Removal of OS from EFI / grub

Calling all EFI / grub experts. I could use some advice / suggestions from an NBR point of view.

I have a current dual boot setup (Linux Mint [kernel 4.13] and Win 10), and would like to upgrade the Linux Mint OS (LM). Unfortunately, it doesn't appear as if there is yet an upgrade path, so I'm looking for advice / suggestions on how to remove LM from EFI /grub, and run the Linux Mint install, which would hopefully update rather than replace the EFI/grub setup.

Currently, my boot drive has the following partitions:

/dev/nvme1n1p1 = the Windows 10 Recovery partition
/dev/nvme1n1p3 = Windows 10 MSR partition
/dev/nvme1n1p4 = Windows 10 install partition
/dev/nvme1n1p5 = Windows 10 Recovery partition

/dev/nvme1n1p2 = grub and efi FAT32 125 MB mounted at /boot

/dev/nvme1n1p6 = mounted at /
/dev/nvme1n1p7 = mounted at /home

I was thinking I could :
a) remove all of the *4.13* files at /boot
b) remove /boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu
c) leave /boot/efi/EFI/Microsoft intact and untouched
d) NEED HELP HERE, as I don't know what to do about /boot/grub or any of the sub-files/folders.

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Assuming I can figure out the /boot/grub/ stuff, I could run the LM 19 installer, delete the partitions for /, and /home (I already have a backup of /home), and then let the installer re-setup partitions for / and /home.


Does this this plan seem like it would work? Anyone have enough expertise on what to do about the /boot/grub stuff? Any/All advice is welcome.

TIA
-jclausius

 

I might want to ask you a question about your system, and in particular, how it handles EFI booting.

Have you ran into any showstoppers, such as the bootloader failing to update EFI entries on removal and installation of new kernels?

You can use a tool such as efibootmgr to print out EFI boot details.

If not, you've nothing to worry about. Simply install a new copy of Linux mint and this should be taken care of for you by the LM installer.

 

OK...

This areas seems to be fine on the mighty mini. UEFI seems to boot the NVMe drives as well as any USB (UEFI) based bootable drives. No problems.

OK. No surprises there...

BootOrder: 0002,0005,0000,0004
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0002* ubuntu
Boot0004 Hard Drive
Boot0005* CD/DVD Drive

During install, i plan on deleting / choosing the same exact partitions for / and /home, but other than pointing the disk to use that partition as boot, leave /boot intact. Is that correct?

 

That is correct, based on your responses above.

 

@Dennismungai, It went as smooth as silk. Here are some of the highlights:

1) Made a backup of the installed app list, a system backup (and a backup of /home) using Timeshift (just in case)
2) Burned the LM 19 iso to a USB using the USB Image Writer
3) Ran the installer.
4) When it got to the "Installation Type", I used the 'something else' option, and set "System EFI" on /dev/nvme1n1p2, and re-mapped the mount points of /, /home and swap to their original partitions. I also chose to format '/', but made sure /home would not be re-formatted. I also set the device for boot loader to /dev/nvme1n1p2, which is how I originally configured the system.
5) Set up the same exact hostname, user / password as before.

Install went smooth after that as it copied files to the partitions. Next, it rebooted, and voila', now running LM 19! FWIW, the dual boot for Windows 10 is working fine (no adjustment needed to update grub or anything), and all of the 4.13 kernel stuff on /boot has all been deleted, replaced by LM 19's 4.15 kernel.

I still need to install any apps in the app list, but for Firefox and Thunderbird, they picked up everything right out of my /home/user directory, and all is well!

Thanks for giving me the confidence to give it a try!

 

UEFI is designed that way.

When well implemented, it just works.

However, when you have a ****ty implementation (looking your way, Asus!), you'll need a few workarounds.

 

I had lot of issues configuring Win 10 and Linux on my alienware. EFI was difficult to work with.
I used Boot repair x64 ISO for repairing Grub loader when I reinstall w10 or u can use OS uninstaller to nuke out other OS to oblivion.

 

For future reference: If you ever install Ubuntu (and its' derivative works) in UEFI mode, any choice you make regarding the target for boot loader installation is moot.
UEFI will always install to the ESP, regardless of your choice. At this point, the Ubuntu devs should omit this choice in Ubiquity as its' simply confusing and unwarranted.