Acer Aspire E 15 E5-575G - Linux Mint 19.3 Dual Boot Entry Can't Be Removed From Acer Boot Menu

drmtcrn
drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
in Aspire Laptops

Hello. I installed Linux Mint 19.3 alongside Windows 10 on my hard drive through dual boot. I want to remove Linux Mint from my laptop. I deleted the Linux Mint partitions I created, but I can't remove its boot entry from the Acer boot menu. I tried many removal methods using Windows and Linux, but the entry continues to appear after I restart my computer. Although there is currently no Ubuntu folder that exists in the EFI folder (where the boot loader file "grubx64.efi" was located), the boot menu believes this location still exists. According to System Information, the BIOS Version/Date is Insyde Corp. V1.32, 10/24/2017.


To get dual boot working properly, I created a supervisor password and disabled secure boot. Afterwards, I added its boot loader (Grub) as a trusted UEFI source to my list of boot options in order for it to appear in the Acer boot menu.


There are two additional options listed under Secure Boot: "Erase all secure boot setting" and "Restore Secure Boot Factory Default". If I select "Restore Secure Boot Factory Default", will that safely remove the entry? 


Also, the version of Windows 10 I am using is not the Acer version that came preinstalled with my laptop. I deleted that version and reinstalled it using the Windows Media Creation Tool. By selecting the "Restore Secure Boot Factory Default" option, would that impact my current version of Windows 10?


Thank you.


For reference, this is what appears after running the "bcdedit /enum firmware" command in the Windows command prompt:


C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum firmware

Firmware Boot Manager
---------------------
identifier              {fwbootmgr}
displayorder            {bootmgr}
                        {06406a26-5eee-11eb-9790-806e6f6e6963}
                        {ad9d250b-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
                        {ad9d250c-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
                        {ad9d250d-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
timeout                 0

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier              {bootmgr}
device                  partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
path                    \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
description             Windows Boot Manager
locale                  en-US
inherit                 {globalsettings}
default                 {current}
resumeobject            {ad9d2510-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
displayorder            {current}
toolsdisplayorder       {memdiag}
timeout                 30

Firmware Application (101fffff)
-------------------------------
identifier              {06406a26-5eee-11eb-9790-806e6f6e6963}
path                    \EFI\ubuntu\grubx64.efi
description             Grub

Firmware Application (101fffff)
-------------------------------
identifier              {ad9d250b-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
description             EFI USB Device

Firmware Application (101fffff)
-------------------------------
identifier              {ad9d250c-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
description             EFI DVD/CDROM

Firmware Application (101fffff)
-------------------------------
identifier              {ad9d250d-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
description             EFI Network




Answers

  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    Wiping seceure boot would just wipe the TPM not the boot menu, 

    I think bcedit has a delete option to remove the bootloader

    Try bcedit /?  To get the help menu up :) 
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    Leostat said:
    Wiping seceure boot would just wipe the TPM not the boot menu, 

    I think bcedit has a delete option to remove the bootloader

    Try bcedit /?  To get the help menu up :) 


    Thank you for your response! I tried the "bcdedit /enum delete {identifier}" command, where "identifier" is the boot loader's identifier number. It removed the "Grub" entry from the boot list in the command prompt. Unfortunately, the Grub entry reappears after I restart my computer. What is confusing is that it still believes the Ubuntu folder exists in the EFI folder, which it does not.


    Also, just to clarify, would the option "Restore Secure Boot Factory Default" remove the TPM and not the boot entry as well?


  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    Did you enum and delete at the same time?
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    edited February 2021
    Leostat said:
    Did you enum and delete at the same time?
    Sorry about that! I typed the command wrong in my response. It was "bcdedit /delete {}". It removes the Grub entry, but unfortunately it reappears after restarting my computer.
  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    odd, does it show again in /enum /v?
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    edited February 2021
    Leostat said:
    odd, does it show again in /enum /v?

    No. Only "Windows Boot Manager" and "Windows Boot Loader" are listed. Here is the output of the command from the command prompt:
    C:\Windows\system32>bcdedit /enum /v

    Windows Boot Manager
    --------------------
    identifier              {9dea862c-5cdd-4e70-acc1-f32b344d4795}
    device                  partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume1
    path                    \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
    description             Windows Boot Manager
    locale                  en-US
    inherit                 {7ea2e1ac-2e61-4728-aaa3-896d9d0a9f0e}
    default                 {ad9d2511-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
    resumeobject            {ad9d2510-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
    displayorder            {ad9d2511-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
    toolsdisplayorder       {b2721d73-1db4-4c62-bf78-c548a880142d}
    timeout                 30

    Windows Boot Loader
    -------------------
    identifier              {ad9d2511-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
    device                  partition=C:
    path                    \Windows\system32\winload.efi
    description             Windows 10
    locale                  en-US
    inherit                 {6efb52bf-1766-41db-a6b3-0ee5eff72bd7}
    recoverysequence        {ad9d2512-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
    displaymessageoverride  Recovery
    recoveryenabled         Yes
    isolatedcontext         Yes
    allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
    osdevice                partition=C:
    systemroot              \Windows
    resumeobject            {ad9d2510-5aa6-11eb-8080-a9e422246496}
    nx                      OptIn
    bootmenupolicy          Standard



  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    Is it a blue boot menwue you see or a black text one? I wonder if you are still seeing the grub2 bootloader rather than the win bootloader
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    edited February 2021
    Leostat said:
    Is it a blue boot menwue you see or a black text one? I wonder if you are still seeing the grub2 bootloader rather than the win bootloader

    The Grub entry is seen when I access the Acer UEFI (Bios) (F2). When I go to the "boot" section, it is listed in the boot priority order. When uninstalling Linux Mint, I moved the Windows Boot Manager back to first in the boot order. Additionally, it appears when I hit the F12 key to bring up the Boot Options screen. Currently, when selected, the Grub entry does not boot into anything except Windows.
  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    Ah that makes sense then! All you need to do is swap away from GRUB and back to the windows bootloader 

    Could try the options here to remove it:
    https://askubuntu.com/questions/429610/uninstall-grub-and-use-windows-bootloader
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    edited February 2021
    Leostat said:
    Ah that makes sense then! All you need to do is swap away from GRUB and back to the windows bootloader 

    Could try the options here to remove it:
    https://askubuntu.com/questions/429610/uninstall-grub-and-use-windows-bootloader

    Thank you for the link. I tried all of the methods that were mentioned, and I was only able to remove the Ubuntu folder from the EFI folder. None of the methods above worked to permanently remove the Grub entry itself.

    I am able to boot into Windows and use my computer without Grub interrupting anything. Grub is currently last in my boot options. Although it is not preventing me from loading into Windows, I would like to delete the Grub entry. I wonder if this is complicated to remove because I added it as a trusted UEFI file?

    You mentioned that "Erase all secure boot setting" would only remove the TPM. Would "Restore Secure Boot Factory Default" do the same thing? 

    Thanks again, I appreciate your help.
  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    I think that would just restore teh default windows signing key, as its just resetting the TPM rather then bootloader. Im honesty unsure hy the grub is being stuborn, the bootsec command should have made it "forget" about it
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    Leostat said:
    I think that would just restore teh default windows signing key, as its just resetting the TPM rather then bootloader. Im honesty unsure hy the grub is being stuborn, the bootsec command should have made it "forget" about it

    I decided to try the "Secure Boot Factory Default" option, and it removed the Grub entry from both the boot priority list and the Boot Options menu. Also, when I run the "bcdedit /enum firmware" command, the Grub entry is not listed anymore. Although the other options you provided should have worked, I believe my issue was complicated because I registered the grubx64.efi file as a trusted UEFI source. Thank you for looking into this and for your advice!
  • Leostat
    Leostat ACE Posts: 3,043 Pathfinder
    Well ill be darned, sorry about that!
  • drmtcrn
    drmtcrn Member Posts: 8 New User
    edited February 2021
    Leostat said:
    Well ill be darned, sorry about that!

    No apologies necessary! I was curious to see what would happen, and from what you described, it made me feel better about trying that option out. :)

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