Bug#767037: Grub EFI fallback - patches for review

[Steve McIntyre]

On Sat, Dec 20, 2014 at 09:45:30AM +0100, David Härdeman wrote:
>Hi,

Hi!

>one option that doesn't seem to have been considered would be to create
>a separate package (let's call it UEFIx) that installs an UEFI binary to
>EFI/boot/bootx64.efi. That binary could then do what the UEFI BIOS
>should've done (i.e. look at the EFI vars for bootorder, bootnext, etc
>and then go on to load the right bootloader).
>
>That way you'll have a solution that'll work across the different
>bootloaders (grub-efi, gummiboot, etc), requires no changes to existing
>bootloaders and which will only have an effect if explicitly installed
>(adding d-i rescue code to optionally install the package should be
>pretty straightforward as well). It also means that efibootmgr will work
>as expected on both buggy and non-buggy machines.
>
>I realize you're alredy pretty well ahead on a different solution and
>that it's late in the Jessie game, but I thought I should at least throw
>this idea into the ring (it's basically what Matthew originally
>suggested in http://mjg59.dreamwidth.org/4125.html).

What you're suggesting is a good plan; I've even spoken with Matthew
and some other upstream EFI maintainers. The shim package includes a
fallback.efi which they recommend to install in the removable media
path, and it does pretty much what you suggest.

However, despite assurances months ago that we'd get a shim upload for
Jessie that still hasn't happened. :-( I now think it's now way too
late to add a new package like that for Jessie, hence I've been
continuing down this route.

-- 
Steve McIntyre, Cambridge, UK.                                steve at einval.com
"I used to be the first kid on the block wanting a cranial implant,
 now I want to be the first with a cranial firewall. " -- Charlie Stross