Intel Clear Linux tolerates drive switching, Debian gives "Missing OS GRUB"

iamnoex · 09-02-2021, 08:16 PM

I have a number of drives that are connected to the power supply by DPDT switches, including a pair of boot drives that can be toggled (when the system is powered down). One drive has a Windows 7 installation and on the other I installed Debian 11 from the Live image.

The Debian install went smoothly and I made a number of reboots. However, after switching to the Window 7 drive and back to Debian I get a "Missing OS GRUB" message. On the other hand if I install Intel Clear Linux from the Live image, I can toggle back and forth without losing the Linux installation. The Windows 7 installation is not disturbed by any of this.

This seems to be an issue involving UEFI and GRUB that affects Debian but not Clear Linux. What can I do to remedy the situation for the Debian boot drive? Is there another distro besides Clear Linux that would tolerate the switching process?

fatmac · 09-03-2021, 04:02 AM

Quote:

Stateless
Operate without any custom configuration, for example, a generic host with an empty /etc directory. Stateless systems strictly separate the OS configuration, the per-system configuration, and the VT user-data stored on that system.

The above could be the reason, Debian uses files in /etc.

However, I suspect the boot loader on the Debian disk may have got damaged in some way, maybe using a 'live' to repair or re install grub.

colorpurple21859 · 09-03-2021, 04:29 AM

Windows 7 is pre-uefi, my guess is your mixing legacy/csm booting with uefi booting.

iamnoex · 09-03-2021, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fatmac

The above could be the reason, Debian uses files in /etc.

However, I suspect the boot loader on the Debian disk may have got damaged in some way, maybe using a 'live' to repair or re install grub.

I think you are right about files. I have repeated the process with the standard installer with the same result. After switching drives /boot/efi/EFI/debian is missing when I boot from Live to see what is happening. The boot entry for that path is also missing per efibootmgr.

iamnoex · 09-03-2021, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by colorpurple21859

Windows 7 is pre-uefi, my guess is your mixing legacy/csm booting with uefi booting.

That is probably part of the problem. The machine is an Asus P8C-WS, and the original BIOS did not have a CSM. Asus added the CSM but never added any documentation to the manual for it. I discovered this when I was unable to get an add-in SATA controller to work. I have been using Debian on an Intel NUC box and I would like use it on a Xeon box. I chose Debian after having limited experience with Raspbian and LinuxCNC. My goal is to ultimately run Windows 7 as a guest for a Linux host and avoid Windows 10. I have a newer Supermicro system that I can try, but it appears that dual booting can be problematic even if the OSes are on two different drives. I found this to be very informative although somewhat discouraging:

https://www.happyassassin.net/posts/...lly-work-then/

This was my first thread at LinuxQuestions.org and I appreciate the responses from you and fatmac. I will probably be back with questions about KMV, Xen, Virtualbox, etc. after I get past this awkward dual booting phase.