GNU bug report logs - #47329
efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry: Input/output error

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>
To: bug-guix <at> gnu.org
Subject: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry: Input/output error
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:20:41 +0300

Dear Guix,

I ran 'guix system reconfigure' yesterday and it failed during
bootloader installation. I couldn't load system afterwards.

> activating system...
> making '/gnu/store/agdqqyc7wm3gv53dgca9gir09h9ax0ym-system' the current system...
> setting up setuid programs in '/run/setuid-programs'...
> populating /etc from /gnu/store/bvvsriahzjxv8m977j84xsn802rrz27d-etc...
> The following derivation will be built:
>    /gnu/store/cx5i04kjidixkkdi2cj01v0ij72frsan-install-bootloader.scm.drv
> 
> building /gnu/store/cx5i04kjidixkkdi2cj01v0ij72frsan-install-bootloader.scm.drv...
> guix system: error: '/gnu/store/q5mhiwj4rap24i2b2y9svwbfsn3ya0v1-grub-efi-2.04/sbin/grub-install --boot-directory //boot --bootloader-id=Guix --efi-directory //boot/efi' exited with status 1; output follows:

>   Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
>   Could not prepare Boot variable: No space left on device
>   /gnu/store/q5mhiwj4rap24i2b2y9svwbfsn3ya0v1-grub-efi-2.04/sbin/grub-install: error: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry: Input/output error.

Running 
> sudo efibootmgr --create --disk /dev/nvme0n1p1 --part 1 --loader \
> '\EFI\Guix\grubx64.efi' --label Guix
has same effect on guix system, but works fine when runned in ubuntu
live cd.

I don't get why it complains that there is "no space left on device"
though.

output of `df -h` contains:
> /dev/nvme0n1p1         548M  212K  548M   1% /boot/efi

Haven't woked out how to fix it manually, just keep suspending for now :)

-- 
David aka zzappie

Message #8 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me <at> tobias.gr>
To: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>
Cc: 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, bug-guix <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#47329: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry:
 Input/output error
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:17:24 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

David,

David Dashyan 写道：
> failed to register the boot entry: Input/output error.
[...]
> same effect on guix system, but works fine when runned in ubuntu
> live cd.

Thank you for noting this!  This error is not uncommon in general, 
but this is the first time I've heard (or it's even occurred to 
me) that there's a difference between different efibootmgr builds. 
I'll keep that in mind when this next happens to me.

> I don't get why it complains that there is "no space left on 
> device"
> though.

Because your UEFI firmware reports that the storage NVRAM (a chip 
on your motherboard) is full.

There's no magic (simple + safe + guaranteed to work) way to fix 
this.  I don't think Guix could reliably automate one if we tried.

One of the safer things to try is looking at the output of 
‘efibootmgr’, then deleting ‘obviously irrelevant’ BootNNNN 
entries with ‘efibootmgr -b NNNN -B’.  IIRC, my Lenovo X230T came 
with options to boot from a floppy and/or optical drives, neither 
of which it has.  Each one takes up a tiny bit of the very limited 
NVRAM storage.

Deleting just a few clearly-unused entries can fix the problem, 
and is a lot safer than, e.g., manually mucking about in 
/sys/firmware/efi/efivars.  That could theoretically brick your 
machine.

Some people also report success from the ‘load defaults’ or ‘load 
optimised defaults’ options in the firmware's set-up menu.  Of 
course you'll lose all custom firmware settings, but you might not 
have any, and they're quite easy to restore by hand.

> output of `df -h` contains:
>> /dev/nvme0n1p1         548M  212K  548M   1% /boot/efi

The problem you're having has nothing to do with drives; you can 
ignore them.

Kind regards,

T G-R

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Message #14 received at 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Maxime Devos <maximedevos <at> telenet.be>
To: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>, 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#47329: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry:
 Input/output error
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:20:38 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

On Mon, 2021-03-22 at 22:20 +0300, David Dashyan wrote:
> Dear Guix,
> 
> I ran 'guix system reconfigure' yesterday and it failed during
> bootloader installation. I couldn't load system afterwards.


> > activating system...
> > [...]
> > 
> > building /gnu/store/cx5i04kjidixkkdi2cj01v0ij72frsan-install-bootloader.scm.drv...
> > guix system: error: '/gnu/store/q5mhiwj4rap24i2b2y9svwbfsn3ya0v1-grub-efi-2.04/sbin/grub-install --boot-directory //boot --bootloader-id=Guix --efi-directory //boot/efi' exited with status 1; output follows:
> >   Installing for x86_64-efi platform.

The directory here is /boot (and /boot/efi) ...

> >   Could not prepare Boot variable: No space left on device
> >   /gnu/store/q5mhiwj4rap24i2b2y9svwbfsn3ya0v1-grub-efi-2.04/sbin/grub-install: error: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry: Input/output error.

That ‘Input/output error’ looks bad.

> Running 
> > sudo efibootmgr --create --disk /dev/nvme0n1p1 --part 1 --loader \
> > '\EFI\Guix\grubx64.efi' --label Guix
> has same effect on guix system, but works fine when runned in ubuntu
> live cd.
> 
> I don't get why it complains that there is "no space left on device"
> though.
> 
> output of `df -h` contains:
> > /dev/nvme0n1p1         548M  212K  548M   1% /boot/efi

But you are only looking at /boot/efi here ...

Are /boot/efi and /boot separate file systems?
Maybe paste the full output of "df -h"

Greetings,
Maxime

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Message #17 received at 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Maxime Devos <maximedevos <at> telenet.be>
To: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>, 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#47329: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry:
 Input/output error
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:22:35 +0100

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Nevermind, it seems Tobias Geerinckx knows what's going on here.

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Message #20 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me <at> tobias.gr>
To: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>
Cc: 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, bug-guix <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#47329: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry:
 Input/output error
Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2021 22:32:28 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

David,

David Dashyan 写道：
> Haven't woked out how to fix it manually, just keep suspending 
> for now :)

Didn't we talk on #guix yesterday?  I thought manually adding an 
entry for \EFI\Guix\grubx64.efi fixed your next boot.  Did it not?

Kind regards,

T G-R

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Message #26 received at 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me <at> tobias.gr>
To: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>
Cc: 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Maxime Devos <maximedevos <at> telenet.be>
Subject: Re: bug#47329: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry:
 Input/output error
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2021 14:01:57 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

David,

David Dashyan 写道：
> After running `rm /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/dump-*` followed by 
> reboot
> guix system reconfigure went without errors.

Happy to hear that!

I *think* that's a safe thing to do, at least on Lenovo devices.

> Also. While rebooting (I had to boot to ubuntu live cd first) I 
> noted
> that ubuntu has efibootmgr version 17.  And It works there. 
> Maybe we
> just need to update it?

Thanks, I'll try to update our efibootmgr.  Upstream[0] is still 
at 16.  Need to figure out what the Debian package actually 
contains.

Kind regards,

T G-R

[0]: https://github.com/rhboot/efibootmgr

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Message #29 received at 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Tobias Geerinckx-Rice <me <at> tobias.gr>
To: David Dashyan <mail <at> davie.li>
Cc: 47329 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Maxime Devos <maximedevos <at> telenet.be>
Subject: Re: bug#47329: efibootmgr failed to register the boot entry:
 Input/output error
Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2021 14:21:58 +0100

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

David Dashyan 写道：
> Also. While rebooting (I had to boot to ubuntu live cd first) I 
> noted
> that ubuntu has efibootmgr version 17.  And It works there. 
> Maybe we
> just need to update it?

Done on master.

Kind regards,

T G-R

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