Dell XPS 7390 stuck in BIOS setup after setting GRUB_DEFAULT="2"

[TheMainMan]

Hi everyone,

Story:
I have a Dell laptop XPS 7390 Developer Edition, with Ubuntu 18.04 pre-installed. Since 18.04 is no longer supported, I decided to upgrade it to 20.04, using the Software Update. After successful upgrade, Ubuntu 20.04 does not show any network adapter in the Network settings, the Wifi settings is hidden too (only appear when I intentionally search the setting name). ip add command shows only lo1 (loopback) interface. I looked up and many sources state that the Intel(R) Killer(TM) Wi-Fi 6 AX 1650, 2x2, 802.11ax, Bluetooth (R) wireless card of the XPS is not compatible with the Linux kernel. So, I changed the default kernel by editing the GRUB_DEFAULT in the /etc/default/grub. After that, I reboot the laptop and it stuck in the BIOS setup forever. Even I manually select the boot option of Ubuntu, it did not let me boot into Ubuntu. Now, I am stuck in the BIOS setup.

What I've tried:

• Follow the guides to boot into Ubuntu using GNU GRUB - have not worked so far, faced many kinds of error. References:
  • https://www.howtogeek.com/887757/how-to-use-grub-rescue-to-fix-linux/#using-the-grub-shell
• F12 while booting to enter the boot option in order to manually boot into Ubuntu - did not work, it reboots the laptop and enters the BIOS setup again

What I want:

• Escape the BIOS setup and boot into Ubuntu
• After that, gain the network connectivity back

A video demonstrating the issue is in the attachment. Any information and questions to remedy this situation are appreciated.
Thanks,

 

[Rob]

I do not have answers for you, as this would be the point where I'd grab 24.04 and do a clean install There's more to the story, I guess, if you have things you want to preserve from your current install.

I have an older xps 13 that probably has ubuntu 20.04 on it and works well.

 

[909mjolnir]

Could you use a USB drive (with Linux on it) and boot into that and edit your GRUB from there?
I know it's not quite as simple as that, but maybe I'm jogging your memory? Or someone elses?

 

[Condobloke]

That is a good idea @909mjolnir

Boot into a usb stick and access Boot Repair ...if it is not in the menu/list of apps, it will be in the repository.

Just follow the Recommended Repair steps

You cannot do any harm by doing that....I have pasted the steps I usually post for Linux Mint below.

Good Luck

""
If you are having trouble, read this
Use the usb stick with Linux Mint XX on it that you first used to install.
Boot the pc to that usb stick. Then look for 'Boot Repair' in the menu... Open it....just click through...the latest version is not important It will scan...may take a few minutes
Click 'no' if it offers to modify the mount point of any EXTRA drive/s you have installed. You only want to fix the boot for the drive your OS is installed on.
It will scan again.
It will then come to a smallish screen saying :
Repair the boot of the computer
Click on recommended repair
It will do its thing automatically
HTH

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

What I've tried:

• Follow the guides to boot into Ubuntu using GNU GRUB - have not w

I still pretty new to Linux but for what it's worth I'm throwing this in if it might be helpful...
I was having issues with Grub files and BIOS settings a couple of days ago. I couldn't get past (*Grub files) and having trouble getting into BIOS. When I did get in and made changes to settings that should have fixed the problem it didn't fix it. What finally worked was to reset the CMOS.

Everything was restored to default settings. After putting those back the way I keep them, plus the changes I needed to make to the boot order and Secure Boot settings everything was fine.

*I'm still learning Linux terminology. I was upgrading to LM 22.1 and having issues getting past the splash screen, "GNU Grub" Version 2.06, bash line editing..."

 

[wizardfromoz]

@TheMainMan welcome to linux.org

Did you have a Grub Menu before embarking on the kernel efforts?

If so, it likely had three (3) lines in it. First for your Ubuntu, 2nd for Advanced Options or a second kernel, 3rd saying UEFI Boot Settings.

If that is the case, this is what happened.

Those lines are counted from 0 (zero), not 1.

When you changed /etc/default/grub to say 2, you chose the 3rd option, hence the continued loop into UEFI settings (BIOS).

If that is so, then you could follow options at #3 or #4 above, or you could try calling up a Grub Menu by rebooting the machine, and when you see your computer logo appear start tapping the Escape key - if the rig is running on UEFI, this may force a Grub Menu to appear.

If the Grub menu appears, and the 2nd line reads Advanced Options, choose that, and then choose the line that says Recovery, and enter on that.

This will provide a graphical menu that near the bottom has "Drop to Root shell", choose that and enter, when the output ceases press Enter and it will drop you to a prompt that is Root (ends with a hash).

From that enter

nano /etc/default/grub

and it will open that file for you. Change the 2 to a 0 (zero), then

ctrl-x
enter
enter

and it will take you back to the root prompt.

From there, execute and wait for completion on the following commands

update-grub
reboot

and see how you go.

If that works, we can then get you to start a separate thread to pursue your original problem.

HTH

Wizard

 

[MikeWalsh]

Did you have a Grub Menu before embarking on the kernel efforts?

If so, it likely had three (3) lines in it. First for your Ubuntu, 2nd for Advanced Options or a second kernel, 3rd saying UEFI Boot Settings.

If that is the case, this is what happened.

Those lines are counted from 0 (zero), not 1.

When you changed /etc/default/grub to say 2, you chose the 3rd option, hence the continued loop into UEFI settings (BIOS).

^^^ +1.

Without knowing the OP's level of experience - although they sound to already have prior experience - this is almost certainly what's happened.

The whole business of Linux stuff always counting from "0" as the first line / entry is one of the most awkward for noobs to get their heads around.....and frequently leads to no end of booting issues, in addition to other problems.

At least the modern 'mount' naming convention of 'sdX' is a bit easier to follow than the older 'hdX'. The former does at least start from '1'.....the older standard began at '0'.

It took ME the best part of a year to get used to it.


Mike.

 

[TheMainMan]

Hi everyone,

I would like to thank everyone for helping me out of this uncomfortable situation, especially helpful comments from @wizardfromoz , @Condobloke , @909mjolnir . Here are the steps that actually remedied the problem:

• Create a bootable USB stick with Ubuntu 20.04 on it (version chosen randomly)
• Boot the laptop to that USB stick
• Click Try Ubuntu
• Use FireFox to download Boot-Repair (Network Adapter worked on this Ubuntu 20.04, not Ubuntu 20.04 upgraded from Dell's Ubuntu 18.04)
• Follow this guide to repair the boot issue
• Reboot the laptop and select Ubuntu at the GRUB menu

I now can see the Ubuntu desktop on my laptop. But it still does not recognize the Network Adapter. I will search the Internet for solutions

 

[909mjolnir]

@TheMainMan: That's awesome that you got it fixed. It must feel pretty good to have gotten through that. It's good that you didn't give up. I'm kinda glad you didn't have to "chroot" (or did you?), that kinda stuff always makes me nervous, but only because I'm naive about it. LOL. I've had to "manjaro-chroot" into my system at least once or twice and although it seems harmless I just don't know what could go wrong if I mess it up. But I'm always thankful also for helpful online tutorials. That's my 2 cents (of wooden nickels).

Peace be with ya.

 

[KGIII]

This isn't directly helpful.

You can use 18.04 for a few more years - if you want. Just sign up for Ubuntu Pro (free for three devices) and you'll continue to get support for things like security fixes.

Cite:

Time to prepare for Ubuntu 18.04 LTS End of Standard Support on 31 May 2023 | Ubuntu

Ubuntu 18.04 LTS ‘Bionic Beaver‘, one of the most popular Ubuntu releases, will reach the end of the standard, five-year maintenance window for Long-Term Support (LTS) releases on 31 May 2023. What is an Ubuntu LTS release? Ubuntu LTS releases provide a stable, enterprise platform for...

ubuntu.com

 

[f33dm3bits]

I now can see the Ubuntu desktop on my laptop. But it still does not recognize the Network Adapter. I will search the Internet for solutions

It would be useful to see the output of the following command, to see if the system is at least seeing the network adapter.

lspci -nn | grep -i net

 

[TheMainMan]

It would be useful to see the output of the following command, to see if the system is at least seeing the network adapter.

lspci -nn | grep -i net

Hi, it can capture the Network controller. Here is the output of the command you mentioned:
2:00.0 Network controller [0280]: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX200 [8086:2723] (rev 1a)

When I ran sudo lshw -C network , it said *-network UNCLAIMED, along with the description of the network controller whose model name is the same as the command above

It’s been a busy week, so I haven’t had a chance to look into the solutions yet. Hope we can keep this post going.

Thanks,

 

[Condobloke]

The post will continue....don't panic