Unable to set efi boot variables on 3.10-rc3

Unable to set efi boot variables on 3.10-rc3

[Felix Braun]

Hi there,

I'm unable to set efi boot variables using efibootmgr 0.6.0 using
kernels 3.9.x (x=0..4) and 3.10-rc3 on an ASUS E45M1-M PRO Board using
the most current firmware (1202). Things worked fine with kernels 3.7.x
(x=4..10). I have not been able to boot 3.8 for unrelated reasons.

When I try to write something to the efi boot variables, I get an kernel
error

# efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 1 seconds
BootOrder: 0000,0002,0003
Boot0000* Linux
Boot0002* Hard Drive
Boot0003* CD/DVD Drive
# efibootmgr -n2
# tail /var/log/messages
 [Firmware Bug]: Broken EFI implementation is returning
MaxVariableSize=0

Mounting efivarfs I have been able to delete variables. I have not found
a way to store things in efivarfs because I can't figure out valid
names.

On boot up, I get a number of the following error messages:

e820: too many entries; ignoring [mem 0x01d8a000-0x01d8ffff]
e820: too many entries; ignoring [mem 0x01d90000-0x01d91fff]
...

is that maybe related?

Any pointers would be welcome. Please copy me to any mail as I am not
subscribed.

Thanks in adcance!
Felix

Re: Unable to set efi boot variables on 3.10-rc3

[Matt Fleming]

On Tue, 28 May, at 08:40:32PM, Felix Braun wrote:
> Hi there,
> 
> I'm unable to set efi boot variables using efibootmgr 0.6.0 using
> kernels 3.9.x (x=0..4) and 3.10-rc3 on an ASUS E45M1-M PRO Board using
> the most current firmware (1202). Things worked fine with kernels 3.7.x
> (x=4..10). I have not been able to boot 3.8 for unrelated reasons.
> 
> When I try to write something to the efi boot variables, I get an kernel
> error
> 
> # efibootmgr
> BootCurrent: 0000
> Timeout: 1 seconds
> BootOrder: 0000,0002,0003
> Boot0000* Linux
> Boot0002* Hard Drive
> Boot0003* CD/DVD Drive
> # efibootmgr -n2
> # tail /var/log/messages
>  [Firmware Bug]: Broken EFI implementation is returning
> MaxVariableSize=0
 
Yeah, this is a common bug on ASUS machines. The 'max' argument to
QueryVariableInfo() isn't filled out correctly.

It sounds like your machine isn't initiating garbage collection. Try
adding the efi_no_storage_paranoia kernel parameter to your kernel
cmdline. 

> On boot up, I get a number of the following error messages:
> 
> e820: too many entries; ignoring [mem 0x01d8a000-0x01d8ffff]
> e820: too many entries; ignoring [mem 0x01d90000-0x01d91fff]
> ...
> 
> is that maybe related?

I doubt that's related but it's certainly not good. Could you paste your
full dmesg? What boot loader are you using?

-- 
Matt Fleming, Intel Open Source Technology Center

Re: Unable to set efi boot variables on 3.10-rc3

[Felix Braun]

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Hello Matt,

> On Tue, 28 May, at 08:40:32PM, Felix Braun wrote:
> > When I try to write something to the efi boot variables, I get an kernel
> > error
> > 
> > # efibootmgr
> > BootCurrent: 0000
> > Timeout: 1 seconds
> > BootOrder: 0000,0002,0003
> > Boot0000* Linux
> > Boot0002* Hard Drive
> > Boot0003* CD/DVD Drive
> > # efibootmgr -n2
> > # tail /var/log/messages
> >  [Firmware Bug]: Broken EFI implementation is returning
> > MaxVariableSize=0

> It sounds like your machine isn't initiating garbage collection. Try
> adding the efi_no_storage_paranoia kernel parameter to your kernel
> cmdline. 

That seems to have worked. With that parameter added, things work again.
Thank you! How can I prevent the efi storage from filling up? Is there a
way to initiate garbage collection manually?

> > On boot up, I get a number of the following error messages:
> > 
> > e820: too many entries; ignoring [mem 0x01d8a000-0x01d8ffff]
> > e820: too many entries; ignoring [mem 0x01d90000-0x01d91fff]
> > ...

> I doubt that's related but it's certainly not good. Could you paste your
> full dmesg? What boot loader are you using?

It does seem to be related as these error messages go away with
efi_no_storage_paranoia. I'm using EFISTUB to boot linux directly from
the EFI shell.

I'm attaching gzipped dmesg output (with efi_no_storage_paranoia).
Thanks again!

Regards
Felix

[-- Attachment #2: dmesg.gz --]
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