of course, you may create a custom grub entry/function that might autodetect any windows bootloader no matter which device the external USB is attached to, but there is no automatic way (except if using supergrub as an addon).
Wishes, wishes… 
The easy and trustworthy way is to boot Windows through the device UEFI Quick Boot Menu.
There is no difference in speed.
If you want a Windows entry in grub menu for one device that you use more frequently, modify the entry for windows in /etc/grub.d/, setting the correct file path and UUID.
This topic was automatically closed 2 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.