F30 (no operating system) with Linux only installed

[Blyaticon]

Hey there,

I currently have Linux installed on my Laptop (NixOS to be precise, but the Distro doesnt matter in this case), with the bootloader sitting under /EFI/BOOT/grubx64.efi. I can boot just fine by using F9 and choosing the bootloader file, so that isn't the problem. The disk is also fine, i can dump current SMART status if you want to see that. UEFI is updated to the most recent version.

My problem is, that the UEFI completely denies the existence of my installed bootloader, as i cant choose an EFI file to boot inside the UEFI. Funnily enough i can boot just fine when i use the refind bootloader (that just lists all efi loaders on FAT32 partitions that are available) on a usb stick, as usb sticks "just boots" into this bootloader and there i can choose the grub installed on my Laptop.

I already tried contacting the offical support, but i was told to ask the nonexistent HP Linux support.

So: How can i set my bootloader in the UEFI settings, when the UEFI denies the existent of it? Are there any secret tricks i need to perform, so that i can boot without spamming F9 every time? And why cant i just create my own bootentry inside the UEFI like on any other Manufacturers UEFI?

[Matt429]

Hello,

You should be able to use the "efibootmgr" utility from Linux to create a system boot entry for your NixOS install. From what I understand, the utility is available on most distributions, but you should be able to use it from a Live USB of Ubuntu or Fedora or something if it doesn't exist in NixOS.

Here's a link to a manual page for efibootmgr: https://linux.die.net/man/8/efibootmgr

I believe that the option you want is "-c". You'll probably have to figure out the correct command to fit your system on your own though 🙂