Installation problem - file(s) missing

[Lukáš Dalajka]

Hello,
i have a problem with installation. As attachments says, installation is aborted due to missing directory C:\grub2\windata\cunsomconfigs and it really does not contain any files in it. Does anyone know what the problem might be?

Thaks for Your help.

Lukas

[Drummer]

Hi Lukas,

I have a question.
During setup, did you check the box that says
"Install all program modules to your EFI partition (Advanced)"?

This option should only be used in very specific situations because it may cause problems due to the EFI partition being secured, full, encryption issues etc.

Is your C: drive encrypted? Bitlocker?

Please let me know.

Thanks,

Dave

[Lukáš Dalajka]

Hi Dave,
yes, I checked the box. My drive C: is encrypted so without the box checked I I couldn't install it at all. I've had success - I needed to click Updates, Check For Updates Now and reinstall Grub2Win. I set up the menu, install Debian on a free partition on the same drive, and was even able to run Debian. But since then (Debian booting), grub menu does not appear. Only the famous Minimal BASH-like line editing is supported ........ grub> _ is on the screen.
Grub2Win EFI path is set to \efi\grub2win\g2bootmgr\gnugrub.kernel64.efi, the file is visible on the ESP partition. \efi\grub2win\grub.cfg is also pressent. So now I have no idea what went wrong and how to fix this issue.

Please do you have any idea what happened and how to solve it?

Thanks,

Lukas.

[Drummer]

Hi again Lukas,

Encryption really complicates the boot process, both for your EFI firmware and GNU Grub.
It makes the whole boot process much less reliable and causes many unusual problems.

Here's my recommendation for you:

1. Decrypt the C:\grub2 directory only. The rest of the partition will remain encrypted.
   From an administrative command prompt enter cipher /d C:\grub2

2. Download and reinstall Grub2Win.
   Uncheck the "Install all program modules to your EFI partition" box if it appears.
   Continue the setup to do the normal Grub2Win install.
   This should also setup the EFI for GNU Grub to run normally.
   Not from the EFI partition.

3. You may need to tweak your EFI bios settings to reliably load Grub2Win.

Once Grub2Win is installed successfully, send me the Grub2Win diagnostics.
Run Grub2Win and click the blue "Diagnostics" button on the main Grub2Win screen.
This will help me better understand your hardware and system configuration.

Note: I will be away on vacation from September 6 - September 24 with very limited computer access (iPad only).

Please let me know how you make out.

Thanks,

Dave

[Lukáš Dalajka]

Hi Dave,
thanks for Your fast reply.

I really don't thing this problem is caused by encrypted C:

Command cipher did nothin:
C:\Users\lukas>cipher /d C:\grub2
Decrypting files in C:\
0 file(s) [or directorie(s)] within 1 directorie(s) were decrypted.

Grub itself is loaded directly from ESP partition (grub knows nothing about encrypted Windows partiton)

I cannot uncheck the "Install all .... " box, otherwise I can't install Grub2Win.

I found another gnugrub.kernel64.efi (old version 2.02 from 2017) on the internet. For tests i tried to replace this file directly in the ESP partittion. And voilà, grub.cfg was found and loaded. Of course, without a proper graphical interface and without the ability to run systems. See attachment.

So in my opinion the only problem is that gnugrub.kernel64.efi version2.06 can't find grub.cfg. I am trying to find out how to debug grub to get more info (don't think yet it is possible)

Lukas.

[Drummer]

Hi again Lukas,

I can tell you from bitter experience that the problems you are seeing are due to encryption.
GNU Grub simply cannot locate or read files in encrypted directories.
I have considered not supporting encrypted drives at all because they have so many problems like yours.

Also the GNU Grub kernels and supporting libraries must match exactly or you will have unpredictable results, crashes, missing graphics etc. Mixing old kernels and code will often cause these results.

One question is, Why did your decrypt command fail?
Is there something wrong with your C: partition?
You should research this to see if you can decrypt the C:\grub2 directory through other commands or through the Windows directory properties advanced GUI.

Here is writeup that may help

https://windowsreport.com/error-0x80071771/

Once the C:\grub2 directory is straightened out, you should be able to reinstall Grub2Win normally. It will be much more reliable.

Please let me know.

Thanks for your patience.

Dave

[Ed P]

In that the /efi/grub2win/g2bootmgr/gnugrub.efisetup.cfg searches for and references the c:/grub2/grub.cfg file having the c:/grub2 folder encrypted is not going to work.

[Drummer]

Hi yet again Lukas,

Please download and unzip this diagnostic program.

https://sourceforge.net/projects/sourcecode.grub2win.p/files/GetSysInfo.zip/download

Then run the GetSysInfo.exe program and send me the diagnostics,

This will give me information about your hardware and Windows configuration so that I can better help you.

Thanks again,

Dave