failed install of Mint 19, machine ""unbootable"

[Elt10W]

Device: HP Spectra 360 Convertible
OS: Windows 10 Home Edition
RAM: 16 Gb
DisplayResolution: 3840 x 2160 [default]

What I did: booted with USB Mint 19 XFCE, changed to a lower, more readable resolution: 1366 x 768. Using Gparted, I resizeded the "C: drive" to 50%. Then used this space to create an ext4 partition and ~16 Gb swap space, for installation of Mint Llnux 19

What happened: Installer crashed, I still had Gparated running, so I restored the "C:" partition (deleting the ext4 partition). Now the machine just boots to the GRUB prompt.

I have an album of photos which I took with my phone. These should be self-explanatory:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/JaTGqGcwSeiG8yTG9 "Failed install of Linux Mint 19 on HP Spectra"

(1) I would like to have linux installed on the machine
(2) I wish to retain the original Windows 10 that was pre-installed on the device.

Failing (1) above, I would like to remove GRUB and have the machine in its pristine state.

Any guidance and assistance would be appreciated, TIA.

...respectfully...

[michael louwe]

@ Elt10W, .......

.

.
The Swap partition should have been formatted as well. The "Device for boot loader installation" should have been the nvmeOn1p1 = EFI system partition/fat32. ... viewtopic.php?f=42&t=163126 (Tutorial for dual-booting UEFI computers)

[fabien85]

Hi,
the resizing of the windows partition could have done some damage, if windows was using fast-startup.
First thing would be to restore the machine to windows-only.
Go to the firmware interface/BIOS and find the boot order. The entry on top of the order should be called "ubuntu", and you should have another entry called "window boot manager". Put that latter entry to the top, save the changes and exit the firmware. You should now boot to windows, which will either work completely or be damaged.
If you cannot find the boot order and/or dont find the entry for windows, please boot the linux live USB, open a terminal, run the following command

Code: Select all

sudo efibootmgr -v

and post here the result.

The installer crash may have been because you used the v1 of the Mint 19 ISO, v2 ISOs have been made available which correct this error. (but anyway the first thing is to restore a working windows before retrying a linux install)

[Elt10W]

Hi,
the resizing of the windows partition could have done some damage, if windows was using fast-startup.
First thing would be to restore the machine to windows-only.
Go to the firmware interface/BIOS and find the boot order. The entry on top of the order should be called "ubuntu", and you should have another entry called "window boot manager". Put that latter entry to the top, save the changes and exit the firmware. You should now boot to windows, which will either work completely or be damaged.
If you cannot find the boot order and/or dont find the entry for windows, please boot the linux live USB, open a terminal, run the following command

Code: Select all

sudo efibootmgr -v

and post here the result.

The installer crash may have been because you used the v1 of the Mint 19 ISO, v2 ISOs have been made available which correct this error. (but anyway the first thing is to restore a working windows before retrying a linux install)

First of all, THANK YOU for your suggestions. I do have a Windows 10 restore USB stick. Unfortunately, the machine boots immediately to the GRUB prompt. I was thinking the same as you suggested: restore the machine to factory state. I guess I'll need to contact HP to find out what key combination one must use to get into the BIOS.

[fabien85]

I guess I'll need to contact HP to find out what key combination one must use to get into the BIOS.

Following the following link, you need to tap esc rapidly to see the boot menu and then tap F10 to get into the firmware interface :
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook- ... -p/5950702

[Elt10W]

I guess I'll need to contact HP to find out what key combination one must use to get into the BIOS.

Following the following link, you need to tap esc rapidly to see the boot menu and then tap F10 to get into the firmware interface :
https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook- ... -p/5950702

I saw your reply after had spoken to HP. My initial attempt, using the 'on-board' / built in reset to factory, brought me back to the GRUB prompt. Fortunately, I had created a system restore USB . When I used that to reset, it took a couple of hours, and I had go though the whole process of (re) creating my Microsoft Windows account.

.....a lesson learned.. <SIGH>

[fabien85]

I'm not sure it was needed to perform a factory reset, but anyway you are now back on your feet which is good.

If you ever want to retry installing linux, here are some steps which should be foolproof :
- in windows, disable fast-startup (instructions for win10 here). Then perform a full shutdown and reboot.
- use windows tools to resize the windows partition.
I dont have instructions here because I dont use that OS personally.
Reboot after that just to check it worked
- download the Mint 19 v2 ISO, and verify it. Then burn it to a USB using Rufus
- boot the live USB, check things work. Then install Mint using this tutorial
If you want to be extra cautious, dont connect to internet so that updates and third-party drivers are not downloaded (installation will be more robust and faster, but you will later need to download those things after rebooting in the system)
- in case the system does not boot correctly afterwards, use boot-repair