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When I try to install Ubuntu (or any other distro, I've tried Manjaro, Pop!_OS, Debian and Fedora), I get an error with GRUB telling me either that there is not enough space to copy on the ESP in the case of Manjaro, Pop!_OS, etc.., or simply that there is a fatal error in the case of Ubuntu. The system I'm trying to install on is a Dell Vostro 5515 with Bitlocker and Secure boot disabled, a 1.3GB ESP (huge I know, but installers told me there wasn't enough space to copy, so I gave it more...). My CPU is a Ryzen 7 5700U and my current partition layout looks as follows:

https://i.sstatic.net/ClP3r.png

My disk is using a GPT partition table and Windows is installed in UEFI mode, as can be seen by the presence of the ESP.

lamitron
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1 Answers1

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Ok, I at long last found the issue, and it's that Dell laptops use what I think is a non-standard way to load EFI binaries as boot options, and on top of that, I think they use a 'hidden EFI system partition', from what I've heard. The steps I took to overcome this were simply to reinstall Windows from a USB stick, so that it created an ESP on the disk as opposed to wherever Dell keeps it by default.

Another option I think may be possible is to ntfsresize the Windows partition and create an EFI system partition along with your bootloader of choice, then, in the Dell UEFI/BIOS add the .efi file as a boot option (in the case of GRUB on ubuntu it will be at /boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi, or just EFI/ubuntu/grubx64.efi from the BIOS. I am, however, unsure whether GRUB will fail to install still on a distro such as Arch as it will be unable to write to the UEFI boot order with efibootmgr.

Hope this helps anyone else with a Dell laptop struggling to dual boot!

lamitron
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