Public bug reported:
As opposed to 20.04, Groovy Desktop decided to do away with the EFI boot
files that used to reside in `/EFI/BOOT/` on the ISO, and instead moved
them away into a FAT image located at /boot/grub/efi.img.
While this works fine when writing the image in DD mode, it completely
**BREAKS** the common method, used by many many users on Windows, MacOS
and other platforms, of simply formatting a USB drive to FAT32 and then
copying the whole ISO content there in order to create a UEFI bootable
Ubuntu installation media.
Please bear in mind that this method of creating UEFI boot media is favoured by
many on account that:
* It doesn't require the installation of third party software like balenaEtcher
or Rufus to create the media, especially on Windows
* It is less risky to use than dd, on account that it's less prone to making a
mistake with regards to the target disk. Especially, not everyone has access to
'dd', or is familiar enough with it, or even wants to use it if there exists an
alternative that lets them access the content of their drive (e.g. on Windows).
* It leverages the *NATIVE* ability of UEFI to pick a bootloader from
/EFI/BOOT/ which was introduced precisely to make the creation of bootable
media through third party utilities (including dd) a thing of the past.
So, let me start by giving a stern warning here:
UBUNTU PEOPLE, BY HIDING THE EFI BOOT FILES AWAY IN THE ISO, YOU ARE
**NOT** HELPING YOUR USERS. INSTEAD, YOU ARE ACTIVELY **DEGRADING** THE
USER INSTALLATION EXPERIENCE. PLEASE DON'T DO THAT!
My questions therefore are twofold:
1. What on earth was the rationale behind this move? What exactly is to
be gained here?? Ubuntu 20.4 was perfectly fine with the GRUB boot files
in /EFI/BOOT/ on the ISO file system structure, and, as pointed out
above, it's hard to see how hiding these files away in efi.img is going
to improve user experience when this breaks the simplest method of
creation of a UEFI bootable media. So what prompted this sudden
unwarranted change, and why didn't anybody realize that this would make
the Ubuntu media creation experience subpar in terms of UEFI install?
2. Can this change please, please, **PLEASE**, be reverted? I know that
drinking the ISOHybrid kool-aid and putting your eggs into one basket by
declaring that `dd` is now the "one true way" of creating UEFI bootable
media is very seducing from a maintainer's perspective. But don't remove
features that helped foster the image of Ubuntu being focused on user-
friendliness, and that are **ACTUALLY** used by more people than you
realize. Else you may find that a move that actively prevents people
from installing Linux in a manner they've been using for years, and that
really has no reason to be broken because it's what UEFI was designed
for, will be percieved as a **STRONG INDICATION** that Ubuntu is no
longer caring about its users...
Thank you.
** Affects: casper (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1895131
Title:
Groovy Desktop *BREAKS* the most common method of creating UEFI
bootable drives for Ubuntu installation
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