Could not prepare Boot variable

Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hello, 

On my guix system, I did a simple guix pull then sudo guix system
reconfigure /etc/config.scm but at the end of the process, when
updating the boot loader, the following message appears in the console:

construction de /gnu/store/15g01mbkxmjhy5fbl1cnwazf5bs4p5yl-install-
bootloader.scm.drv...
guix system: erreur : '/gnu/store/b923c23w9qr185xk40392434dm85wd72-
grub-efi-2.12/sbin/grub-install --bootloader-id=Guix --boot-directory
//boot --efi-directory //boot/efi' exited with status 1; output
follows:

Installation pour la plate-forme x86_64-efi.
Could not prepare Boot variable: No space left on device
/gnu/store/b923c23w9qr185xk40392434dm85wd72-grub-efi-2.12/sbin/grub-
install : erreur : efibootmgr n'a pas réussi à enregistrer l'entrée de
démarrage: Erreur d'entrée/sortie.

I checked my partitions, which all have enough free space:
/boot/efi               14% occupied space
/                                39% occupied space
/gnu/store           39% occupied space

Note that I'm dual-boot with ubuntu (24.10), but I hardly ever use this
partition. 

Any idea to help me?

Christophe

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Felix Lechner via]

Hi Christophe,

On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Christophe Pisteur wrote:

> Could not prepare Boot variable [...] efibootmgr n'a pas réussi à
> enregistrer l'entrée de démarrage: Erreur d'entrée/sortie.

Did you boot in EFI or in legacy mode?  I don't read French, but
'efibootmgr' and the Boot variables (which look like 0001 and determine
the boot order) are only available in EFI mode.

Kind regards
Felix

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hi Felix,

Thanks a lot for the help.
Apparently, I boot with efi (I have the file /sys/firmware/efi).

I regularly do guix pull then sudo guix system reconfigure
/etc/config.scm, and it goes without a hitch. I don't know what's wrong
this time. 

Kind regards,

Christophe


Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 11:19 -0800, Felix Lechner a écrit :
> Hi Christophe,
> 
> On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Christophe Pisteur wrote:
> 
> > Could not prepare Boot variable [...] efibootmgr n'a pas réussi à
> > enregistrer l'entrée de démarrage: Erreur d'entrée/sortie.
> 
> Did you boot in EFI or in legacy mode?  I don't read French, but
> 'efibootmgr' and the Boot variables (which look like 0001 and
> determine
> the boot order) are only available in EFI mode.
> 
> Kind regards
> Felix

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Felix Lechner via]

Hi Christophe,

On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Christophe Pisteur wrote:

> I boot with efi

Can you run efibootmgr manually (in a shell)?

Kind regards
Felix

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hi Felix,

Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 11:38 -0800, Felix Lechner a écrit :
> > 
> Can you run efibootmgr manually (in a shell)?

This is what the command produces in my console (but I don't know what
to do with it): 

~$ sudo efibootmgr
Mot de passe : 
BootCurrent: 0000
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0002,0001,001D,001E,001F,0020,0021,0022,0023,0024,0025
Boot0001* Windows Boot Manager HD(1,GPT,dd200da3-9719-464e-aa1d-
3f4149ef14d8,0x800,0x82000)/File(\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi)57494
e444f5753000100000088000000780000004200430044004f0042004a00450043005400
3d007b00390064006500610038003600320063002d0035006300640064002d003400650
0370030002d0061006300630031002d0066003300320062003300340034006400340037
00390035007d00000030000100000010000000040000007fff0400
Boot0002* Ubuntu HD(1,GPT,dd200da3-9719-464e-aa1d-
3f4149ef14d8,0x800,0x82000)/File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)
Boot0010 Setup FvFile(721c8b66-426c-4e86-8e99-3457c46ab0b9)
Boot0011 Boot Menu FvFile(126a762d-5758-4fca-8531-201a7f57f850)
Boot0012 Diagnostic Splash Screen FvFile(a7d8d9a6-6ab0-4aeb-ad9d-
163e59a7a380)
Boot0013 Lenovo Diagnostics FvFile(3f7e615b-0d45-4f80-88dc-
26b234958560)
Boot0014 ThinkShield secure wipe FvFile(3593a0d5-bd52-43a0-808e-
cbff5ece2477)
Boot0015 ThinkShield Passwordless Power-On Device Manager
FvFile(08448b41-7f83-49be-82a7-0e84790ab133)
Boot0016 Wi-Fi Configuration FvFile(d3aaff0f-cb22-4792-896c-
802c2e9383ba)2d004100700070000000
Boot0017 Reinstall Windows from Cloud FvFile(3edbaac4-5017-4870-8cc4-
721f9ef1974f)2d004100700070000000
Boot0018 Intel(R) MEBx FvFile(29a70110-7762-4211-ae88-fab19b7665be)
Boot0019 Startup Interrupt Menu FvFile(f46ee6f4-4785-43a3-923d-
7f786c3c8479)
Boot001A Rescue and Recovery FvFile(665d3f60-ad3e-4cad-8e26-
db46eee9f1b5)
Boot001B Regulatory Information FvFile(478c92a0-2622-42b7-a65d-
5894169e4d24)
Boot001C Asset Information FvFile(da465b87-a26f-4c12-b78a-0361428fa026)
Boot001D* USB CD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,86701296aa5a7848b66cd49dd3ba6a55)
Boot001E* USB FDD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,6ff015a28830b543a8b8641009461e49)
Boot001F* NVMe0 VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,001c199932d94c4eae9aa0b6e98eb8a400)
Boot0020* USB HDD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,33e821aaaf33bc4789bd419f88c50803)
Boot0021* PXE BOOT VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,78a84aaf2b2afc4ea79cf5cc8f3d3803)
Boot0022* LENOVO CLOUD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,ad38ccbbf7edf04d959cf42aa74d3650)/Uri(https://download.lenovo.com/pccbbs/cdeploy/efi/boot.efi
)
Boot0023* ON-PREMISE VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,ad38ccbbf7edf04d959cf42aa74d3650)/Uri()
Boot0024 Other CD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,aea2090adfde214e8b3a5e471856a35400)
Boot0025 Other HDD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,ca88c2349e7ae947beeb43038a5aeae700)
Boot0026* IDER BOOT CDROM PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(11,1)
Boot0027* IDER BOOT Floppy PciRoot(0x0)/Pci(0x14,0x0)/USB(11,0)
Boot0028* ATA HDD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,91af625956449f41a7b91f4f892ab0f6)
Boot0029* ATAPI CD VenMsg(bc7838d2-0f82-4d60-8316-
c068ee79d25b,aea2090adfde214e8b3a5e471856a354)

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

Hello Christophe

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 20:01:55 +0100
Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:
> Could not prepare Boot variable: No space left on device

I also had this issue recently. The device here is not the boot
partition. Instead, the device here is the EFI itself.

Check whether you have any files begninning with "dump"
in /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/

Those are dump files saved by the pstore kernel module. They should be
safe to remove. Removing them frees up space for a new boot variable.

I do not recommend rebooting until you complete the failed system
reconfiguration. Otherwise, the boot may fail. GRUB did not show up
for me at all.

To prevent dump files from filling up space, I disabled the pstore
backend which saves dump files to efi variables. I added the following
configuration in the operating-system declaration.

  ;; Prevent filling /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/ with dumps
  (kernel-arguments (cons* "efi_pstore.pstore_disable=1"
                           %default-kernel-arguments))

Hope this helps.

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hello Roman, 

Thank you very much for your help.

Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 22:05 +0200, Roman Riabenko a écrit :
> Hello Christophe
> > 

> > I also had this issue recently. The device here is not the boot
> partition. Instead, the device here is the EFI itself.
Ah ok
> 
> Check whether you have any files begninning with "dump"
> in /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/
> 
> Those are dump files saved by the pstore kernel module. They should
> be
> safe to remove. Removing them frees up space for a new boot variable.

I have 218 (!) files begninning with "dump": do I delete them all
without distinction? 

> 
> I do not recommend rebooting until you complete the failed system
> reconfiguration. Otherwise, the boot may fail. GRUB did not show up
> for me at all.

Ok , Thanks for the advice! 

Kind Regards

Christophe

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Felix Lechner via]

Hi Roman,

On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Roman Riabenko via wrote:

> To prevent dump files from filling up space, I disabled the pstore
> backend

I think I want that, too.  Did you submit a patch?

Kind regards,
Felix

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 21:15:22 +0100
Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:

> I have 218 (!) files begninning with "dump": do I delete them all
> without distinction? 

Yes, that's what I did.

To be more precise, they all seem to begin with dump-type0-...

They are error logs. But I do not know how to use them, so they were of
no use to me. I just removed them all.

Considering that they appear, there is a persisting error, so they
reappear over time.

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 12:16:43 -0800
Felix Lechner <felix.lechner@lease-up.com> wrote:

> On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Roman Riabenko via wrote:
> 
> > To prevent dump files from filling up space, I disabled the pstore
> > backend
> 
> I think I want that, too.  Did you submit a patch?

While researching my issue, I noticed that some distributions turn this
backend off by default to prevent users from getting into a trap.
However, they seem to turn it off when packaging the software, not via a
kernel argument. 

I do not know who should take care of that. Maybe some upstream
developers should have it turned off by default? 

I do not know, but I assume that the real culprit is the faulty models
of UEFI. Maybe UEFI should clear itself up for new boot variables
instead of refusing to do so.

Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough to answer these questions
and propose a correct solution in a patch.

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hi Roman,

Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 22:24 +0200, Roman Riabenko a écrit :
> On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 21:15:22 +0100
> Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:
> 
> > I have 218 (!) files begninning with "dump": do I delete them all
> > without distinction? 
> 
> Yes, that's what I did.

I can't delete these files: I need privileges not accessible from
nautilus.
Is the following console command correct?
sudo rm /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/dump-type0-*


Best Regards,

Christophe

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 21:42:28 +0100
Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:

> Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 22:24 +0200, Roman Riabenko a écrit :
> > On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 21:15:22 +0100
> > Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:
> > 
> > > I have 218 (!) files begninning with "dump": do I delete them all
> > > without distinction? 
> > 
> > Yes, that's what I did.
> 
> I can't delete these files: I need privileges not accessible from
> nautilus.
> Is the following console command correct?
> sudo rm /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/dump-type0-*

Yes, this is the command that removes the dump files.

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hello Roman,

Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 22:49 +0200, Roman Riabenko a écrit :
> > 
> > Is the following console command correct?
> > sudo rm /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/dump-type0-*
> 
> Yes, this is the command that removes the dump files.
> 

I deleted the “dump” files from the directory
/sys/firmware/efi/efivars/, then I ran guix system reconfigure
/etc/config.scm again, but the command ends with the same error
message...

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 22:10:07 +0100
Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:

> Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 22:49 +0200, Roman Riabenko a écrit :
> > > 
> > > Is the following console command correct?
> > > sudo rm /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/dump-type0-*
> > 
> > Yes, this is the command that removes the dump files.
> > 
> 
> I deleted the “dump” files from the directory
> /sys/firmware/efi/efivars/, then I ran guix system reconfigure
> /etc/config.scm again, but the command ends with the same error
> message...

That one did not happen to me. efivars directory is an interface that
exposes EFI firmware variables. If you do not see the dump files in the
directory, then EFI should have cleared them. However, in such case the
memory would be freed for new variables, and you would not get the
error when reconfiguring the system anymore.

There are other ways to access the variables. You could try efivar to
see whether the dumps are still reported by UEFI.

$ guix shell efivar
[env]$ efivar --list
[env]$ exit

The tool also allows removing variables, but I did not try that myself.

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Felix Lechner via]

Hi Roman,

On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Roman Riabenko wrote:

> some distributions turn this backend off by default to prevent users
> from getting into a trap.  However, they seem to turn it off when
> packaging the software, not via a kernel argument.

It's in the kernel's configuration, i.e. the first hit here. [1]

I looped in Leo and Wilko. (EFI dump files exhaust space on the ESP.)

Kind regards
Felix

[1] https://codesearch.debian.net/search?q=pstore_disable&literal=1

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Christophe Pisteur]

Hi Roman,

Le jeudi 09 janvier 2025 à 23:34 +0200, Roman Riabenko a écrit :
> 
> There are other ways to access the variables. You could try efivar to
> see whether the dumps are still reported by UEFI.
> 
> $ guix shell efivar
> [env]$ efivar --list
> [env]$ exit
> 
> The tool also allows removing variables, but I did not try that
> myself.
> 

[env]$ efivar --list         do not report dumps files (cf. below)

should I try logout and login (without rebooting)?

Christophe

--------------------------
[env]$ efivar --list
e20939be-32d4-41be-a150-897f85d49829-MemoryOverwriteRequestControl
37d3e8e0-8858-4b84-a106-244bb8cbfdc3-LenovoLogging
eb704011-1402-11d3-8e77-00a0c969723b-MTC
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-BootOrder
0b7646a4-6b44-4332-8588-c8998117f2ef-LastBootCurrent
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-OsIndications
04b37fe8-f6ae-480b-bdd5-37d98c5e89aa-VarErrorFlag
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0002
bb983ccf-151d-40e1-a07b-4a17be168292-MemoryOverwriteRequestControlLock
d719b2cb-3d3a-4596-a3bc-dad00e67656f-dbx
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Timeout
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0001
77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b-OfflineMemoryDumpUseCapability
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0001
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0000
67c3208e-4fcb-498f-9729-0760bb4109a7-MailBoxQ
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0023
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0022
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0021
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0020
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot001F
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot001E
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot001D
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0009
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0008
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0007
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0006
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0005
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0004
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0003
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Key0002
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0029
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0028
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0027
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0026
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0025
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0024
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot001C
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot001B
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot001A
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0019
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0018
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0017
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0016
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0015
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0014
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0013
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0012
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0011
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-Boot0010
da48669f-63cc-4c23-bd99-78a09ff989c4-TdkFlashCommandLine
1fd8b79f-0be2-4d57-b241-81c5e24e01a1-AppPlatform
1fd8b79f-0be2-4d57-b241-81c5e24e01a1-AppName
ca787f2e-4d68-4883-b99e-7fb12eb349cd-SoftwareInventory
77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b-CurrentPolicy
d9bee56e-75dc-49d9-b4d7-b534210f637a-certdb
eaec226f-c9a3-477a-a826-ddc716cdc0e3-OfflineUniqueIDEKPubCRC
eaec226f-c9a3-477a-a826-ddc716cdc0e3-OfflineUniqueIDEKPub
eaec226f-c9a3-477a-a826-ddc716cdc0e3-UnlockIDCopy
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-ConOut
77fa9abd-0359-4d32-bd60-28f4e78f784b-BuiltAsSecuredCorePC
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-ConIn
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-ErrOut
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-PlatformLang
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-PK
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-KEK
d719b2cb-3d3a-4596-a3bc-dad00e67656f-db
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-BootCurrent
8be4df61-93ca-11d2-aa0d-00e098032b8c-OsIndicationsSupported
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0029
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0028
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0027
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0026
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0025
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0024
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0023
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0022
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0021
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0020
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot001F
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot001E
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot001D
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot001C
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot001B
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot001A
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0019
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0018
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0017
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0016
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0015
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0014
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0013
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0012
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0011
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0010
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0002
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0001
146b234d-4052-4e07-b326-11220f8e1fe8-lBoot0000
a0b1889e-00eb-445b-8ca9-e91ce43c907d-AbtStatus
a0b1889e-00eb-445b-8ca9-e91ce43c907d-AbtStatus2
a0b1889e-00eb-445b-8ca9-e91ce43c907d-ExtMsgStatusList
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Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 23:04:59 +0100
Christophe Pisteur <christophe.pisteur@fsfe.org> wrote:
> [env]$ efivar --list         do not report dumps files (cf. below)
> 
> should I try logout and login (without rebooting)?

I don't know. I don't think it will have any effect. It is UEFI that
refuses to take a new variable. You need to find a way to make it take
the variable.

The first time it happened, I rebooted and was unable to boot. GRUB
did not show up. And selecting the Guix boot option in UEFI boot menu
failed to load GRUB. I had to use a Guix installation USB drive to
chroot into my installation (section 12 of the guix manual) and fix it.

The second and third time it happend, I cleared the dumps via efivars
directory the way you did. This allowed me to complete reconfiguring
the system each time. It looks like my UEFI behaved better then yours.

I do not know whether you can properly roll back the guix system to the
last (meaning current) configuration, so that the existing boot option
works. Maybe somebody else could comment on this.

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Roman Riabenko via]

On Thu, 09 Jan 2025 13:45:03 -0800
Felix Lechner <felix.lechner@lease-up.com> wrote:

> Hi Roman,
> 
> On Thu, Jan 09 2025, Roman Riabenko wrote:
> 
> > some distributions turn this backend off by default to prevent users
> > from getting into a trap.  However, they seem to turn it off when
> > packaging the software, not via a kernel argument.
> 
> It's in the kernel's configuration, i.e. the first hit here. [1]
> 
> I looped in Leo and Wilko. (EFI dump files exhaust space on the ESP.)
> 
> Kind regards
> Felix
> 
> [1] https://codesearch.debian.net/search?q=pstore_disable&literal=1

Indeed, in the current kernel configuration, the option is not set.

$ gunzip < /proc/config.gz | grep PSTORE | grep EFI
CONFIG_EFI_VARS_PSTORE=m
# CONFIG_EFI_VARS_PSTORE_DEFAULT_DISABLE is not set

Roman

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Tobias Geerinckx-Rice]

On 9 January 2025 21:45:03 UTC, Felix Lechner via <help-guix@gnu.org> wrote:
>EFI dump files exhaust space on the ESP.

[PSA: the ESP is a FAT file system that stores .efi executables (usually, boot loaders, but there's a Doom port too).  It's not involved at all in boot variable or dump storage.  'df' is not invited to this party.]

Guix Systems running out of UEFI variable storage happens disturbingly often.

It must be because we unconditionally 'update' ours on every reconfiguration, despite this being unnecessary, and the (notoriously bad) firmware implementations don't handle this properly.

Nor will the cheap flash be rated for this many writes.

…at least that's the only thing I can think of.  This doesn't happen with such frequency on other distributions.  I wonder if we can reliably test whether our variable is correctly set without parsing efibootmgr output or rewriting it in Scheme.

Kind regards,

T G-R

Sent on the go.  Excuse or enjoy my brevity.

Re: Could not prepare Boot variable

[Felix Lechner via]

On Fri, Jan 10 2025, Tobias Geerinckx-Rice wrote:

> the ESP is [...] not involved at all in boot variable or dump storage.

Thank you!  You are right.  I noticed my error after I hit 'send' but
did not wish to burden this help list further.

> I wonder if we can reliably test whether our variable is correctly set
> without parsing efibootmgr output or rewriting it in Scheme.

Wouldn't itt require one or the other?

Kind regards
Felix