Grub doesn't detect Fedora after installing a grub theme

Hello, I installed a grub2 theme yesterday and on rebooting, grub wasn’t detecting Fedora, just Windows. (I dual boot Fedora and Win10.) I’ve tried chrooting with a live USB and using the grub terminal, but none of that has worked. Help??

When entering your bios/uefi settings (chose UEFI Firmware Settings on your screen), under something like “Boot Options”, can you chose the fedora Boot Manager?

Yeah, I can, but it just loads up into the grub menu that doesn’t work.

The grub menu, does it list your Windows Install and one or more Linux kernels?

And what does not work?
Starting the windows OS from that Position or Linux?

No, just the Windows Install and UEFI Settings. I’ve included a picture in the post. As for what doesn’t work, I simply can’t boot into Linux at all. I can boot into Windows, though.

This doesn’t look like the grub boot screen for me.
One thing important is to chose the Fedora Boot Manager in Bios/UEFI.
And another thing, if Windows is not schuting down entirely., this causes issues
http://www.surfacetablethelp.com/2017/06/disable-hibernation-and-faststartup-in-windows-10-to-dual-boot-with-ubuntu.html

Maybe a not so good article, but with screenshots:

Yeah, it’s a custom theme I installed. I did contact the developer of the theme but they said it wasn’t a theme issue. I have been dual booting Fedora + Win10 for like a month now, so I don’t think that article will help much, it just looks like a installation tutorial.

Also, is this what you’re talking about?

Yes, I asked because this wasn’t obvious to me from your first post.

Ah, okay. As I was saying, that is definitely grub. Pressing C leads you to the grub terminal, but I still have no idea how to access Fedora.

Basically in a dual boot configuration, you have two options.

  1. Installing grub into the same efi partition where the windows boot manager resides or
  2. Installing grub into its own partition.

Seems like your Fedora Menu entry is missing

You could paste your grub config.

1 Like

Just to be clear, I’d have to chroot from a live USB to access that file, right?

Nope, I can’t access the grub.cfg file at all. I simply can’t chroot into the system, I’m using the official Fedora guide too. Is a reinstall the only option? I’ve got way too much stuff on there to lose.

Also, the guide I’m using:

https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/Fedora/22/html/Multiboot_Guide/common_operations_appendix.html#common-chroot_from_live

Better use an USB live image of Fedora and mount your file system on your hard drive in your live system.

#
# DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE
#
# It is automatically generated by grub2-mkconfig using templates
# from /etc/grub.d and settings from /etc/default/grub
#

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/00_header ###
set pager=1

if [ -f ${config_directory}/grubenv ]; then
  load_env -f ${config_directory}/grubenv
elif [ -s $prefix/grubenv ]; then
  load_env
fi
if [ "${next_entry}" ] ; then
   set default="${next_entry}"
   set next_entry=
   save_env next_entry
   set boot_once=true
else
   set default="${saved_entry}"
fi

if [ x"${feature_menuentry_id}" = xy ]; then
  menuentry_id_option="--id"
else
  menuentry_id_option=""
fi

export menuentry_id_option

if [ "${prev_saved_entry}" ]; then
  set saved_entry="${prev_saved_entry}"
  save_env saved_entry
  set prev_saved_entry=
  save_env prev_saved_entry
  set boot_once=true
fi

function savedefault {
  if [ -z "${boot_once}" ]; then
    saved_entry="${chosen}"
    save_env saved_entry
  fi
}

function load_video {
  if [ x$feature_all_video_module = xy ]; then
    insmod all_video
  else
    insmod efi_gop
    insmod efi_uga
    insmod ieee1275_fb
    insmod vbe
    insmod vga
    insmod video_bochs
    insmod video_cirrus
  fi
}

terminal_output console
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
  set timeout_style=menu
  set timeout=5
# Fallback normal timeout code in case the timeout_style feature is
# unavailable.
else
  set timeout=5
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/00_header ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/01_users ###
if [ -f ${prefix}/user.cfg ]; then
  source ${prefix}/user.cfg
  if [ -n "${GRUB2_PASSWORD}" ]; then
    set superusers="root"
    export superusers
    password_pbkdf2 root ${GRUB2_PASSWORD}
  fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/01_users ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/08_fallback_counting ###
insmod increment
# Check if boot_counter exists and boot_success=0 to activate this behaviour.
if [ -n "${boot_counter}" -a "${boot_success}" = "0" ]; then
  # if countdown has ended, choose to boot rollback deployment,
  # i.e. default=1 on OSTree-based systems.
  if  [ "${boot_counter}" = "0" -o "${boot_counter}" = "-1" ]; then
    set default=1
    set boot_counter=-1
  # otherwise decrement boot_counter
  else
    decrement boot_counter
  fi
  save_env boot_counter
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/08_fallback_counting ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###
insmod part_gpt
insmod btrfs
set root='hd0,gpt8'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt8 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt8 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt8  1339ff31-2770-40c5-8983-e26f24c962ce
else
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root 1339ff31-2770-40c5-8983-e26f24c962ce
fi
insmod part_gpt
insmod fat
set boot='hd0,gpt7'
if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=boot --hint-bios=hd0,gpt7 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt7 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt7  AC68-6CDE
else
  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=boot AC68-6CDE
fi

# This section was generated by a script. Do not modify the generated file - all changes
# will be lost the next time file is regenerated. Instead edit the BootLoaderSpec files.
#
# The blscfg command parses the BootLoaderSpec files stored in /boot/loader/entries and
# populates the boot menu. Please refer to the Boot Loader Specification documentation
# for the files format: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Specifications/BootLoaderSpec/.

# The kernelopts variable should be defined in the grubenv file. But to ensure that menu
# entries populated from BootLoaderSpec files that use this variable work correctly even
# without a grubenv file, define a fallback kernelopts variable if this has not been set.
#
# The kernelopts variable in the grubenv file can be modified using the grubby tool or by
# executing the grub2-mkconfig tool. For the latter, the values of the GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX
# and GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT options from /etc/default/grub file are used to set both
# the kernelopts variable in the grubenv file and the fallback kernelopts variable.
if [ -z "${kernelopts}" ]; then
  set kernelopts="root=UUID=1339ff31-2770-40c5-8983-e26f24c962ce ro rootflags=subvol=root resume=UUID=12c3f46c-563f-49a6-957f-fdc72f703893 rhgb quiet "
fi

insmod blscfg
blscfg
### END /etc/grub.d/10_linux ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/10_reset_boot_success ###
# Hiding the menu is ok if last boot was ok or if this is a first boot attempt to boot the entry
if [ "${boot_success}" = "1" -o "${boot_indeterminate}" = "1" ]; then
  set menu_hide_ok=1
else
  set menu_hide_ok=0 
fi
# Reset boot_indeterminate after a successful boot
if [ "${boot_success}" = "1" ] ; then
  set boot_indeterminate=0
# Avoid boot_indeterminate causing the menu to be hidden more then once
elif [ "${boot_indeterminate}" = "1" ]; then
  set boot_indeterminate=2
fi
# Reset boot_success for current boot 
set boot_success=0
save_env boot_success boot_indeterminate
### END /etc/grub.d/10_reset_boot_success ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/12_menu_auto_hide ###
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ] ; then
  if [ "${menu_show_once}" ]; then
    unset menu_show_once
    save_env menu_show_once
    set timeout_style=menu
    set timeout=60
  elif [ "${menu_auto_hide}" -a "${menu_hide_ok}" = "1" ]; then
    set orig_timeout_style=${timeout_style}
    set orig_timeout=${timeout}
    if [ "${fastboot}" = "1" ]; then
      # timeout_style=menu + timeout=0 avoids the countdown code keypress check
      set timeout_style=menu
      set timeout=0
    else
      set timeout_style=hidden
      set timeout=1
    fi
  fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/12_menu_auto_hide ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/14_menu_show_once ###
if [ x$feature_timeout_style = xy ]; then
  if [ "${menu_show_once_timeout}" ]; then
    set timeout_style=menu
    set timeout="${menu_show_once_timeout}"
    unset menu_show_once_timeout
    save_env menu_show_once_timeout
  fi
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/14_menu_show_once ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### END /etc/grub.d/20_linux_xen ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/20_ppc_terminfo ###
### END /etc/grub.d/20_ppc_terminfo ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###
menuentry 'Windows Boot Manager (on /dev/sda1)' --class windows --class os $menuentry_id_option 'osprober-efi-E034-FB46' {
	insmod part_gpt
	insmod fat
	set root='hd0,gpt1'
	if [ x$feature_platform_search_hint = xy ]; then
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root --hint-bios=hd0,gpt1 --hint-efi=hd0,gpt1 --hint-baremetal=ahci0,gpt1  E034-FB46
	else
	  search --no-floppy --fs-uuid --set=root E034-FB46
	fi
	chainloader /efi/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
}
# Other OS found, undo autohiding of menu unless menu_auto_hide=2
if [ "${orig_timeout_style}" -a "${menu_auto_hide}" != "2" ]; then
  set timeout_style=${orig_timeout_style}
  set timeout=${orig_timeout}
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/30_os-prober ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###
menuentry 'UEFI Firmware Settings' $menuentry_id_option 'uefi-firmware' {
	fwsetup
}
### END /etc/grub.d/30_uefi-firmware ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###
# This file provides an easy way to add custom menu entries.  Simply type the
# menu entries you want to add after this comment.  Be careful not to change
# the 'exec tail' line above.
### END /etc/grub.d/40_custom ###

### BEGIN /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###
if [ -f  ${config_directory}/custom.cfg ]; then
  source ${config_directory}/custom.cfg
elif [ -z "${config_directory}" -a -f  $prefix/custom.cfg ]; then
  source $prefix/custom.cfg
fi
### END /etc/grub.d/41_custom ###

Here’s the grub.cfg file I found inside /root/boot/grub2.

As far as I can see this looks good.
Can you provide the Output of the following command?
lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,LABEL,UUID,FSAVAIL,FSUSE%,MOUNTPOINT

Sorry for being late, also;

[liveuser@localhost-live ~]$ lsblk -o NAME,FSTYPE,LABEL,UUID,FSAVAIL,FSUSE%,MOUNTPOINT
NAME        FSTYPE   LABEL                  UUID                                 FSAVAIL FSUSE% MOUNTPOINT
loop0       squashfs                                                                            
loop1       ext4     Anaconda               8f4eeabf-c1db-415a-af32-8436661490ea                
├─live-rw   ext4     Anaconda               8f4eeabf-c1db-415a-af32-8436661490ea      1G    84% /
└─live-base ext4     Anaconda               8f4eeabf-c1db-415a-af32-8436661490ea                
loop2                                                                                           
└─live-rw   ext4     Anaconda               8f4eeabf-c1db-415a-af32-8436661490ea      1G    84% /
sda                                                                                             
├─sda1      vfat     SYSTEM_DRV             E034-FB46                                           
├─sda2                                                                                          
├─sda3      ntfs                            32E6E74CE6E70EC3                                    
├─sda4      ntfs     New Volume             744E51C44E518032                                    
├─sda5      ntfs     LENOVO                 6C70BD9570BD668C                                    
├─sda6      ntfs     WINRE_DRV              1E583A4C583A2347                                    
├─sda7      vfat                            AC68-6CDE                                           
├─sda8      btrfs    fedora_fedora-80xh     1339ff31-2770-40c5-8983-e26f24c962ce                
└─sda9      swap                            12c3f46c-563f-49a6-957f-fdc72f703893                
sdb         iso9660  Fedora-KDE-Live-34-1-2 2021-04-23-11-23-34-00                              
├─sdb1      iso9660  Fedora-KDE-Live-34-1-2 2021-04-23-11-23-34-00                     0   100% /run/initramfs/live
├─sdb2      vfat     ANACONDA               E34E-576F                                           
└─sdb3      hfsplus  ANACONDA               abfd1e18-f2b7-3797-b707-3ba31820422e                
sr0                                                                                             
zram0                                                                                           [SWAP]

This also is correct, provided this is the only boot config you have written.
How did you install the theme?
Did you directly edid something under /boot/ ?

You could use your Live System to save your Data, make a backup of your old home directory and install fresh.

Maybe this guide will help you installing a new boot loader:
https://discussion.fedoraproject.org/t/kernel-panic/71783/2?u=huben

But before trying anything, I’d backup my data.
See little how-to below

The backup could work like this:

Here the commands in case you want to backup data:

# First switch to root
sudo su -

# Show file system to find your disk to backup
lsblk -f

# Mount the file system, in my case it's the btrfs volume /dev/vda3
mount  /dev/vda3  /mnt/

# Check what's there
ls -ahl /mnt/

# Now copy your data to an external disk
cp -vr  /mnt/home/  /some/external/disk/

# or use rsync https://linuxhint.com/rsync_copy_files/

Then you may want to try to fix your boot process first or try a new install.

calimari

huben has some good advice but I’d also check your /boot/loader/entries folder - that has one .conf file for each linux kernel. In the grub.cfg, they are loaded by the

insmod blscfg

command.
Other OSes are specified in the old-fashioned way by being referenced directly from grub.cfg. So if the theme has screwed your /boot/loader/entries directory, you’d see exactly your symptoms.

If that directory and its files are missing, hopefully, you can find and replace those files. If not, try a dnf reinstall of the latest kernel via the live USB route to access your linux. That should recreate the .conf file for that kernel. Make sure that that directory exists before the kernel reinstall - and check it afterwards for the .conf file.

I would guess that sda1 and sda7 in your post #16 are both efi.

I would also venture that sda1 was the windows efi partition and sda7 was created during the linux install with grub for linux in that partiiton.

Now your issue is the grub theme you installed was placed on the windows efi partition (sda1) and you cannot access the grub partition for linux (sda7).

This type problem crops up when you have more than one efi partition especially when you install 3rd party software (the grub theme).

Now you need to go through the recovery steps to merge the boot loaders from both efi partitions and delete the extra partition so it does not interfere again.

A quick google search for “how to merge 2 efi partitions in fedora” gives several methods to solve this issue.