A problem has occurred with Arch Linux and Slackware, in dual boot (UEFI / EFI).
by Luckylin from LinuxQuestions.org on (#56CPY)
Good morning everyone.
I have used Arch Linux and Slackware (current) in dual boot for about a year. I like these two distributions very much, for several reasons.
Until a few days ago I used them in Legacy (MBR) mode and made the decision to migrate to EFI (UEFI) mode, as my computer supports it. Before, I installed Arch first, completely, and then I installed Slackware (without Lilo, without Grub). Restarted the computer, entered the "arch-chroot / mnt", mounted the Arch partitions (/ and / home, for example) and asked him to find Slackware with the command grub-mkconfig -o / boot / grub / grub. cfg), after I reinstalled Grub ("grub-install /dev/sdx.... and maybe I didn't even need this reinstallation of GRUB).
Everything was fine, I did it. The only times I had problems with my dual boot was because of current updates (which sometimes gives some problems, for those who are not experts, as is my case) I simply reinstalled Slackware, again without Lilo and without Grub), and repeated the procedure of asking Arch to find Slackware with the command "grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg". Well, as I said at the beginning of my help request, I decided to switch my SSD to GPT and installed Arch creating the EFI partition [/ boot / efi] is required to install GRUB on it.
After this complete installation, I started to install Slackware (current) thinking about using the Arch Linux EFI partition. I noticed that during the installation of Slackware "automatically" the EFI partition (native to Arch) was detected and it was added to Slackware's FSTAB (I didn't add it). I followed the same procedure that I did when using Legacy / MBR and completed the installation of Slackware without installing either LILO or GRUB, as I was going to let Arch Linux GRUB manage the dual boot, as I always did. Restarting the computer, I asked Arch (arch-chroot ....) to locate Slackware to include it in GRUB. This time, using EFI, this process took a lot longer than it did before, maybe 5 minutes, but Arch found Slackware and added it to the GRUB boot. Finally the problem, which did not occur before: When updating Slackware, including the kernel, when I restarted the computer I saw that GRUB disappeared.
It was as if there was no distribution installed on the disc. I had to boot the pendrive with the Arch Linux ISO, go to arch-chroot, mount the Arch partitions and reinstall the complete GRUB. With that, I was able to find Slackware again. I certainly shouldn't be doing something that I should have done, to have this problem, after the first Slackware update. Before (Legacy / MBR) there was no such problem that occurred with having a / boot / efi partition, remembering that the only times I had a problem with current updates (when I updated the kernel, without problems) was something related the graphical interface (which had nothing to do with boot / GRUB).
I would really like to know what to do or how to do it, in order to have the same functionality, without major problems, in my dual boot of Arch with Slackware current (in UEFI / EFI).
I take this opportunity to ask you to reveal my imperfect English.:)
I have used Arch Linux and Slackware (current) in dual boot for about a year. I like these two distributions very much, for several reasons.
Until a few days ago I used them in Legacy (MBR) mode and made the decision to migrate to EFI (UEFI) mode, as my computer supports it. Before, I installed Arch first, completely, and then I installed Slackware (without Lilo, without Grub). Restarted the computer, entered the "arch-chroot / mnt", mounted the Arch partitions (/ and / home, for example) and asked him to find Slackware with the command grub-mkconfig -o / boot / grub / grub. cfg), after I reinstalled Grub ("grub-install /dev/sdx.... and maybe I didn't even need this reinstallation of GRUB).
Everything was fine, I did it. The only times I had problems with my dual boot was because of current updates (which sometimes gives some problems, for those who are not experts, as is my case) I simply reinstalled Slackware, again without Lilo and without Grub), and repeated the procedure of asking Arch to find Slackware with the command "grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg". Well, as I said at the beginning of my help request, I decided to switch my SSD to GPT and installed Arch creating the EFI partition [/ boot / efi] is required to install GRUB on it.
After this complete installation, I started to install Slackware (current) thinking about using the Arch Linux EFI partition. I noticed that during the installation of Slackware "automatically" the EFI partition (native to Arch) was detected and it was added to Slackware's FSTAB (I didn't add it). I followed the same procedure that I did when using Legacy / MBR and completed the installation of Slackware without installing either LILO or GRUB, as I was going to let Arch Linux GRUB manage the dual boot, as I always did. Restarting the computer, I asked Arch (arch-chroot ....) to locate Slackware to include it in GRUB. This time, using EFI, this process took a lot longer than it did before, maybe 5 minutes, but Arch found Slackware and added it to the GRUB boot. Finally the problem, which did not occur before: When updating Slackware, including the kernel, when I restarted the computer I saw that GRUB disappeared.
It was as if there was no distribution installed on the disc. I had to boot the pendrive with the Arch Linux ISO, go to arch-chroot, mount the Arch partitions and reinstall the complete GRUB. With that, I was able to find Slackware again. I certainly shouldn't be doing something that I should have done, to have this problem, after the first Slackware update. Before (Legacy / MBR) there was no such problem that occurred with having a / boot / efi partition, remembering that the only times I had a problem with current updates (when I updated the kernel, without problems) was something related the graphical interface (which had nothing to do with boot / GRUB).
I would really like to know what to do or how to do it, in order to have the same functionality, without major problems, in my dual boot of Arch with Slackware current (in UEFI / EFI).
I take this opportunity to ask you to reveal my imperfect English.:)