Quoting: DragunovUbuntu 16.04 is still receiving security updates until 2024 if you wanna give that one a go, but yeah, i'm out of ideas.

I'll have a look tomorrow, but I think it might be something wrong with the UEFI itself, because I have also had issues when I was trying to use 18.04... Thanks for the suggestion.

Quoting: Cyba.CowboyWhen I try to "clean" install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ("Focal Fossa") onto a Sony VAIO Tap 20 SVJ20215CGB with secure boot enabled, everything goes fine, until I restart... Once I restart the computer, I see the "VAIO" logo, then only a black screen - this is before the full-disk encryption password box appears.

As is to be expected, I cannot access Terminal or anything else at this time.

If I try to "clean" install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ("Focal Fossa") with secure boot disabled, everything seems to install just fine - but after the reboot, various components are missing - the Ubuntu Software Center is the most obvious example, but there are plenty of others (yes, I picked a "normal" installation - I did it twice, just to be sure!).

In an attempt to fix this, I also tried installing Ubuntu 18.04 ("Bionic Beaver") with Secure Boot enabled, with the intention of waiting for the first "point" upgrade (e.g. Ubuntu 20.04.1 or higher), but I get this error message on startup (immediately after the manufacturer logo):
Failed to open \EFI\BOOT\mm64.efi - Not found
Failed to load image \EFI\BOOT\mmx64.efi: Not found
Failed to start MokManager: Not found
Something has gone seriously wrong: import_mok_state() failed: Not found

This installation media has been used to "clean" install Ubuntu 20.04 LTS ("Focal Fossa") on multiple other computers (different manufacturers and models), *without issue*, so there is nothing wrong with the installation media.

At this point, I suspect either the UEFI is corrupt - which I don't know how to fix - or the UEFI is faulty - which I can't fix (Sony haven't manufactured computers in a long, long time)... But I'm out of ideas, so if anyone has any suggestions, it would be appreciated.

I am aware I am a bit late, but maybe I can help.

Are you aware that Ubuntu Software is now just called Software and a snap, and that you can install it as deb called gnome-software?

You wrote it worked on other computers so its probably not that, but I think it is worth mentioning.

Did you get any errors during the install where stuff was missing at the end, and was that not available to install after, and what else was that?

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair might help, the live iso with it can do a lot in automatic repairs.

And https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCdRecovery has some good info how to repair a system from a live iso.

Can you summarize how far you are now in the install? Which releases are you trying now?

Quoting: RedfaceAre you aware that Ubuntu Software is now just called Software and a snap, and that you can install it as deb called gnome-software?

I figured this is the case - pretty much every component of Ubuntu can be installed separately, if required - but it is a sign that something is going wrong with the installation and even if I manually installed "Ubuntu Software" (as it is now called), this doesn't solve the actual problem.

So I didn't even bother trying to manually install Ubuntu Software, and just kept seeking solutions to the actual problem...

Quoting: RedfaceDid you get any errors during the install where stuff was missing at the end, and was that not available to install after, and what else was that?

I occasionally see a screen that says something about ACHI errors - I saw this when restarting the computer after the installation, for example... But I only see it (very) briefly, so it's hard to catch the full message or get a photograph of it.

Quoting: Redfacehttps://help.ubuntu.com/community/Boot-Repair might help, the live iso with it can do a lot in automatic repairs.

And https://help.ubuntu.com/community/LiveCdRecovery has some good info how to repair a system from a live iso.

I had dusted off and installed the only copy of Microsoft Windows we have in the house (Windows 8), then used some "computer recovery" tool found on its disk (it did absolutely nothing)... Following this, I used a "live" installation to run Boot Repair.

You can find the report Boot Repair generated here.

After that report, I restarted the computer and re-installed Ubuntu 20.04, but the "black screen after the manufacturer logo and before the decryption box" issue was still present, so I booted back into the "live" disk and ran Boot Repair again.

You can find the second Boot Repair report - from after I re-installed Ubuntu - over here.

Quoting: RedfaceCan you summarize how far you are now in the install? Which releases are you trying now?

The install completes, but after I restart the computer, I see the manufacturer logo, then a plain, black screen and nothing more - this is before the (full-disk) decryption screen has appeared... I have tried to install Ubuntu 16.04, Ubuntu 18.04 and Ubuntu 20.04.

The issue is always the same.

Like all of the computers in our house, this computer single-boots Ubuntu... Previously the computer was running Linux Mint 19.2 without issue, which it had been doing for about the last 9-ish months.

Last edited by Cyba.Cowboy on 3 May 2020 at 9:31 am UTC

Could GRUB just not be showing up for some reason? Have you tried holding left shift or escape as it starts?

Edit, sorry I quoted a wrong post and poster.

You are right, I mixed up the names of the deb and the snap software center.

Have a look at https://www.mikekasberg.com/blog/2020/04/08/dual-boot-ubuntu-and-windows-with-encryption.html
You do not want to dual boot with Windows so skip those steps, but it has detailed instructions how to do a luks install with the "something else" option which gives a lot more control.

It seems that another thing that is missing apart from Ubuntu Software is the complete setup to boot from an encrypted root partition.
Maybe the setup of /etc/crypttab is all that is missing, but you also want a successful install without anything missing, hopefully that article can help.

Last edited by Redface on 3 May 2020 at 5:43 pm UTC

Lots of people have suggested loads of solutions, and not one of them has worked... Furthermore, neither a "lightweight" Linux distro nor the previously-working distro (before I had these problems) will work; I have the same problem as described above.

So I'm putting this down to some sort of hardware fault, likely with the UEFI, and I am giving up (I was planning to replace the computer in the near-ish future, anyway).

Thank you to all of the Gaming on Linux Community - you guys have been far more helpful than pretty much every other community out there... Disappointingly, not many Linux Communities can make this claim anymore.

I appreciate all of the help given.