[Bug 1173423] Re: Kernel fails to update EFI vars, rendering system unbootable [P8P67 PRO REV 3.1, BIOS 1904 08/15/2011]

[Joseph Salisbury]

Thanks for the info.

I created a Raring test kernel with the following commit reverted:
68d9298 - efi: be more paranoid about available space when creating variables

It would be helpful if you can test this kernel to confirm it fixes this
bug.  That will rule out other changes that are causing this issue.

The test kernel can be downloaded from:
http://kernel.ubuntu.com/~jsalisbury/lp1173423/

I'll take a closer look at my backport again to see why it may not have
fixed this bug.

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Title:
  Kernel fails to update EFI vars, rendering system unbootable [P8P67
  PRO REV 3.1, BIOS 1904 08/15/2011]

Status in The Linux Kernel:
  Confirmed
Status in “grub2” package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in “linux” package in Ubuntu:
  In Progress

Bug description:
  After an upgrade, my system failed to boot.  Fortunately I was able to
  run the EFI shell and manually launch grub.  From there I discovered
  that the EFI boot catalog contained no entry for GRUB.  It appears
  there has been a regression in kernels later than 3.8.0-7 that causes
  it to fail to update the EFI variables.  After running grub-install,
  it reports no errors, yet fails to show the efi boot catalog as it
  does when it works.  Manually running efivars shows the ubuntu entry
  has been removed.  Checking dmesg shows:

  [   25.965586] efivars: set_variable() failed: status=8000000000000009
  [   25.981816] efivars: set_variable() failed: status=8000000000000009

  This happens on kernels 3.8.0-{15,19,23} but works correctly in -{6,7}.
  --- 
  ApportVersion: 2.9.2-0ubuntu8
  Architecture: amd64
  AudioDevicesInUse:
   USER        PID ACCESS COMMAND
   /dev/snd/controlC1:  psusi      2310 F.... pulseaudio
   /dev/snd/controlC0:  psusi      2310 F.... pulseaudio
  CRDA: Error: command ['iw', 'reg', 'get'] failed with exit code 1: nl80211 not found.
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
  IwConfig:
   eth1      no wireless extensions.
   
   lo        no wireless extensions.
  MachineType: System manufacturer System Product Name
  MarkForUpload: True
  Package: linux (not installed)
  ProcFB: 0 radeondrmfb
  ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-3.8.0-15-generic root=/dev/sda2 ro crashkernel=384M-2G:64M,2G-:128M quiet splash acpi_enforce_resources=lax vt.handoff=7
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-15.25-generic 3.8.4
  RelatedPackageVersions:
   linux-restricted-modules-3.8.0-15-generic N/A
   linux-backports-modules-3.8.0-15-generic  N/A
   linux-firmware                            1.106
  RfKill:
   0: hci0: Bluetooth
   	Soft blocked: no
   	Hard blocked: no
  Tags:  raring
  Uname: Linux 3.8.0-15-generic x86_64
  UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to raring on 2013-02-13 (73 days ago)
  UserGroups: adm admin cdrom dialout lpadmin plugdev sambashare
  WifiSyslog:
   
  dmi.bios.date: 08/15/2011
  dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
  dmi.bios.version: 1904
  dmi.board.asset.tag: To be filled by O.E.M.
  dmi.board.name: P8P67 PRO REV 3.1
  dmi.board.vendor: ASUSTeK Computer INC.
  dmi.board.version: Rev 1.xx
  dmi.chassis.asset.tag: Asset-1234567890
  dmi.chassis.type: 3
  dmi.chassis.vendor: Chassis Manufacture
  dmi.chassis.version: Chassis Version
  dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvr1904:bd08/15/2011:svnSystemmanufacturer:pnSystemProductName:pvrSystemVersion:rvnASUSTeKComputerINC.:rnP8P67PROREV3.1:rvrRev1.xx:cvnChassisManufacture:ct3:cvrChassisVersion:
  dmi.product.name: System Product Name
  dmi.product.version: System Version
  dmi.sys.vendor: System manufacturer

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