[Bug 1912276] Re: Ubuntu Server 20.04 installation to drive with BIOS set to legacy mode results in non-booting drive

[Chris Guiver]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make
Ubuntu better.

When reporting bugs in the future please use apport by using 'ubuntu-
bug' and the name of the package affected. You can learn more about this
functionality at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/ReportingBugs.

The following needs to be performed, HOWEVER you have filed this bug
against `ubiquity` (ie. the desktop installer), and NOT a server
installer (`subiquity` (https://ubuntu.com/blog/tag/subiquity) or
`debian installer`).

If it's a desktop installation problem, you can run apport-collect now,
however if it's a server installation, the package should be changed
first.

(you do mention 20.04.1-live-server-amd64.iso which uses subiquity.  If
you run the `ubuntu-bug` on the system in future, the correct package
will be detected by your system)

--

Please execute the following command only once, as it will automatically
gather debugging information, in a terminal:

apport-collect 1912276

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1912276

Title:
  Ubuntu Server 20.04 installation to drive with BIOS set to legacy mode
  results in non-booting drive

Status in ubiquity package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  I opened a forum ticket about this observation here:

  "Unable to boot from HDD 20.04 installed with BIOS in Legacy mode"
  https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=2455005&p=14015093

  I suspect there might be a defect in Ubuntu Server 20.04 ISO. I was
  loading it onto a ThinkPad to test out the new Ubuntu Server LTS
  release. I had the ThinkPad BIOS set to boot from legacy mode disks,
  all UEFI disabled.

  The partitions Ubuntu Server 20.04 created for me were as follows:

  Disklabel Type: gpt
  sda1 BIOS Boot
  sda2 Linux filesystem (which I selected xfs)

  The system failed to boot from the HDD. When trying to boot from the
  system's HDD, I only am able to get the ThinkPad "Boot Menu /
  Application Menu" screen to come up. Selecting ATA HDD0 loops back
  around to the same menu.

  It was suggested that Ubuntu 20.04 really prefers to boot from drives
  in UEFI mode. I changes the BIOS settings, wiped the disk during
  another test installation. This time the partitions the installer
  created were as follows:

  Disklabel Type: gpt
  sda1 EFI System
  sda2 Linux filesystem (which I selected xfs)

  And the system does boot from the HDD now.

  So is this a defect in the installer for Ubuntu Server 20.04 that it
  does not produce a bootable drive when the computer BIOS is set to
  legacy boot mode?

  I was expecting to see the legacy boot partition table type not be a
  gpt partition table. Might that have something to do with the failure
  to boot?

  I think the fact that for the legacy boot installation, Ubuntu Server
  did at least create a first partition of type "BIOS boot".

  <><><><>

  I tried the same installation on the same ThinkPad from the
  ubuntu-20.04.1-live-server-amd64.iso disk. Same results as before.

  Looks like Ubuntu Server has a defect booting from disks where the
  BIOS is set to legacy mode.

  This is not broken in Xubuntu 20.04 installation.

  Logging an Ubuntu Server installer defect.

  <><><><>

  Xubuntu 20.04 does NOT have this same defect. Xubuntu 20.04 boots
  properly when installed to systems with the BIOS set to legacy mode
  for the hard drive access setting.

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