Leap 15.6 - Grub cannot start Windows

English Install/Boot/Login
1

Hello!
A couple of weeks ago I needed Windows (7), that is installed in dual boot EFI system alongside openSUSE Leap 15.6, but it did not start. Instead I got an error message and the grub prompt:

error: ../../grub-core.kern/dl.c:380:symbol 'grub_cli_set_auth_needed' not found.
Entering rescue mode...
grub rescue>_

I must specify: Last month I intended to test, if Leap 15.6 also starts with Secure Boot enabled (installed without) and this maybe deleted the Microsoft subdirectory under /EFI.
Before that I worked even if rarely with Windows on this system.

Anyway, now grub does not find the line for Windows… In fact:

# ls -l /boot/efi/EFI
insgesamt 24
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 12. Mär 2024  boot
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 12. Mär 2024  CutefishOS
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 12. Mär 2024  debian
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 24. Apr 11:26 memtest86
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 12. Mär 2024  opensuse
drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 20. Mai 16:36 sles

Here a look at partitioning

  • Consider please, /dev/sdc is practically unused, added on June for a possible future project:
# fdisk -l
Festplatte /dev/sda: 111,79 GiB, 120034123776 Bytes, 234441648 Sektoren
Festplattenmodell: INTEL SSDSA2BW12
Einheiten: Sektoren von 1 * 512 = 512 Bytes
Sektorgröße (logisch/physikalisch): 512 Bytes / 512 Bytes
E/A-Größe (minimal/optimal): 512 Bytes / 512 Bytes
Festplattenbezeichnungstyp: gpt
Festplattenbezeichner: B2C21312-65AA-4BB3-9406-5326D704F510

Gerät         Anfang      Ende  Sektoren Größe Typ
/dev/sda1       2048    206847    204800  100M EFI-System
/dev/sda2     206848    239615     32768   16M Microsoft reserviert
/dev/sda3     239616 155766783 155527168 74,2G Microsoft Basisdaten
/dev/sda4  233371648 234440703   1069056  522M Windows-Wiederherstellungsumgebung
/dev/sda5  159961088 233371647  73410560   35G Linux-Dateisystem
/dev/sda6  155766784 159961087   4194304    2G Linux Swap

Partitionstabelleneinträge sind nicht in Festplatten-Reihenfolge.

Festplatte /dev/sdb: 1,82 TiB, 2000398934016 Bytes, 3907029168 Sektoren
Festplattenmodell: ST2000DM008-2UB1
Einheiten: Sektoren von 1 * 512 = 512 Bytes
Sektorgröße (logisch/physikalisch): 512 Bytes / 4096 Bytes
E/A-Größe (minimal/optimal): 4096 Bytes / 4096 Bytes
Festplattenbezeichnungstyp: gpt
Festplattenbezeichner: 9618CDD8-8FA5-4BE6-B07C-DB14FEF1A254

Gerät         Anfang       Ende   Sektoren Größe Typ
/dev/sdb1       2048     718847     716800  350M EFI-System
/dev/sdb2     718848   73607167   72888320 34,8G Microsoft Basisdaten
/dev/sdb3   73607168  147007487   73400320   35G Linux-Dateisystem
/dev/sdb5  147007488  377694207  230686720  110G Linux-Dateisystem
/dev/sdb6  377694208  608380927  230686720  110G Linux-Dateisystem
/dev/sdb7  608380928  839067647  230686720  110G Linux-Dateisystem
/dev/sdb8  839067648 3907028991 3067961344  1,4T Linux-Dateisystem

Festplatte /dev/sdc: 232,89 GiB, 250059350016 Bytes, 488397168 Sektoren
Festplattenmodell: ST9250315AS     
Einheiten: Sektoren von 1 * 512 = 512 Bytes
Sektorgröße (logisch/physikalisch): 512 Bytes / 512 Bytes
E/A-Größe (minimal/optimal): 512 Bytes / 512 Bytes
Festplattenbezeichnungstyp: dos
Festplattenbezeichner: 0x8bc9fd16

Gerät      Boot    Anfang      Ende  Sektoren  Größe Kn Typ
/dev/sdc1  *    115346700 488392703 373046004 177,9G  7 HPFS/NTFS/exFAT

… and now a look at EFI boot manager:

# efibootmgr -v
BootCurrent: 0002
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0002,0001,0010,000D,0011,0000,0014,0008,0015,0012
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager  HD(1,GPT,953cd5f5-afab-4826-b4c9-54bcc11f8f37,0x800,0x32000)/File(\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)
Boot0001* opensuse      HD(1,GPT,e0ef8bc1-f0be-4f70-97e9-79f140f333ba,0x800,0xaf000)/File(\EFI\opensuse\grubx64.efi)
Boot0002* opensuse-secureboot   HD(1,GPT,e0ef8bc1-f0be-4f70-97e9-79f140f333ba,0x800,0xaf000)/File(\EFI\opensuse\shim.efi)
Boot0008* Hard Drive    BBS(HD,,0x0)..GO..NO?.........F.a.k.e. .U.s.b. .O.p.t.i.o.n.................BO..NO{.......+.S.A.T.A. . .P.M.:. .I.N.T.E.L. .S.S.D.S.A.2.B.W.1.2.0.G.3.H.........................rN.D+..,.\...........BO..NOw.......+.S.A.T.A. . .P.M.:. .S.T.2.0.0.0.D.M.0.0.8.-.2.U.B.1.0.2.........................rN.D+..,.\...........BO..NOU.......+.S.T.9.2.5.0.3.1.5.A.S.........................rN.D+..,.\...........BO
Boot000D* DTO UEFI ATAPI CD-ROM Drive   VenMedia(b6fef66f-1495-4584-a836-3492d1984a8d,0300000001)..BO
Boot0010* DTO UEFI USB Floppy/CD        VenMedia(b6fef66f-1495-4584-a836-3492d1984a8d,0500000001)..BO
Boot0011* DTO UEFI USB Hard Drive       VenMedia(b6fef66f-1495-4584-a836-3492d1984a8d,0200000001)..BO
Boot0012* DTO Legacy USB Floppy/CD      VenMedia(b6fef66f-1495-4584-a836-3492d1984a8d,0500000000)..BO
Boot0014* UEFI OS       HD(1,GPT,e0ef8bc1-f0be-4f70-97e9-79f140f333ba,0x800,0xaf000)/File(\EFI\BOOT\BOOTX64.EFI)
Boot0015* CD/DVD Drive  BBS(CDROM,,0x0)..GO..NO{.......+.S.A.T.A. . .P.M.:. .h.p. . . . . . .D.V.D. .A. . .D.S.8.A.9.........................rN.D+..,.\...........BO

I think, it is needed to re-create the Microsoft partition under /EFI. I never made backup of root in the last years and the Linux partitions are formatted as ext4. Ergo, a normal restore is not possible.
Is it possible to “recreate” the Microsoft partition with Linux means?

Thanks a lot for any suggestion

2

There is no Windows loader, so there is nothing to find.

That is what Windows recovery mode is for. You need to ask on Windows forums for details.

3

@geppino:

You could also check the GRUB “info” pages:

> info grub2

With the down arrow, move down to the “Configuration:” entry – then, hit the “Return” key.
Down arrow again, select the “Simple configuration” entry.
Search for the key “GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER”.

Edit the file ‘/etc/default/grub’ –

  • Check that, the value of the key “GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER=” is set to “false”.
  • Check that, the key “GRUB_OS_PROBER_SKIP_LIST” is not present in the configuration file ‘/etc/default/grub’

After you have checked and, if needed made any changes to the GRUB configuration file, then do exactly what is written at the beginning of the file ‘/etc/default/grub’ –

 > head -2 /etc/default/grub
# If you change this file, run 'grub2-mkconfig -o /boot/grub2/grub.cfg' afterwards to update
# /boot/grub2/grub.cfg.
 >

If, that’s all OK then, you’re really missing the Windows 7 EFI directory and file –

  • If you have a licensed Windows 7 image either on a DVD or a USB stick then, you could try to retrieve the needed EFI directory and file …
4

arvidjaar
both your assumptions are correct.
I only asked opening to a “Linux-Solution”.

I’ve checked and both the conditions are satisfied.
BTW, I already knew, the Windows 7 EFI (/Microsoft) directory is missed - I simply checked the directory tree with Dolphin.
However, the >info grub2 tool is very interesting, I did not know that.
A little question only for learning:
Does the line GRUB_DISABLE_OS_PROBER= maybe correspond to the check Fremdes OS testen (= check for other OS) in Boot loader Options (YAST)?

CONCLUSION:
yes, I should use the recover utilities in the Windows install image (yes, it is licensed), but I don’t know if I do this because:

  • the repair takes a lot of time;
  • Windows 7 will get no more security updates in one month and
  • I can’t upgrade to Windows 10, as my PC only has TPM 1.2, while the '10 needs the version 2.0.

Maybe I can Install Windows 10 on VirtualBox, if this can “imitate” a PC with TPM 2.0 on a Hardware without this. I’ll ask on V-Box forum.

Thanks a lot for your contribution!
Bye.

5

Windows 7 is a long time dead. Also recently support for Win10 stopped and now MS only supports Win11
TPM is a BIOS/UEFI thing I doubt it can be emulated in a VM, But you could try it

6

Absolutely incorrect maybe you mis-typed “10”.

To quote the MS end of life webpage:

“After 10 years, security updates and technical support for Windows 7 ended on January 14, 2020.”

That’s over five years ago.

We have a Win10 laptop that we start once a month - we are continuously reminded, “support will end Oct 14, 2025”. We will copy the current Win10 content to a VBox first … then will upgrade the bare metal Win10 to Win11.

The webpage below shows end of life for Win 7, 8.1, and Win10.

.

7

Genau – dass ist korrekt.

Language change.
Please be aware that, with Leap 16 YaST as we know it will disappear – Myrlyn is the replacement for the RPM Package Management and, that’s about it.

  • Yes, yes – “Cockpit” is the replacement for some of the System Management Tasks but …

I’ve noticed that, some of the GRUB2 Keys in the current Leap 15.6 definition have been marked by the GRUB team as being deprecated.

Back to Windows (7) –

Yes, Oracle VirtualBox supports TPM 2.0 in a VM image but, I’m not sure if, it needs Hardware which also supports that TPM version – »I have licensed Windows 10 executing in an Oracle Virtual Box VM.« (Which will be killed at the Windows 10 “End of Support” date) …

  • For those applications I need which have no Linux support (the Garmin Map management and, a digital camera Foveon RAW processing tool plus, a camera Lens firmware updating tool) – only Windows and macOS applications –
    I bought a MacBook – which is also nice for evaluation of photographs plus, some new AI features for photography work-flow –
    Plus, automatic detection of other Apple products – such as an Apple TV connected to a Video Projector for the display of a presentation …

Alternatively – given that, the Windows 7 applications may well display some “interesting” behaviour when executing on newer Windows versions, have you considered executing your Windows 7 applications in Wine?

8

Thanks to all, that replied …

Yes, my mistake: the current Windows version on the PC is the 10th. Anyway, that does not implicate the sense of my original question, which has been answered: It is not possible to “regenerate” the deleted Microsoft folder under /EFI.
And I don’t want to repair it (with Windows Installer DVD) because:
1st. A lot of work time for only 1,5 months use, due to end of support, especially considering that the PC only has TPM 1.2.

Bye, geppino

9

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